University Of Pennsylvania Museum Research Articles

Metal-forming practices among the seventeenth century Illinois, 1640–1682

When European copper-based metal trade goods, primarily kettles, first became available to native Americans early in the contact period, they frequently reworked the metal sheet, reforming it into objects that fit into their own indigenous cultural systems. The technical processes through which they converted these products into objects of personal adornment have seldom been investigated archaeometallurgically to determine the elemental make-up of the metals and the techniques involved in reworking them. In this study, undertaken at the University of Pennsylvania Museum's Applied Science Center for Archaeology (MASCA), a sample of 64 copper-based metal artifacts excavated from the Haas/Hagerman Site, Clark County, MO, were examined metallographically to identify manufacturing techniques and technical processes employed by the seventeenth century Illinois to produce these new forms. Proton-induced X-ray emission spectrometry (PIXE) was used to determine the elemental compositions of the artifacts. Results are presented within the larger contexts of early material and technological transformation among the Illinois as European influence intensified.

Canaan and Ancient Israel:Canaan and Ancient Israel.

Canaan and Ancient Israel. University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia, permanent installation.

Plant Forms in Jewellery from the Royal Cemetery at Ur

Among the spectacular finds Sir Leonard Woolley reported from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, the head-dress and “diadem” found in Puabi's tomb are among the best known. Parts of these items look like plants, and many plants had symbolic value to the ancient Sumerians in addition to their practical importance for food, fodder, fuel and all manner of material culture. Insofar as the Ur ornaments refer to real plants, it is therefore important to know what those plants are. Plant classifications at the level of genus (e.g., oak [ Quercus ], rose [ Rosa ], date [ Phoenix ]) are frequently consistent cross-culturally, which suggests that the way humans process sense data from the natural world is similar, and that the features of plants salient for identification and classification have both a reality in nature and a reality in human perception. That is why we can even hope to recognize stylized and abstracted versions of plants and animals created by people of different times and places, such as those of ancient Sumer. Meaning, being culturally constructed, cannot be dealt with so simply; for example, we may accurately identify the horse depicted in Lascaux, but not know why it was painted. Fortunately, our database for ancient Mesopotamia is so rich archaeologically and textually that we can reasonably try to interpret a representation once we have identified it. The new exhibit mounted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum, “Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur”, and publication of the associated catalogue prompted the current reconsideration of the material. Detailed justification for previous identifications and new identifications for some of the plants represented in the ornaments from the Royal Cemetery are presented.

Pomo Indian Basket Weavers. Their Baskets and the Art Market:Pomo Indian Basket Weavers. Their Baskets and the Art Market;Pomo Indian Basket Weavers. Their Baskets and the Art Market

Pomo Indian Basket Weavers. Their Baskets and the Art Market Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House, Ukiah, California, May through September 1998; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 1998 through January 1999; National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center, New York, May 9through August 15, 1999 (review venue); University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, October 1999 through September 2000. Pomo Indian Basket Weavers. Their Baskets and the Art Market. Special issue of Expedition, The Magazine of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology 40(1), 1998.

Canaan and Ancient Israel Gallery Opens at the University of Pennsylvania Museum

Canaan and Ancient Israel Gallery Opens at the University of Pennsylvania Museum

A 10,600 year pollen record from Nong Thale Song Hong, Trang Province, south Thailand

Although long occupancy of south Thailand has been recorded at Lang Rongrien rock shelter, little detailed palaeoenvironmental work has been published from the peninsula. This account begins to rectify the situation using palynology and microfossil charcoal analyses from a core extracted at Nong Thale Song Hong. Interpretation of the results is difficult, and there are unresolved inconsistencies in the radiocarbon dates. The fire record is longer than expected, given the latitude of the site, and the vegetation was never stable for long, probably due to hydrological changes, altering climate and soils, as well as human impact. The topography makes the site more useful for tracing local vegetation changes and lake level variations than oscillations in regional vegetation. Introduction: location and physical background Nong Thale Song Hong is a shallow bean-shaped lake located at 7° 52 N., 99° 28'50 E. (Figure 1) north of Trang, south Thailand. The sediment core was collected by Dr Lisa Kealhofer (College of William & Mary, Virginia) and Dr Joyce White (University of Pennsylvania Museum) in December 1994. The site is at c. lOOm altitude and has no inflowing or outflowing streams and the core was extracted from the deepest part of the lake, but borings were not made to determine the spatial variations of the stratigraphy. The highest point in the nearby region is at about 400m altitude, around 14 km south west of the lake. Nong Thale Song Hong is located in an area of acid to-moderately-acid shales, sandstones and sandy shales of the Kanchanaburi Series (Figure 2) which have often been metamorphosed to phyllites, argillites, quartzites and slates (National Resource Atlas 1969). The Kanchanaburi Series ranges in age from the Early Carboniferous to Devonian and Silurian. The soils near the site are red-yellow podzolics Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 86, Parts 1 & 2 (Figure 1). Red yellow podzolics correlate roughly with the ferrugineous soils of French and Belgian soil classifications (Young 1976) and have some weatherable minerals remaining, so they are more chemically fertile than ferrallitic soils. They form under seasonally dry climatic conditions, while ferrallitic soils develop under ever-wet conditions. Red-yellow podzolic soils commonly occur under various types of wooded savanna vegetation whereas ferrallitic soils are characteristic of humid tropical rainforest areas. The 1:50,000 soil map for the area shows the site to be surrounded by the Fang Daeng soil series. To the north, in the hills, soils series 104, 'slope complex' (colluvial soils) occurs, while the other soil series in the vicinity is the Kho Hong 'mottled association'. The fact that the Kho Hong association is mottled confirms that there has been drying out, with oxidising conditions replacing reducing conditions. • School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology. The Queen's University, Belfast BTI INN, Northern Ireland, UK

