WDAS-FM encourages local communities to Imagine Africa

 

Imagine Africa media sponsor WDAS has been out in the community talking up
the Imagine Africa project.  In November, the WDAS street team was out at
the Universal Circus.  Look for the WDAS team out in the community this
winter and spring!

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Penn Museum Launches Online Collections Database

Looking for cheese on the Penn Museum Online Collections Database.

Just this week, the Penn Museum launched its Online Collections Database. This brand new resource currently encompasses over 314,000 object records and is illustrated with 46,000 images, stats that are expected to increase as the project moves forward. A keyword as well as an advanced search allow users to casually browse or specifically search for objects. A search for “cheese” unexpectedly turns up this terra cotta figurine carved in moulded relief from Iraq. Apparently, depicted on the tripod table in front of the male figure is a collection of stacked, rectangular objects that could be cheese. The “Highlights of the Collections” section includes a number of particularly important pieces from the Museum. A “Featured Themes/ Collections” section highlights the collections in fun ways – like exhibiting objects that depict faces. Additionally, an interactive feature allows the user to create his or her own collection of objects and share it with others. I can even make this exciting collection of early Chinese funerary objects and share it with you here! All in all, this database is an incredible and useful resource that makes the Museum’s collections open and accesible to many more people.

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Mummy of the Month: Pachamac Mummy Bale No. 26626

The excavation in 1896 close to the Temple of Pachacamac.

This mummy bale of a child is constructed of cotton textiles over a basket framework. Object No. 26626. Height: 0.94 m

Starting in January of 1896, Max Uhle began his excavation of the Pachacamac cemetery in Peru. The site consisted of graves from different eras, but the best preserved layer dated from the late 6th century CE. From this site, the Museum has many objects in its collections (click here to see a few). The tombs from the 6th century layer were built of stone and mud brick in a conical shape. Inside these tombs, Uhle made the extraordinary find of mummies wrapped in basket-framework bales stuffed with leaves of local trees, topped with a false head made of wood with human facial features. It seems as if the preservation of these mummies were due more to natural processes than to any sort of artificial mummification processes.

Location of Pachacamac along the Peruvian coast.

X-ray of the skull of the mummy in bale No. 26626 highlighting the separation of bone plates.

The x-ray of bale no. 26626 revealed a corpse positioned in a tightly curled position, wrapped in cotton padding. The padding made the exact contents of the bale hard to determine from the x-ray images. The presence of a bronze object, potentially a shawl pin or topu worn by women, near the chest of the mummy suggests that the child was a girl. The smaller bones and presence of adult teeth that had not yet erupted suggest that the the girl was approximately 12-years old at the time of her death. Additionally, the x-ray revealed a potential cause of death; there appeared to have been “keying” or separating of the bone plates in the child’s skull, indicating a serious skull condition such as a tumor. It is curious that the x-rays show no evidence of medical procedures attempted to treat the girl’s condition. Given the burial’s proximity to the main Pachacamac shrine, the family would have been of high social standing, and most likely not lacking in material wealth. Click Here to read the Expedition article by Stuart Fleming.

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Kongo Nail Figures

19th Century Nail Figures from Zaire. Nkisi N’kondi, Nail Figures, Lower Zaire River Region, Zaire (Kongo), 19th century. Penn Museum Object #s 30-46-2, AF 5361, AF 3684.
19th Century Nail Figures from Zaire. Nkisi N’kondi, Nail Figures, Lower Zaire River Region, Zaire (Kongo), 19th century. Penn Museum Object #s 30-46-2, AF 5361, AF 3684.

Meet the Nkisi Nkondi. These sacred items were carved by the people of the Congo, and used for protecting the village, fighting evil spirits, settling disputes, and sealing agreements. Each nail driven into the figure represents the taking of an oath, the finalization of a contract, or some other situation when the Nkondi’s power was invoked. If the agreement was broken, the Nkondi would would seek revenge and punish the guilty.

Want to see more of these at the Penn Museum?

Let us know by taking our survey.

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One Ticket, Two Awesome Museums

Joint ticketPenn Museum has partnered with the Mütter Museum, another of Philadelphia’s most unique and intriguing destinations, in offering a double admission ticket for both museums! Between the archaeological and anthropological wonders that grace the galleries of Penn Museum, and the many anatomical marvels on display at the Mütter, you’re bound to discover a thing or two about the human race that you didn’t know before. And even better, these tickets come with a price tag perfect for holiday gift-giving.

These Mütter Museum/Penn Museum double tickets are available for sale exclusively at the front desk of both museums. Cost is $20, adults ($4 off regular price!), or $14, students, seniors and military with valid ID (up to $3 off); museum info and directions are available here. Tickets are valid for one year after purchase, and you needn’t visit both destinations in the same day – but what a marvelous day that would be, wouldn’t it?

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Experience “Highlights of the Galleries” with new iPod Touch tour

Visitors can now explore Penn Museum’s world-class galleries in a brand new way, with the “Highlights of the Galleries” iPod Touch tour! This fun and fact-filled tour,  featuring translations in English, Spanish and American Sign Language, guides visitors through each of the Museum’s permanent galleries, helping them take a closer look at some of the most intriguing objects along the way.

