Modern techniques are being used to recreate a 2,000 year old scientific instrument discovered in the wreck of a Roman ship
Issue 30
First Americans chewed seaweed
Cuds of masticated seaweed, dating from 14,220 and 13,980 have been found in hearths at Monte Verde settlement in southern Chile
World’s oldest use of oil paint found in Afghanistan
The Buddhas of Bamiyan have revealed oil paints being used to decorate associated caves in the mid 7th century AD
Native American Voices on Identity, Art, and Culture
The University Museum’s North American collections are justly famous and owe much of their existence to Louis Shotridge, a Tlingit elder from Southeast Alaska, as well as many anthropologists and curators – among them the redoubtable Frederica de Laguna. To pioneers like Shotridge and de Laguna, the objects they collected had a greater significance than […]
The Ancient Maya
The Maya civilization of Mesoamerica encompassed the entirety of what are now the countries of Guatemala and Belize and large parts of adjoining Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador. The romantic vision of mysterious jungle-shrouded ruins and glyphic texts that withstand decipherment is dispelled by the most recent sixth edition of The Ancient Maya. The book […]
Akhenaten Tutankhamun
There is no shortage of books on Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and the Amarna period. However, many try to focus on some aspect of the personality of Akhenaten, on his unusual physiognomy or his heresy, while others are concerned with the cause of death of Tutankhamun. This book, by three well respected scholars from the University of […]
The Maya Vase Conservation Project
Classic Maya ceramics are among the most intriguing and valuable sources to reconstruct Ancient Maya society and life. No books have survived from the Classic times (AD 300-900), and many public stone monuments are eroded or only provide limited information. Ceramics, on the other hand, paint an intricate picture of Classic Maya royal courts, warfare, […]
Archaeology Matters: Archaeology in the Modern World
Jeremy Sabloff, the former Director of Penn Museum, wants to make archaeology more relevant to the contemporary world. ‘Action archaeology’ turns out to mean the many different ways in which archaeology can make a difference now. Take the famous Tucson Garbage Project, which began in the 1970s and has since gone national and international. It […]
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