Collections from Across the Globe
A million world wonders. 10,000 years of history. An ongoing exploration of the human experience.
From groundbreaking excavations to ongoing innovation
Transforming understanding of our common human experience
The Penn Museum respectfully acknowledges that it is situated on Lenapehoking, the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape.
Home to over a million extraordinary artifacts and archaeological finds, the Penn Museum has been uncovering our shared humanity across continents and millennia since 1887. In bridging archaeology (the study of objects made by humans), with anthropology, (the science of humanity), we chart a course for finding one’s own place in the arc of human history.
We invite everyone to join our incredible journey of discovery and to dig deeper.
Statue (2450 BCE)Penn Museum
Ram in the Thicket
This offering stand is one of the most famous objects from the Royal Cemetery at the ancient city of Ur in present-day Iraq. It was found as part of a royal burial, among women arranged in a banquet scene.
The goat is eating the “plant of life”—a symbol of fertility.
Beaded Collar
Egyptian men and women both wore jewelry. Necklaces like this (known as the wesekh) were especially popular. This example is made of faience, a glazed material. Faience was a substitute for expensive semi-precious stones like turquoise.
The falcon heads on the ends represent the god Horus, offering protection to the wearer.
Lukumbi (Slit Drum)
The six musical tones played on lukumbi (slit drums) mimic the sound of Tetela speech. Tetela men in Central Africa learn to combine these tones to communicate messages about warfare and ceremonies, and to make music for dancing. The sound of this drum can carry for ten miles.
A Tetela craftsman created this lukumbi by hollowing out part of a tree trunk through a slit in the top of the drum. Because of its large size, it may have belonged to a village chief.
Effigy Urn (200-600 CE)Penn Museum
Effigy Urn
This urn was placed in a tomb in southern Mexico and may represent a ruler, priest, or god.
Zapotec rulers often claimed to be descended from gods and wore masks to impersonate divine beings in rituals.
Tatanua (Funerary Mask)
Dancers wear tatanua during funerary festivals on the island of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. As spirits enter the masks, dancers take on the identity of people from the community who have passed away The ceremony brings the community together to remember the dead.
Gold Ornament
Lords of Eastern Central America jingled as they walked. Artists fashioned gold bells in the forms of animals that were pinned to clothing or worn around the neck as pendants.
Goldworking first developed in South America around 2000 BCE and spread north. It didn’t emerge in what are today the countries of Central America until thousands of years later.
Buzi (Rank Badge)
In China, officials wore beautifully embroidered badges on their clothing to show their rank in the military or civil service. Women wore matching badges to honor their husbands’ service.
A different animal represented each rank, and images of plants symbolized luck and longevity.
Tomb Model (2130-1980 BCE)Penn Museum
Tomb Model of a Sailing Boat
Travel on the Nile River was an essential part of ancient life in Egypt. This boat comes from the tomb of a man named Khentkhety at the site of Sedment.
With two boat models, the deceased is magically equipped with a sailing vessel for traveling south and a rowing boat for northbound travel in the afterlife.
Tablet (750-300 BCE)Penn Museum
Babylonian Anti-witchcraft Tablet
This tablet describes rituals performed to combat witchcraft. An exorcist held a medicinal plant and beer and prayed to Shamash, god of the sun and justice. He listed the evil acts of magic done by the witch or warlock and promised loyalty to Shamash if they were punished.
Partial translation from similar anti-witchcraft tablets:
“...be it a warlock or a witch, be it a man, be it a woman, be it a dead or living person: let their sorceries turn on them like a trap, let them catch them!”
Amphora (ca. 550-525 BCE) by Near Exekias: the Group of the Naples Psykter-AmphoraPenn Museum
Amphora
Greek storytellers sang myths and stories in competitions while playing instruments. Here, a musician plays a kithara (origin of the word “guitar”), singing an epic tale. Most Greeks came to know epic poems, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, through these musical performances.
War Bonnet (ca. 1876 CE)Penn Museum
Lakota War Bonnet
The feathered war bonnet is an enduring icon of Native American identity, strength, and perseverance. Traditionally worn by high-ranking warriors in battle, war bonnets are worn today by tribal leaders on the most formal occasions.
This well-worn bonnet is covered with dozens of eagle flight feathers, sacred symbols of strength among the Lakota and other North American tribes.
Visitors in the Middle East GalleriesPenn Museum
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