The tour provides listeners with vibrant descriptions of the Museum’s unique artifacts, delving into the objects’ cultural relevance and their pathways to the Museum galleries. Beginning in the Lower Egypt gallery, listeners will find themselves traversing continents and centuries as the tour continues through Central America, Asia, the Middle East and onward. Learn about the Egyptian mummification process, the politics of ancient Rome, the wedding attire of American Indians and so much more in this (roughly) 75-minute adventure.

The tour includes an introduction from Dr. Richard Hodges, Williams Director of the Penn Museum, and was made possible by the Women’s Committee of the Penn Museum and a special gift from longtime Women’s Committee member and Museum supporter Doris Samitz.

Can’t get here to visit? Check out our playlist of stops along the Highlights of the Galleries tour, featuring actor and comedian CJ Jones.

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African and Caribbean Ambassadors, Area Business Leaders, Meet at the Penn Museum

Ambassadors from several African and Caribbean countries joined with Philadelphia area regional business leaders Friday, November 11, 2011, when the Penn Museum was host to a business roundtable discussion presented by the African and Caribbean Business Council (ACBC). The program ran throughout the morning, concluding with an African-style luncheon in the Museum’s Lower Egyptian Gallery, catered by Kilimandjaro of West Philadelphia, followed by an opportunity to view the Museum’s Imagine Africa gallery project and the African gallery.

The theme for the roundtable program, attended by about 100 people, was “Driving Economic Development and Building Access to the Global Market.”

Ayana Jones, business reporter for the Philadelphia Tribune, attended the roundtable and wrote this article about the event. The news was even picked up by the South Florida Caribbean News, and covered in this story.

More photos from the evening are online on the Penn Museum’s Flickr page.

Special Guests

(Left to right) H.E. Dan Ohene Agyekum, Ambassador of Ghana; H.E. Ms. Tebelelo Mazile Seretse, Ambassador of Botswana; H.E. Dr. Neil Parsan, Ambassador of Trinidad & Tobago; Richard Hodges, Penn Museum Williams Director; H.E. Seydou Bouda, Ambassador of Burkina Faso; Johnny Moloto, Deputy Chief of Mission, South African Embassy, in the Penn Museum’s Imagine Africa gallery project. The Ambassadors all took part in the African and Caribbean Business Council’s roundtable program, hosted by the Penn Museum. The event brought six ambassadors from African and Caribbean countries together with Philadelphia business leaders, Friday, November 11.

Special Guests

(L-R, back row): Unidentified man, H.E. Dr. Neil Parsan, Ambassador of Trinidad & Tobago; H.E. Seydou Bouda, Ambassador of Burkina Faso; Christopher Orji, Ph.D, Chair, African & Caribbean Business Council; H.E. Ms. Tebelelo Mazile Seretse, Ambassador of Botswana; H.E. Ebrahim Rasool, Ambassador of South Africa; Dr. Azuka Anyiam, Ph.d, President, African & Caribbean Business Council; Hon. Stanley Straughter, Chairman, Mayor’s Commission on African & Caribbean Immigrant Affairs; H.E. Dan Ohene Agyekum, Ambassador of Ghana; and Samuel Blango III. (L-R, front row) Ebenezer Padi Adjirackor, Commercial Minister, Embassy of Ghana; Archyn Brew-Butler, and Stanley Dike Sr., all seen here visiting Imagine Africa with the Penn Museum. They were all guests or speakers at the African and Caribbean Business Council’s roundtable program, hosted by the Penn Museum. The event brought six ambassadors from African and Caribbean countries together with Philadelphia business leaders, Friday, November 11.

Guests at Sphinx

(L-R) H.E. Dr. Neil Parsan, Ambassador of Trinidad & Tobago; H.E. Dan Ohene Agyekum, Ambassador of Ghana; Ebenezer Padi Adjirackor, Commercial Minister, Embassy of Ghana; Richard Hodges, Penn Museum Williams Director; and Dr. Azuka Anyiam, Ph.D, President, African & Caribbean Business Council, took part in the African and Caribbean Business Council’s roundtable program. Here they are in the Penn Museum’s Lower Egyptian Gallery. Penn Museum hosted the event, which brought six ambassadors from African and Caribbean countries together with Philadelphia business leaders, Friday, November 11.

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Imagine Africa Community Night

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Heart-warming photos from our last Imagine Africa Community Night… Which one is your favorite? Recognize anyone?

This is my favorite:


Dancing at Community Night

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10,000 Dominoes

On Sunday, November 6, the Super Domino Brother set up 10,000 colorful dominoes in the Chinese Rotunda and set off the Rube-Goldberg-esque extravaganza with an audience of more than 100 enthusiastic visitors. This was one of many events planned to celebrate Penn’s Year of Games.

See if you can hear an audience member yell, “That is freakin’ awesome!” in this YouTube video:

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Students! Discount Tickets Available for African Singer Oumou Sangaré with your Penncard

Follow #ImagineAfrica on Twitter!

Well known African musician Oumou Sangaré performs LIVE at the Penn Museum Saturday November 12 at 8 pm. The Museum’s African Gallery and the “Imagine Africa with the Penn Museum” gallery project remain open from 6:00 pm to 7:45 pm.

Tickets: $40 general admission, in advance and at the door.Students with Penncards, $20.

For ticket information: (215) 327-7783.

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