Radio Interview & Podcast - Pioneers of the Past Exhibit

Accessed February 19, 2010 | Oriental Institute - Facebook | Dr. Emily Teeter and friends will be talking about the new exhibit at the Oriental Institute called Pioneers of the Past from 9 - 11pm CT on WGN Radio AM 720 today (Friday, February 19, 2010). They will take callers' questions starting at 10pm.

I believe you can listen live online. I'm not sure if you have to reside in the States for this feature to work (I know I can't watch Dr. Who episodes from the official web site because I don't live in the UK). If this happens to be the case, there will be a podcast of the interview after the broadcast: http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/ext720/.

Naughty Hieroglyphic Graffiti at the UofC

Originally published February 2, 2010 | Crescat Graffiti, Vita Excolatur | by Quinn Dombrowski | Not nearly as obviously naughty as the Hatshepsut-Senenmut graffito, but just as interesting, is the latest bit of graffiti (in hieroglyphs no less!) to grace the walls of the library at the University of Chicago. Who knew that Egyptological scholars (or perhaps students?) at the UofC had dirty minds (because that's the sentence that just pops into one's head when one is studying in the library!) Fifty scribes just punched the air.

Oriental Institute's New Exhibit - James Henry Breasted

Originally published January 10, 2010 | Chicago Tribune | by William Mullen |

New exhibit -Pioneers of the Past- tells tale of James Henry Breasted, whose 1919-1920 travels through the Middle East established center's famed antiquities collection, which celebrates it's 90th anniversary with the temporary exhibit's opening on January 12.

Founder’s Archaeological Journey to Middle East Featured in Oriental Institute Exhibit

Originally published January 6, 2010 | Oriental Institute | by William Harms |

This article promotes the newest exhibit in the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute Museum called Pioneers of the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920. It also includes background history of the exhibit's inspiration, J. H. Breasted, and the goals of this exhibit.

Attendance is free, with a suggested donation rate for adults ($7) and children ($4) (very minimal, considering admission to most museums).

Here's an excerpt from the article:

A new exhibition at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum chronicles an amazing and sometimes dangerous journey 90 years ago by James Henry Breasted, a famed archaeologist who brought back Egyptian artifacts to Chicago.

Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919–1920, opens Tuesday, Jan. 12 and will feature artifacts as well as photos and letters documenting the journey of Breasted, who was the first American to receive a Ph.D. in Egyptology.

Highlights from the OI Collection: Egypt

Originally published October 6, 2009 | the Oriental Institute

The 'Highlights From The Collection' web page for Ancient Egypt has been updated, showcasing and detailing thirteen objects from the Oriental Institute’s collection, accompanied by photographs. These objects include funerary objects and masks, papyri, statues and figures, reliefs and stelae, coffins, and magic bricks, just to name a few. You can sort these objects by subject and region.

Exhibit - Pioneers to the Past at the OI

Originally published October 8, 2009 | the Oriental Institute Blog | by Charles Ellwood Jones

Visit the Oriental Institute's web site to learn more about this exhibit (includes contact and venue information), which chronicles the incredible adventure story of the James Henry Breasted 1919-20 expedition through photographs, excerpts from letters, original documents from the archives, and objects purchased on the trip. The exhibit starts in January 12 and ends August 30, 2010. Make a New Years resolution to visit it!

The Oriental Institute Rendered 3D in Google Earth

Originally published October 5, 2009 | OI Blog

It's almost like being there...well, almost.

Book - The Libyan Anarchy: Inscriptions from Egypt's Third Intermediate Period

Accessed September 30, 2009 | Society of Biblical Literature | by Robert K Ritner

The Oriental Institute is on Facebook

Updated September 22, 2009 | The OI Blog | by Charles Ellwood Jones

If you haven't discovered it already, there are many Oriental Institute groups and pages on Facebook. If you are on Facebook and are an archaeology enthusiast, perhaps you'd like to "friend" Meresamun or the OI at the University of Chicago or catch all the latest research updates at the Research Archives of the OI. Follow the above link to find more places on Facebook to become connect with OI.

Modern Review of a 1936 Review of Human Adventure

Accessed September 8, 2009 | The New York Times

James Henry Breasted's The Human Adventure, a short documentary about the excavation and research activities of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, received a rather dour review from the New York Times in 1936, according to Archaeopop, but I think it's charming. To read the 1936 review, you have to sign in (it's free) to the NY Times.

The Oriental Institute Back in Nubia

Originally published September 2, 2009 | The Oriental Institute Blog | by Charles Ellwood Jones

The Oriental Institute announces that it will be back to the archaeological fields of Nubia, which began in 2006. The following is a direct link to the OI's Nubian Expedition pages, which chronicles its efforts done there, from the early years in 1905-1907 to today.

