11/15
Archaeology
Through gemstones, a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization
Through gemstones, a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization
Doctoral student Shelby Justl’s research expands what we know about who controlled semiprecious stones like red jasper and carnelian, plus their cultural and economic significance.
Night at the (Penn) Museum
Night at the (Penn) Museum
What it’s like to sleep over with mummies and more than 10,000 years’ worth of artifacts.
Declassified images from U2 spy planes reveal bygone Middle Eastern archaeological features
Declassified images from U2 spy planes reveal bygone Middle Eastern archaeological features
Researchers from Penn and Harvard are the first to make archaeological use of U2 spy plane imagery, and have created a tool that allows other researchers to identify and access the Cold War-era photos.
Egypt on display
Egypt on display
Penn Museum opens a new Ancient Egypt exhibition to display artifacts and their conservation during its Building Transformation project.
State Department awards Penn $2 million to preserve cultural heritage in northern Iraq
State Department awards Penn $2 million to preserve cultural heritage in northern Iraq
The two-phase, three-year project aims to revitalize the city and its culture.
Marking the winter solstice, from Neolithic times to today
Marking the winter solstice, from Neolithic times to today
For millennia, people have marked the winter solstice with rituals and celebrations—and they continue to do so today. Penn Museum anthropologists Lucy Fowler Williams and Megan Kassabaum discuss both ancient and contemporary customs associated with attending to the shortest day of the year.
Collective grief over loss from Brazil’s National Museum fire
Collective grief over loss from Brazil’s National Museum fire
Members of the Penn Museum’s archeological community discuss the devastation felt over the destruction of an invaluable piece of world history.
See you later, sphinx
See you later, sphinx
The Penn Museum's 3,000-year-old sphinx of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II will be stored under wraps and out of public view for several years for gallery renovations, starting July 9th.
Did serial killer H. H. Holmes fake his own death?
Did serial killer H. H. Holmes fake his own death?
Biological archaeologists from the Penn Museum have helped resolve a lingering question about serial killer H. H. Holmes that has persisted since 1896: his final resting place.
Revealing Penn Museum’s Middle East treasures
Revealing Penn Museum’s Middle East treasures
Objects that trace the path of human history—from the era of hunting and gathering to the creation of cities—are on display in the Museum’s new Middle East Galleries.
In the News
Artnet 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.
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NPR
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.
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BBC
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.
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Time
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.
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BBC
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.
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ARS Technica
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.
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