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Nippur, Iraq expedition records, 1881-1900 (inclusive)

Extent:

20.0 linear feet

Abstract:

In 1887, the University of Pennsylvania agreed to sponsor an expedition to the Near East. The idea was conceived by Reverend John Punnett Peters, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Hebrew. Nippur was a pre-Biblical city-state located in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates, the area believed to be the "cradle of civilization." The museum conducted four expeditions between 1889 and 1898. The textual records for Nippur consist of 20 linear feet of files are arranged by Expedition (I, II, III, IV), as well as publications, maps and drawings. The documents for each expedition are separated according to type: Field Notes, Reports and Narratives, Correspondence, Financial Records.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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Gibeon expedition records, 1956-1964 (inclusive)

Extent:

6.0 linear feet

Abstract:

James Pritchard, first Curator of Biblical Archaeology, Professor of Religious Thought, Associate Director (1967-1976), and Director (1976-1977) at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, conducted his primary fieldwork in three sites in the Near East. Of these, locating the site of Ancient Gibeon (El-Jib) in Jordan was perhaps Pritchard’s most notable accomplishment. He and his team conducted five seasons of fieldwork here, discovering three prominent architectural features: a tunnel, pool, and the city wall. The archival records for these excavations consist six linear feet of field notes, reports, a field diary, correspondence, object catalogues, drawings, photographs and a photographic catalogue, an annotated map, publication notes, and financial records.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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Gournia, Crete expedition records, 1900-1917 (bulk) 1900-1933 (inclusive)

Extent:

1.0 linear feet

Abstract:

The textual records from the excavations of Gournia and the papers of Harriet Boyd Hawes consist of one linear foot of correspondence, financial records, field notes and drawings, drafts of lectures and materials for publication, and research notes. The records have been compiled from several sources, none of which contributed a significant original order. Sources of the records include the files of the American Exploration Society, the records of University of Pennsylvania Museum Mediterranean Section Curator Sara Yorke Stevenson, and the papers of Harriet Boyd Hawes, contributed to the Archives on two occasions (in 1973, by her son Alexander Hawes, and in 1993 by her daughter Mrs. Mary Allsebrook via researcher Dr. Vasso Fotou.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers, 1980-1996 (bulk) 1965-2005 (inclusive)

Extent:

54.0 cubic feet (the collection consists of twelve records storage containers of correspondence, thirty-seven records storage containers of original notes and data, plus two file boxes of bibliographic cards and note cards. )

Abstract:

Gregory L. Possehl, known for his discoveries in India and Pakistan, was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941 and studied at the University of Washington and the University of Chicago attaining his Ph.D.in anthropology from the latter in 1974. Possehl's field work in Pakistan and India explored the Harappan civilization who populated the Gujarat region of India including the sites of Rojdi, Oriyo Timbo, and Babar Kot from 2500 BC to 2000 BC. Possehl was funded for his work from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Possehl is also a noted professor at Penn in the Departments of Anthropology and Oriental Studies and a curator in the Asian section of the Penn Museum. He published award-winning books on the Harappan civilization and trained many future scholars in the field. The Gregory L. Possehl Indus Civilization papers are composed of twelve boxes of correspondence, a seven box visual archive of negatives, slides,...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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George Byron Gordon Central America expedition records, 1893-1924 (bulk) 1893-1956 (inclusive)

Extent:

0.35 linear foot

Abstract:

George Byron Gordon led expeditions to Copan at the end of the nineteenth century and, with his brother MacLaren Gordon, to Alaska in 1905 and 1907. As Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and as Director of the Museum, Gordon was first to conduct regular lectures to undergraduate and graduate students in Anthropology and oversaw one of the the largest periods of Museum growth. The G.B. Gordon Central America collection includes diaries, surveying notes, reports and stories from the Copan Expeditions and the Yucatan Expedition in 1910, original stories, articles, and book reviews written by Dr. Gordon, communication with The British Museum about Maya site excavation, Gordon's introductions composed for speakers for the Saturday Afternoon Lecture Series, speeches to professional organizations, and class lectures.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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Henry C. Mercer papers, 1891-1956 (inclusive)

Extent:

0.3 linear feet

Abstract:

Henry C. Mercer was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania on June 24, 1856. Following his graduation from Harvard University in 1879, he enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. Mercer studied law for one year and then "read law" with the firm of Freedley and Hollingsworth. While he was admitted to the bar in 1881, Mercer immediately left for Europe where he spent months traveling through Germany and France. Mercer embarked on a study and apprenticeship in the art of pottery making which he would pursue in later life. Mercer served as curator of American and Prehistoric Archaeology at the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania from the early to the late 1890s. The Henry C. Mercer papers fill one-half of an archival box and are divided into six series. The photographs are housed with the oversized materials.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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Gordion Project records, 1947-2008 (inclusive)

Extent:

7.0 linear feet

Abstract:

The Gordion Project collection documents the University of Pennsylvania survey and excavation of the ancient site of Gordion in central Turkey from 1947 until 2008. Collection series include excavation and conservation records under the authority of project directors Rodney S. Young (1950-1974), Keith R. DeVries (1975-1987) and G. Kenneth Sams (1988-2008) as well as fundraising and publication records during this period. Significant gaps and omissions in documentation occur after about 1990. The textual records are followed by photographs from the excavation site taken mostly between 1950 and 1975. Additional graphic material and field notebooks remain to be added to this collection.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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Roger D. Abrahams Papers, Folklore Archives, 1960-1994 (inclusive)

Extent:

3.0 linear foot

Abstract:

Roger D. Abrahams is a native of Philadelphia, PA. He received his B.A. at Swarthmore College, M.A. at Columbia University, and Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1986 he came to teach in the English and Anthropology Departments at the University of Pennsylvania following many years at the University of Texas and Scripps and Pitzer Colleges. While at Penn he served as the Founding Director for the Center for Folklore and Ethnography. The Roger D. Abrahams Collection consists of three linear feet of textual records related to his research in the Caribbean Islands and publications from throughout his career. Reel-to-reel tape recordings of songs, stories, and poems from the Caribbean, as well as photographic slides and negatives are also included in the collection.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]

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Wallace E. Frank notebook, 1945 (inclusive)

Extent:

1 volume (+1 leaf)

Abstract:

A green cloth volume, manufactured by the U.S. Government Printing Office, containing field notes written by Wallace E. Frank in 1945 while he was assigned to the United States Public Health Service at the Carter Memorial Laboratory in Savannah, Georgia.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]

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Nuzi, Iraq expedition records, 1929-1940 (bulk) 1925-1942 (inclusive)

Extent:

0.28 linear feet

Abstract:

The Harvard-Baghdad School Expedition (American Schools of Oriental Research, A.S.O.R) was sent to Excavate Nuzi near Kirkuk in Iraq. The expedition members consisted of staff from the Fogg Museum of Art, the Harvard Semitic Museum, and A.S.O.R., Baghad. Excavations commenced in 1927-1928. From 1929 to 1931, the University Museum extended financial aid and the services of a helper, C.Bache, in return for his field training. Very few records pertaining to this excavation are available in the Museum’s Archives, probably reflecting the Museum’s limited participation. Where possible, a chronological order was imposed on the Near East records.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]