A New Letter (W) Has Been Added to the Chicago Demotic Dictionary

Originally published August 10, 2009 | Oriental Institute

A new letter has been added to the Chicago Demotic Dictionary (W). I have provided the direct link to that particular page in the CDD (the above link will send you to the home page of the CDD's table of contents, where you can download all letters of the dictionary).

A New Letter (H) Has Been Added to the Chicago Demotic Dictionary

Originally published July 31, 2009 | Oriental Institute

A new letter has been added to the Chicago Demotic Dictionary (H with a dot). I have provided the direct link to that particular page in the CDD (the above link will send you to the home page of the CDD's table of contents, where you can download all letters of the dictionary).

New Audio Tours of the Oriental Institute Museum Galleries Available

Originally published July 21, 2009 | Oriental Institute

Audio tours of the Oriental Institute Museum galleries are now available for free download so that you can use your own iPod or other MP3 player to take any or all of our special tours. Current tours are 'Highlights of the Collection of the Oriental Institute,' a tour of 'The Ancient Near East in the Time of Tutankhamun,' and a special 'Ancient Egypt for Kids' tour.

The following is a direct link to the self guided audio tours

Oriental Institute News: "Easily Overlooked Ornamentation"

Originally published July 7, 2009 | The Oriental Institute Blog | by Charles Ellwood Jones

WTTW's Chicago Tonight has a feature called Hidden Chicago.

On June 10, 2009 they broadcast a feature on architectural ornamentation Easily Overlooked Ornamentation. 5:10 into that broadcast is a segment on James Henry Breasted and the typmanum over the Oriental Institute doorway.

Mark (Lehner) and Me (Zahi Hawass)

Originally published June 30, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

Hawass reflects on how he first met Mark Lehner and how they've been close friends since then. He recalls the time when he crossed paths with Lehner's acquaintances who followed the Cayce mythology; when the two joined forces in the States to give 10 lectures across the country; and when he and Lehner worked on their doctorates in the States and eventually when their separate ways upon completion (he to Egypt and Lehner to Chicago). Hawass concludes with how recent filming near the Great Sphinx at Giza brought both men back to their earlier years and past endeavors together.

New Oriental Institute Publications

Originally published June 15, 2009 | Oriental Institute News

* Quseir Al-Qadim 1978: Preliminary Report. By D. S. Whitcomb and J. H. Johnson. Originally published in 1979.

* Ancient Textiles from Nubia: Meroitic, X-Group, and Christian Fabrics from Ballana and Qustul. By Christa C. Mayer Thurman and Bruce Williams. Originally published in 1979.

* Most Ancient Egypt. By William C. Hayes. Originally published in 1965.

* When Egypt Ruled the East. By George Steindorff and Keith C. Seele, Revised by Keith C. Seele. Originally published as second edition in 1957.

* The Culture of Egypt. By John A. Wilson. Originally published in 1956.

* Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society and Nature. By Henri Frankfort. Originally published in 1948.

* Ancient Egyptian Paintings Selected, Copied, and Described. Volume III: Descriptive Text. By Nina M. Davies with the Editorial Assistance of Alan H. Gardiner. Originally published in 1936.

* OIP 34. The Egyptian Coffin Texts 1: Texts of Spells 1-75. By Adriaan De Buck. Originally published in 1935.

* OIP 17. Paleolithic Man and the Nile-Faiyum Divide in Nubia and Upper Egypt: A Study of the Region during Pliocene and Pleistocene Times. By K. S. Sandford and W. J. Arkell. Originally published in 1933.

* OIP 4. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, Volume 2: Facsimile Plates and Line for Line Hieroglyphic Transliteration. J. H. Breasted. Originally published in 1930, revised in 1991.

* OIP 3. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, Volume 1: Hieroglyphic Transliteration, Translation, and Commentary. J. H. Breasted. Originally published in 1930, revised in 1991.

Ancient Mummy's Face Recreated With CT Scans

Originally published June 25, 2009 | Fox News | by Clara Moskowitz

More regarding the facial reconstruction of Meresamun's face, featuring both artists' renderings. The artwork is now on display at the Oriental Institute in Chicago.

The Artifacts of Life

Originally published June 23, 2009 | University of Southern California | by Carl Marziali

Lynn Swartz Dodd of the University of Southern California will travel with her students to Chicago with bronze age artifacts from Ancient Egypt and surrounding areas where they will be x-rayed at the Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source in order to learn more about their makeup and structure.

The following is a video on this endeavor:

Cold Case Techniques Bring Mummy's Face to Life

Originally published June 22, 2009 | The University of Chicago News

This article features information straight from the source at the University of Chicago about the facial reconstruction of Meresamun's face. The post provides links to the institution's special web and Facebook pages dedicated to and high resolution images of the artists' recreations of her. There is also a video featured.