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From 2,800-year-old charred food lumps, a window into past civilizations
Kathy Morrison sitting at a computer in a lab, gesturing to grad student Moriah McKenna. They both wear white lab coats. In front of them is a computer screen with what looks like a large rock. Next to the computer is a large microscope with its light on.

Archaeologist Kathleen Morrison (center) and anthropology doctoral student Moriah McKenna discuss one of the charred lumps from a 2010 excavation in southern India. The image is possible thanks to a new microscope, seen here on the right, that takes and stitches together high-resolution images in incredible detail. (Image: Eric Sucar)

  • Q&A

    • From 2,800-year-old charred food lumps, a window into past civilizations

    At a site in southern India, archaeologist Kathleen Morrison and colleagues discovered the remains of two types of dough, offering insights into how the region’s dietary practices have evolved.

    Michele W. Berger

    Studying the past through a modern-day lens
    Lynn Meskell standing in front of a glass display case at the Penn Museum.

    Lynn Meskell is the Richard D. Green Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor in the Department of Anthropology in the School of Arts & Sciences, a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and the graduate program in Historic Preservation in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and a curator in the Middle East and Asia sections at the Penn Museum.

    (Image: Eric Sucar)

    Studying the past through a modern-day lens

    In a Q & A, archaeologist and PIK Professor Lynn Meskell discusses her background, the subjects that interest her—from espionage to World Heritage sites—and collaborations that have organically arisen at Penn despite the pandemic and a mostly remote first year.

    Michele W. Berger

    Tackling the topic of decolonization
    A mural on a brick wall. On the left-hand side, on a red background, are the word "Decolonize and Chill" in white. Beneath that are the silhouette of two men riding horses. On the right-hand side is a person with a horse, beneath the words "We are still here."

    The mural depicted in this photograph is “Decolonize And Chill/We Are Still Here.” It is by artist and community activist Jaque Fragua from the Pueblo of Jemez, one of the federally recognized tribes in New Mexico, as well as Ishi Glinsky and Shepard Fairey. It is art created out of an ongoing decolonizing space and project called Indian Alley, in Los Angeles. (Image: By wiredforlego, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

  • Q&A

    • Tackling the topic of decolonization

    Deborah Thomas, who runs Penn’s Center for Experimental Ethnography, and Christopher Woods, director of the Penn Museum, discuss a conference on decolonization that starts today.
    ‘The Stories We Wear’ puts a spotlight on fashion spanning 2,500 years
    three garments in glass cases in a museum

    A new Penn Museum exhibition puts a spotlight on fashion,  featuring 250 items spanning 2,500 years, including clothing, jewelry, uniforms, weapons, even tattoos. “The Stories We Wear” will be on view through June 12.

    ‘The Stories We Wear’ puts a spotlight on fashion spanning 2,500 years

    A new Penn Museum exhibition puts a spotlight on fashion featuring 250 items spanning 2,500 years, including clothing, jewelry, uniforms, weapons, even tattoos. “The Stories We Wear” will be on view through June 12.
    Metal artifacts in Southeast Asia challenge long-held archaeological theory
    A photo of a metal artifact in the shape of a spear on a black background. In the foreground is a scale that runs from 0 to 5 cm.

    An individual can create a stone tool or a pot without assistance, but creating a metal tool like the spear here is a group endeavor—and a complex one. Artifacts like this found in Thailand showed that such metal technology could be developed and exchanged using an economic model based on communities making decisions about how to participate in regional exchange systems. (Image: The Ban Chiang Project)

  • Q&A

    • Metal artifacts in Southeast Asia challenge long-held archaeological theory

    According to the Penn Museum’s Joyce White and Elizabeth Hamilton, prehistoric communities, rather than the ruling elites, in Thailand were the deciders in how to use metal resources.

    Michele W. Berger

    A fieldwork experience, no travel required
    Three people sitting at a table outside all wearing masks. They are around a yellow bin. They are holding tweezers and inspecting small items in the bin. In the foreground are nine styrofoam containers, some with blurred plant material.

    During the archaeobotany lesson led by Chantel White (not pictured) of the Penn Museum’s Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials—part of a two-week archaeology bootcamp—students including (from left to right) Ashley Ray, Emily Gladden, and Sarah LaPorte, learned a technique called dry sieving used to separate out organic materials like carbonized seeds, wood, and nutshell.

    A fieldwork experience, no travel required

    During a two-week in-person bootcamp at the Penn Museum, 11 undergrads learned basic archaeological skills in subjects from ceramics and sample-taking to archaeobotany.

    Michele W. Berger

    Penn team expands cultural heritage work in Iraq, backed by new funding
    Taq-i Kisra Taq-i Kisra is a vaulted hall near Baghdad that likely dates to the 6th century. After heavy rains in late 2020 caused part of it to collapse, the Penn team was asked to conduct an assessment on the structure. It’s one of the newest projects for the IHSP, funded by the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.

    Penn team expands cultural heritage work in Iraq, backed by new funding

    Three big new projects—restoration of a fortification gate, repair of an important landmark, and a survey of historic nonreligious architecture—recently got underway.

    Michele W. Berger

    Turning an archaeological practice on its head
    A person standing outside in front of a brick building, hands in the pockets of a gray swearing, over a black shirt and purple necklace.

    Megan Kassabaum is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania and the Weingarten Assistant Curator for North America at the Penn Museum.

    Turning an archaeological practice on its head

    In a new book, Megan Kassabaum challenges the field to take a forward-looking approach, rather than one that looks backward. She does this through the study of a Native American architectural feature called platform mounds.

    Michele W. Berger

    To improve climate models, an international team turns to archaeological data
    map of the united states

    The final classification employs an 8x8 kilometer grid scale, large from an archaeological perspective but which allows for consistency. The four maps here show the effect of grid size on data visibility. (Image: Chad Hill, published in PLOS ONE)

    To improve climate models, an international team turns to archaeological data

    The project, called LandCover6k, offers a new classification system that the researchers hope will improve predictions about the planet’s future and fill in gaps about its past.

    Michele W. Berger