Volume 59 / Number 1

2017

Spotlight On: Captain Cook's Barkcloth Books

On The Cover: British explorer Captain Cook traveled the Pacific in the 1770's. On his journeys, he collected samples of barkcloth, made form the inner bark of trees, which were later made into "sample" books. Read about these books and Captain Cook and these barkcloth books in the article.

photo of conservators

Vol. 59 / No. 1

Transformation Ahead: The New Penn Museum

Through the Penn Museum Building Transformation Campaign, the Penn Museum will completely renovate the historic Coxe and Harrison Wings, letting […]

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Book cover

Vol. 59 / No. 1

Exploring Sunken Cities of Egypt: Book News + Reviews

Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds By Franck Goddio and Auréliea Masson-Berghoff, eds. (New York, Thames & Hudson, 2016) 272 pages, […]

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archival photo

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: Alessandro Pezzati

Museum Exhibitions, 1890–1990: From the Archives

Known Worldwide for its pioneering fieldwork, the Penn Museum surprises the visitor with its beautiful building, extensive collections, and impressive […]

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photo

Vol. 59 / No. 1

Museum News

Johnson Wins AIA Outstanding Public Service Award Jessica Johnson, Head of Conservation at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute and a […]

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Vol. 59 / No. 1

Meet our Members – Peter and Pamela Freyd: Member News

Drs. Peter and Pamela Freyd have been academics, educators, and supporters of cultural institutions in Philadelphia for more than 50 […]

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archival photo of people in Harrison auditorium

Vol. 59 / No. 1

Global Classroom: News from Learning Programs

Bringing the Museum into Neighborhoods The Free Library of Philadelphia has several branches near schools that participate in Unpacking the […]

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students sitting around a table

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: Chantel White

In the Labs – Identifying Ancient Cooking Practices and Ingredients: A New Database for Archaeobotany

Over the past academic year, a new research project has begun in the Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials […]

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photo of people on hill

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: Susannah Fishman, Jeyhun Eminli, Lara Fabian and Emil Iskenderov

Report from the Field – In the Mountains, between Empires: Notes From the Lerik in Antiquity Archaeological Project

The first season of the collaborative Azerbaijani-American Lerik in Antiquity Archaeological Project (LAAP), co-directed by Ph.D. student Lara Fabian (Penn […]

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photo of Mason

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: David A. Schwartz

John Alden Mason: Life of a Renaissance Anthropologist

This is the story of Dr. John Alden Mason (1885–1967), one of the last of the great generalist anthropologists of […]

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photos of watercolor

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: Billie Lythberg

Captain Cook’s Barkcloth Books: A Tale of Three 18th-Century Sample Books

In the Summer of 1919, George Byron Gordon, the Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, […]

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photo of village

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: Aram Yardumian, Theodore G. Schurr, Ramaz Shengelia, Davit Chitanava, Shorena Laliashvili, Lia Bitadze and Irma Laliashvili

Ancient Lineages: Reconstructing the Genetic History of Svaneti, Northwest Georgia

At the dawn of the common era, the Greek historian and geographer Strabo composed brief descriptions of the numerous tribes […]

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photo of object

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: William B. Hafford

City of the Moon: New Excavations at Ur

The ancient city of Ur was dedicated to the Sumerian moon god—today it resembles a lunar landscape. From 1922 to […]

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Map of excavation sites

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: Julian Siggers

An Active Research Museum: From the Director

As an active research museum, the Penn Museum’s knowledge of the human story is ever-evolving. Continued exploration of sites around […]

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handprint in cement

Vol. 59 / No. 1

By: Jane Hickman

The Trace of a Child: From the Editor

When I was two years old, my father gently pressed my hand into cement to create a record of my […]

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