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Laser-scanning tech uncovers huge network of ancient Mayan farms
NBC News

Laser-scanning tech uncovers huge network of ancient Mayan farms

Emily Hammer of the School of Arts and Sciences commented on research that used lasers to unveil a network of ancient Mayan farms. “This important study and others like it are demonstrating that large-scale ancient modification of land surfaces in tropical zones across the world likely contributed to the early beginnings of a period in which humans became a significant transformative force in the Earth system,” she said.

A quest to restore cultural heritage in Iraq, one site at a time
people gathered around surveying iraqi destruction

A quest to restore cultural heritage in Iraq, one site at a time

Penn archaeologists, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Mosul and Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, seek to undo the terrible destruction ISIS wrought, particularly on targeted minority groups.

Michele W. Berger

Crowdsourcing 10,000 years of land use
A brown cow standing in a mountain landscape in the Italian Alps.

To predict what will happen in the future, its important to understand what happened in the past. Thats the idea behind ArchaeoGLOBE, a project that looks at land use around the world—like in the Italian Alps, seen here—during the past 10,000 years. (Photo courtesy: Lucas Stephens) 

Crowdsourcing 10,000 years of land use

More than 250 archaeologists from around the world contributed their knowledge to ArchaeoGLOBE, an effort to better understand the prevalence of agriculture, pastoralism, and hunting and gathering at different points in human history.

Michele W. Berger

Through gemstones, a glimpse into ancient Egyptian civilization
In a room with stacks of books on bookshelves, a person sits at a table wearing rubber gloves to analyze materials sitting in a basket on her right. She holds them over two white papers, and to her left are a notepad, phone, and computer.

Doctoral student Shelby Justl studies the semiprecious stones of ancient Egypt in an effort to better understand the role that red jasper, carnelian, and others played in that society. Here, she is seen at the British Museum in 2018. (Photo: Courtesy Shelby Justl)

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.

Michele W. Berger

Schuylkill Yards development may rest on the Quaker dead
Philadelphia Inquirer

Schuylkill Yards development may rest on the Quaker dead

David Brownlee of the School of Arts and Sciences and Aaron Wunsch of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design commented on the existence of historic graveyards beneath the Schuylkill Yards development near Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station.

Night at the (Penn) Museum
Kids with statue and flashlights

The flashlight expedition included a trip through the Egypt gallery, with artifacts like this statue of Ramses II. 

Night at the (Penn) Museum

What it’s like to sleep over with mummies and more than 10,000 years’ worth of artifacts.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Declassified U-2 spy plane photos are a boon for aerial archaeology
Science

Declassified U-2 spy plane photos are a boon for aerial archaeology

Emily Hammer of the School of Arts and Sciences authored a study that revealed that declassified Cold War-era aerial photographs can help archaeologists and anthropologists study lost historical sites. “Older images are much better, because archaeology is in many ways a race against time,” Hammer said.

Declassified images from U2 spy planes reveal bygone Middle Eastern archaeological features
Satellite images of a desert in Jordan in the Middle East.

Desert kites, stone wall structures that date back 5,000 to 8,000 years like those shown above, were used to trap gazelle and other similar animals. The dry desert of eastern Jordan preserved many of them, but agricultural expansion in western Jordan dismantled or destroyed many more.

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.

Michele W. Berger