Exploring the World Through Time: Exhibits at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, known as the Penn Museum, is a landmark institution dedicated to exploring and understanding human history and culture. Founded in 1887, the museum houses a vast collection of artifacts and objects from around the world, organized into various exhibits that showcase the diversity of human experience across time and geography. This article delves into the exhibits at the Penn Museum, highlighting their significance and the stories they tell.

A Legacy of Exploration and Discovery

The Penn Museum's origins lie in a successful archaeological expedition to Nippur, an ancient site in modern-day Iraq. This expedition, along with subsequent explorations, formed the foundation of the museum's extensive collections. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, museums commonly sponsored excavations, sharing ownership of discoveries with host countries. The Penn Museum followed this practice, ensuring that most of its objects have a known archaeological context, enhancing their value for research and presentation.

Architectural Significance

The museum building itself is a work of art, showcasing an Arts and Crafts and Eclectic style. Designed by a team of Philadelphia architects, including Wilson Eyre, Cope & Stewardson, and Frank Miles Day, the building features a rotunda, courtyards, gardens, a fountain, a reflecting pool, glass mosaics, iron gates, and stone statuary. The first phase was completed in 1899, followed by the rotunda in 1915 and subsequent additions, including the Coxe Memorial Wing in 1926 and the administrative wing in 1929.

Organization of Collections

The Penn Museum's collections are divided into three main areas: archaeology, ethnology, and physical anthropology. Archaeology focuses on artifacts recovered from past excavations, while ethnology encompasses objects and ideas collected from living peoples. Physical anthropology includes the physical remains of humans and nonhuman primates. The collections are organized geographically for curation and display.

Permanent Galleries: A Journey Through Civilizations

As of 2023, the Penn Museum features eleven permanent galleries, each offering a unique glimpse into different cultures and civilizations:

Africa Gallery

The Penn Museum houses one of the largest collections of African ethnographic and archaeological objects in the United States. The Sherbro Island collections are particularly extensive, resulting from a 1936-1937 expedition by Henry Usher Hall, Curator of General Ethnology. This collection includes textiles, sculptures, artifacts related to subsistence and household items, secret society objects, and medicine bundles. The Central African collection contains approximately 3,000 artifacts from the Democratic Republic of Congo, collected by Leo Viktor Frobenius in 1906. These artifacts represent the diverse sculptural forms of cultures such as the Kuba, Kongo, Luba, Suku, Yaka, Pende, Teke, Chokwe, and Luluwa. The Moroccan collection, acquired by Dr. and Mrs. Talcott Williams in 1898, includes clothing, shoes, rugs, weapons, jewelry, pottery, and baskets, documenting daily life in Morocco. In 2019, a newly renovated African gallery was unveiled, curated by Dr. Tufuku Zuberi, featuring a new dress designed by Breanna Moore.

Asia Gallery

The Asian collection comprises nearly 3,000 objects from China, Tibet, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, India, and other Asian countries. The collection focuses on China due to the efforts of Dr. George Byron Gordon. Although archaeological expeditions in China were unsuccessful, the museum acquired significant works of antiquity through purchases and donations, including porcelain vases and sculptures collected by J.P. Morgan. Another notable acquisition is the collection of William and Isabel Ingram Mayer, who explored Mongolia and northern China in 1930-1931. The Asian Gallery is located in the Harrison Rotunda and features a ceramic statue of a Luohan and two horse panels from Emperor Taizong's Mausoleum.

Egypt Gallery

The Ancient Egypt: From Discovery to Display exhibition showcases art, artifacts, and mummies from 5,000 years of ancient Egyptian civilization. The Coxe Memorial Egyptian Wing, added in 1924, houses a significant portion of the Egyptian collection.

Middle East Galleries

These galleries take visitors on a 10,000-year journey from the earliest villages and towns to complex cities in the Middle East.

Eastern Mediterranean Gallery

This gallery explores the cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, including ancient Greece and Rome.

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Etruscan Gallery

The Etruscan Gallery showcases the art and culture of the Etruscan civilization, which flourished in ancient Italy.

Greece Gallery

This gallery features artifacts from ancient Greece, highlighting its contributions to art, philosophy, and democracy.

Rome Gallery

The Rome Gallery displays artifacts from the Roman Empire, illustrating its vast influence on law, engineering, and culture.

Native American Voices Gallery

This gallery presents the history and culture of Native American peoples, with a focus on their perspectives and experiences. The North American archaeological collections include items dating from twenty thousand years ago to a few hundred years ago. These collections include artifacts excavated by Frank Hamilton Cushing in 1896 from Key Marco, Florida, and ethnographic holdings attributed to approximately 200 Indigenous nations, organized within eleven geographic regions. The strongest collections come from Alaska, the Northwest Coast, the Southwest, the Southeast, and the Sub-arctic regions. Louis Shotridge, from a Tlingit chiefly family, contributed to the Northwest Coast materials in the early 20th century. Frank Gouldsmith Speck also contributed to the Sub-Arctic ethnology collections.

Mexico and Central America Gallery

This gallery features art and artifacts from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. The Mesoamerican collections feature masks, ceramics, and textiles from Guatemala. The Lilly de Jongh Osborne collection includes 19th and early 20th century Guatemalan textiles, complete with outfits for men, women, and children. Ruben Reina's studies of ceramics production in Guatemala also contributed to the collection. The gallery also displays artifacts from the Penn Museum's excavation of the Mayan city of Tikal, Guatemala, and stelae from Caracol and Piedras Negras. Stela 14, excavated by Tatiana Proskouriakoff, is a significant object on display, featuring Mayan hieroglyphics that she deciphered.

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Sphinx Gallery

Upon entering the Penn Museum, visitors are greeted by the Sphinx of Ramses II, a monumental sculpture that serves as a symbol of the museum's dedication to ancient history and culture.

Other Collection Areas

In addition to the permanent galleries, the Penn Museum's collections are organized into other geographic groupings, including North, Central, and South America, Europe, the Mediterranean, the Near East, and Oceania. Many items from these collections are used for research and temporary exhibits. The South American collections include materials from Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, and Peru, representing indigenous tribes such as the Aymara, Quechua, and Yuracaré of Bolivia and various tribes from Brazil, Guyana, and Peru.

The Museum Library

The Museum Library, established in 1900, houses approximately 115,000 volumes, with a focus on Mesoamerican archaeology and the research of the university's professors. The library's origins trace back to the personal library of Daniel Garrison Brinton, acquired by the university. The library offers computing services, printing, scanning, and seating for 154 individuals.

Ongoing Research and Scientific Exploration

The Penn Museum continues to sponsor worldwide scientific explorations, contributing to new knowledge in archaeology and anthropology.

Accessibility

The Penn Museum is conveniently accessible via SEPTA public transportation, Indego bike share, or ride-share apps.

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