Vin Extraordinaire

The SciencesVolume 36, Issue 6 p. 27-31 Vin Extraordinaire PATRICK E. McGOVERN, PATRICK E. McGOVERN Partrick E. McGovern is a research scientist in archaeological chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania Museum's Applied Science Center for Archaeology, in Philadelphia. Together with Stuart J. Fleming and Solomon H. Katz he edited The Origins and Ancient History of Wine, published by Gordon and Breach in 1995, which includes the papers presented at the Napa Valley conference.Search for more papers by this author PATRICK E. McGOVERN, PATRICK E. McGOVERN Partrick E. McGovern is a research scientist in archaeological chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania Museum's Applied Science Center for Archaeology, in Philadelphia. Together with Stuart J. Fleming and Solomon H. Katz he edited The Origins and Ancient History of Wine, published by Gordon and Breach in 1995, which includes the papers presented at the Napa Valley conference.Search for more papers by this author First published: November‐December 1996 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2326-1951.1996.tb03715.xCitations: 6 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume36, Issue6November‐December 1996Pages 27-31 RelatedInformation

Debating Oaxaca Archaeology

This volume grew out of the 1987 meeting of the Northeast Mesoamericanists Society, held at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia--Pref.

Reconstructing King Midas: a First Report

In 1957 the team from Pennsylvania University Museum excavating at Gordion in Phrygia entered the wooden burial chamber in the “Midas Mound”, the largest of the tumuli that dot the plain of the Sakarya. Inside they discovered the body of a man of 60–65 years, 1·59 m. (5′ 2½″) tall, lying on a bed, and surrounded by over 350 bronze vessels and ornaments, three iron stands, wooden furniture and a little pottery. Despite its traditional name, the excavator, Professor Rodney Young, doubted whether the tomb was indeed that of the most famous king of Phrygia, the Midas who according to Eusebius ruled from 738 to 696 B.C., which agrees with the Assyrian records: that king's reign ended with the destruction of his city by the invading Cimmerians. In some accounts the king committed suicide by drinking bull's blood, in others he was killed in the sack. Young believed that after this disaster the Phrygians could not have afforded so wealthy a burial nor so large a tumulus (it still measures some 53 m. high, and was originally 70 or 80 m. in height), and he preferred Midas' predecessor Gordios as the likely occupant of the tomb.

The Pennsylvania University Museum's Demeter and Persephone Sanctuary Project at Cyrene: A Final Progress Report?

Trigeminated at more or less the same time as the First of September Revolution and the appearance of the first published report from The Society for Libyan Studies, the excavation phase of the extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone project at Cyrene ran until 1978 when it was stopped in order to begin work on final publication. The intervening years have seen a degree of progress, and this retrospective vicenary issue of Libyan Studies provides a welcome opportunity to take stock of what has been and is going on. The journal's readers will already have some familiarity with the broad outlines of the sanctuary project, since summary articles have been published in an earlier issue (White 1978) and elsewhere (Vickers and Reynolds 1972; Kane 1979; Humphrey 1980; White 1981). In addition reviews of the three published volumes of the final report (White 1984; Schaus 1985; Lowenstam et al. 1987) have appeared here with exemplary promptitude (Lloyd 1985; Boardman 1986; Fulford 1988), as well as externally (Brown 1986; Tomlinson 1986; Cook 1987). The present article's bibliographical citations list what has been written about the sanctuary, but omit the series of preliminary reports in Libya Antiqua (between Vols. 8 and 16) and American Journal of Archaeology (Vols. 78 and 80), whose inclusion would be redundant, as would be any attempt to minute the contents of the reviewed final study volumes. Instead my present intention is to give a short report on work in progress and to summarise the results of what has already been published in separate studies outside the framework of the final publication.

