Exhibitions
Body Modification Ancient and Modern
People around the world have been piercing, tattooing, and painting their bodies for ages.
The Real Me: Therapeutic Narrative in Cosmetic Surgery
Body modification takes many forms world-wide, from temporary painting and dying of the skin to permanent modification of body shape or surface texture.
Read more: The Real Me: Therapeutic Narrative in Cosmetic Surgery
The Ancient Greek World
Greece is the southeasternmost region on the European continent. It is defined by a series of mountains, surrounded on all sides except the north by water, and endowed with countless large and small islands.
Traditional Navigation in the Western Pacific
Is there a primitive mentality essentially different from a civilized one? Or do people learn and mentally organize their experiences in similar ways in spite of differences in their cultures and in the content of what they have to learn?
Applied Sciences
Penn Museum's research includes a focus on the application of modern scientific techniques that will aid the interpretation of archaeological contexts and the materials recovered from those contexts, during both current excavations and past ones.
Egypt: A New Look at an Ancient Culture
This website offers an overview of the Penn Museum's excavations and takes visitors on a virtual tour through the Egyptian Galleries and Collections.
Funerary Feast of King Midas
Fifty years ago, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology began excavations at the ancient Phrygian capital of Gordion in central Turkey.
Glassmaking in Roman Times
This website explores several aspects of the history of glassworking throughout the six centuries of Roman domination of the Mediterranean world.
Origins and Ancient History of Wine
Fermented beverages have been preferred over water throughout the ages: they are safer, provide psychotropic effects, and are more nutritious.
The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses. The festival and the games were held in Olympia, a rural sanctuary site in the western Peloponnesos.
