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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

    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

    Penn Museum interns explore jazz through family, protest, and creativity
    Father plays keyboard while his daughter smiles. Bookshelves in background.

    Music is “a kind of family love language” for Guthrie Ramsey (right) and his daughter Bridget Ramsey (left). “One of my deepest joys is that I’ve been able to pass that along,” he says. 

    Penn Museum interns explore jazz through family, protest, and creativity

    Penn Museum interns delve into “The Year of Jazz” through a monthly series of events exploring family, protest, and creativity. Music Professor Guthrie Ramsey and his singer/songwriter daughter Bridget Ramsey headline the first event on Feb. 28.

    Kristina García