By: Bill Wierzbowski

One hundred years ago this year (when the Penn Museum was just celebrating the 25th anniversary of its founding) a letter arrived on the desk of then Director, George Byron Gordon.  The post was from James H. McGlaughlin, who ran a trading post on Standing Rock Reservation, in North Dakota.  In it, McGlaughlin replied to […]

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By: Kate Pourshariati

This summer (2012) an intern from Kenyon College, Melanie Shelton, spent over 320 hours doing research in the Sol Worth papers at University of Pennsylvania. During this time, she constructed a website based on manuscripts from the Navajo Film Themselves/Through Navajo Eyes project. The original project took place in 1966 in Pine Springs, Arizona and […]

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By: Brad Hafford

Our current Ur digitization database contains all of the known links between museum artifacts and the information gathered in the field, but around 40% of the objects that were excavated at Ur are missing that connection. Time and storage, and even human error both in the field and in later inventories, have stripped away some […]

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By: Alyssa Kaminski

This ceramic pot made in Brazil circa 1000-1500 CE was collected by William C. Farabee during his Amazonian Expedition in 1913. Its intricate designs are created from incising, or cutting into, the red clay while it’s still soft. Notice the figures sitting below each handle. Penn Museum Object #SA1835. See this and other objects like it on […]

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By: Alyssa Kaminski

This wooden stool is supported by a female figure bearing the traits of the Luba identity. The woman sculpted traits indicate that she represents physical perfection.  The designs across her torso emulate scarification, a permanent body modification formed by scaring, burning, or cutting into the skin. She also has her hair pulled up into an […]

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By: Ashley Harper

Cape consisting of bundles of small yellow, red, and black feathers tied in overlapping rows to a netted foundation of plant fiber.  Like Object of the Day #14, a long feather cloak, this cape was an item of aristocratic regalia and a signifier of rank in ancient Hawaii.  Full length cloaks were worn by the […]

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By: Moriah Shtull

Penn Museum helps local libraries expand knowledge and understanding of human cultures through the Adopt an Artifact program. Adopting an Artifact from the Penn Museum can be done on several levels, each level providing various benefits and opportunities. For more information about the different levels, visit the Adopt an Artifact site. When a library adopts an […]

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By: Josef Wegner

Almost all Egyptian gods and goddesses could take the form of an animal. Osiris, the god of the dead, never developed animal associations. That is because he symbolizes the idea of the mummified pharaoh. To the ancient Egyptians, Osiris was the first mummy in history and every person whose body was mummified was following in […]

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By: Ashley Harper

It’s Shark Week and how better to celebrate than with a shark inspired creation! Enjoy our shark salad! For this summer’s best dish please read directions and reference images below 🙂 What you will need: 1: Shark hook, from Oceania, held in Penn Museum’s collection. For more info click here! 2: Weapon with shark teeth, […]

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By: Stephen Lang

This statue of Fudo, one of the Myo-o (Knowledge Kings), sits in the midst of fire symbolizing invulnerability. Also known as the immovable one, he is a part of a fierce class of protective deities who form an important category in Shingon art. Often depicted holding a lasso and vajra hilted sword, the statue was […]

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