11/15
Archaeology
Going above and beyond in archaeology and museum work
Fourth-year Qi Liu has participated in every undergraduate program at the Penn Museum, done research for two senior theses in anthropology and art history, and joined excavations in the U.S. and abroad.
Uniting passions for architecture, preservation, and the Near East
Marc Marín Webb, who studied architecture in Berlin and Barcelona, is studying the impact of genocide on the built heritage of the Yezidi community in Iraq.
Kathleen Morrison on biodiversity and climate change
The faculty director of the Environmental Innovations Initiative, her research spans anthropology, archaeology, and paleoecology, involving the study of historic climates and environments, with a focus on South Asia.
Penn Museum excavation designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Gordion, Turkey, is the first active Penn Museum archaeological site to be named in the UNESCO World Heritage List
Ancient food and flavor
Food remains dating back as far as 6,000 years found at archaeological sites are now on view in a new indoor-outdoor exhibition at the Penn Museum, “Ancient Food & Flavor,” through the fall of 2024.
Virtual reality in an ancient world
Students create films to document the reimagining of the Penn Museum’s Ancient Egypt and Nubia galleries.
Reconsidering world heritage for the modern era
Through recent research, archaeologist and Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Lynn Meskell has continued to highlight how World Heritage Sites have become flashpoints for conflict and out of touch with local communities.
Whole-genome analysis offers clarity about remains of 36 enslaved Africans in 18th-century Charleston
Building on previous work from the community-initiated Anson Street African Burial Ground project, a team of researchers from Penn led a community-engaged collaborative study that confirmed that the individuals closely align genetically with populations in West and West Central Africa.
At a southern Iraq site, unearthing the archaeological passing of time
When Holly Pittman and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Pisa returned to Lagash in the fall of 2022 for a fourth season, they knew they’d find more than ceramic fragments and another kiln.
New Eastern Mediterranean Gallery opens at the Penn Museum
Featuring 400 objects that span a period of 4,000 years, the Penn Museum is opening its new Eastern Mediterranean Gallery, the latest step in a multi-year building transformation.
In the News
Do these ancient seals unlock clues to the origins of writing?
Holly Pittman of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum helped contribute to a study arguing that ancient Sumerian seals used to brand products shaped the formation of cuneiform, humanity’s earliest known example of writing.
FULL STORY →
Olympic prizes: How did we get to the three medals?
Brigitte Keslinke of the Penn Museum says that the primary prizes won by victors of the ancient Olympics were crowned wreaths.
FULL STORY →
From Ancient Egypt to Roman Britain, brewers are reviving beers from the past
Patrick McGovern of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum oversaw the first hi-tech molecular analysis of residues found in bronze drinking vessels during a 1950s excavation of an ancient Turkish tomb.
FULL STORY →
Why Indigenous artifacts should be returned to Indigenous communities
The Penn Museum is noted for creating its “Native American Voices: The People—Here and Now” exhibit with the help of tribal representatives.
FULL STORY →
Gordion: A lost city of legends in central Turkey
Brian Rose of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum has led excavations at the ancient Turkish city of Gordion since 2007.
FULL STORY →
Mummified baboons point to the direction of the fabled land of Punt
Josef Wegner of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum says that archaeologists have long entertained theories on the locale of ancient Egyptian trading partner Punt, despite the lack of precise directions.
FULL STORY →