A Daughter of King Harsiese

The name of a daughter of the pharaoh Harsiese, incompletely preserved on a wooden fragment from Abydos (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania University Museum E.16186), is tentatively restored as tз-di-tз-nbt-hn.

Cyrene.The extramural sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya: final reports. Ed. D. White. 2. The East Greek, Island and Laconian pottery. By G. P. Schaus. (Pennsylvania University Museum monograph, 56.) Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Museum (for Libyan Department of Antiquities, Tripoli). 1985. Pp. xxii + 140, [44] plates (1 col.), 8 text figs., 2 plans. Price not stated.

Cyrene.The extramural sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya: final reports. Ed. D. White. <i>2. The East Greek, Island and Laconian pottery.</i> By G. P. Schaus. (Pennsylvania University Museum monograph, 56.) Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Museum (<i>for</i> Libyan Department of Antiquities, Tripoli). 1985. Pp. xxii + 140, [44] plates (1 col.), 8 text figs., 2 plans. Price not stated.

Archaeology resources in Libraries: are they accessible?

The literature of archaeology reflects the development of archaeology as a discipline, from the curiosity of wealthy amateurs to serious enquiry utilising scientific method and techniques and drawing on other disciplines in its efforts to interpret objects as evidence of their times. Archaeology libraries thus contain rare (often large and fragile) early works, specialised and highly detailed studies, works not obviously related to archaeology, and texts in several languages; such libraries are most usually associated with academic institutions, of which the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Bryn Mawr College offer contrasting (though neighbouring) examples. Both libraries - the University Museum more so than Bryn Mawr College - serve a larger public beyond the institution’s own community, at least to a limited extent. Archaeology libraries can nourish the widespread and growing public interest in ancient civilisations in spite of the rarefied and valuable nature of their collections, by participating in library networks, and by encouraging the publication or reprinting of books for the non-specialist.

Cyrene. The extramural sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya. Final reports Ed. D. White 1. Background and introduction to the excavations. By D. White. (Pennsylvania University Museum monograph, 52.) Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Museum and Tripoli: Libyan Department of Antiquities. 1984. Pp. xx + 143, [124[ illus. (incl. plates, text figs., maps, plans (7 folding, 2 in rear pocket)).

Cyrene. The extramural sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya. Final reports Ed. D. White <i>1. Background and introduction to the excavations</i>. By D. White. (Pennsylvania University Museum monograph, 52.) Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Museum and Tripoli: Libyan Department of Antiquities. 1984. Pp. xx + 143, [124[ illus. (incl. plates, text figs., maps, plans (7 folding, 2 in rear pocket)).

Kythera. Excavations and Studies Conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens. Edited byJ. N. Coldstream and G. L. Huxley. 319pages, 88 plates. London, Faber and Faber, 1972. Price £20.00.

Kythera. Excavations and Studies Conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens. <i>Edited by</i>J. N. Coldstream and G. L. Huxley. 319<i>pages</i>, 88 <i>plates</i>. London, Faber and Faber, 1972. <i>Price</i> £20.00.

Kythera. Excavations and studies conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens. Ed. J. N. Coldstream and G. L. Huxley. London: Faber &amp; Faber. 1972. Pp. 319. 96 figs. 88 plates. £20·00.

Kythera. Excavations and studies conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens. Ed. J. N. Coldstream and G. L. Huxley. London: Faber &amp; Faber. 1972. Pp. 319. 96 figs. 88 plates. £20·00. - Volume 95

Kythera. Excavations and Studies Conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens

Kythera. Excavations and Studies Conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens

J. N. Coldstream and G. L. Huxley (eds.): Kythera: excavations and studies conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens. London: Faber, 1972. 319 pp., 88 pls., 795 figs. (10 folding throw-outs), 3 maps. £20.00

J. N. Coldstream and G. L. Huxley (eds.): Kythera: excavations and studies conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens. London: Faber, 1972. 319 pp., 88 pls., 795 figs. (10 folding throw-outs), 3 maps. £20.00

Kythera, Excavations and Studies Conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens. By J. N. Coldstream, G. L. Huxley, R. Hope Simpson, J. F. Lazenby, and A. S. Trik.

<i>Kythera, Excavations and Studies Conducted by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the British School at Athens</i>. By J. N. Coldstream, G. L. Huxley, R. Hope Simpson, J. F. Lazenby, and A. S. Trik.

Chemistry Probing the Past

Chemistry Probing the Past