Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

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Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures A leading research center for the cultures of ancient West Asia and North Africa
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The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures is a world-renowned showcase for the history, art, and archaeology of the cultures of ancient West Asia and North Africa. The museum displays objects recovered by ISAC excavations in permanent galleries devoted to ancient Egypt, Nubia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, and the ancient site of Megiddo, as well as rotating special exhibits.

Next Friday, October 23, 9am–1pm is lending day for the Cultural Heritage Experiment! University of Chicago UChicago und...
10/17/2026

Next Friday, October 23, 9am–1pm is lending day for the Cultural Heritage Experiment! University of Chicago UChicago undergraduates and MA students are eligible to take part and connect with archival objects including photographs, object replicas, silk screens, and maps for the academic year to be displayed in their homes. Check out an object and participate in additional engagement opportunities!

Happy ! Written in minuscule script on a tablet which is 3.1 centimeters tall and 2.5 centimeters wide, this tablet rec...
10/17/2026

Happy ! Written in minuscule script on a tablet which is 3.1 centimeters tall and 2.5 centimeters wide, this tablet records what was given to various traveling officials. They were apparently provisioned with everything one might need, including bread, b**r, oil, fish, and onions to eat and drink, and soap to make sure they could keep clean while traveling.

A2932, baked clay, Iraq, Ur III period (ca 2037–2028 BCE)

Short inscriptions also appear on stone and sometimes their meaning can be difficult to decipher and we have little more...
10/16/2026

Short inscriptions also appear on stone and sometimes their meaning can be difficult to decipher and we have little more than a drawing of the inscription itself. The inscription in the second photograph here, is from the site of Tell Agrab in the Diyala and dates to the Early Dynastic period in the third millennium BCE. The fragment of a stone vase was found at the site which reads: "...King of Kish, offspring of 'Lady Dragon' (MUNUS.UŠUMGAL)." The shortness of the text means that it is unclear who is this individual known as "Lady Dragon" from whom the unnamed person is descended. The sculptural group from Tell Asmar, which dates to the slightly later Akkadian period, features two human figures and a dragon (as well as a smaller snake), which may come from a domestic shrine at the site.

Do you dare enter the Haunted Museum? Guided demon hunts, spooky stories, creepy crafts, mummification demonstrations, a...
10/15/2026

Do you dare enter the Haunted Museum? Guided demon hunts, spooky stories, creepy crafts, mummification demonstrations, and more!
Dress up in your costume and experience this frightfully fun family event at the ISAC Museum. Enjoy facepainting, crafts, spooky storytelling, and candy, of course! Join us on a guided demon hunt throughout the galleries, then learn all about Ancient Egyptian mummification at our Mummification Demonstration. Boogie the night away with live performances from the Dirt Red Brass Band and grab a Spooky Gift Bag on your way out. Register now for a spooktacular evening!

All ages welcome! Drop in any time from 4pm - 7pm on October 24. Please register in advance: https://bit.ly/HauntedMuseum2026

Ostraca, which are short texts written on pottery, stone, or other materials are commonly used in Egypt to write short n...
10/15/2026

Ostraca, which are short texts written on pottery, stone, or other materials are commonly used in Egypt to write short notes such as this one. In this instance, while it records a transaction (in this case a rental of a donkey), the worth of that transaction was such that it did not make sense to record it on a more expensive material, which would have been papyrus. The cost of the papyrus would have probably outweighed the worth of the transaction. The text records a casual rental of a donkey, probably in year 1 of Ramses IV, by Pn-niwt to a woodcutter P3-ds, who appears frequently in ostraca of years 1 and 2 of Ramses IV. P3-ds pays Pn-niwt for the labor of the donkey in grain. People bought donkeys as investments and then rented them out to be a source of revenue.

E19123, baked clay and ink, Egypt, Ramses IV (1154–1148 BCE)

It's ! This week we're turning our attention to short inscriptions on objects. Here, this small tablet, which measures ...
10/14/2026

It's ! This week we're turning our attention to short inscriptions on objects. Here, this small tablet, which measures just over 2 centimeters on each side, was written to record the receipt of a single dead lamb. In Ur III period, there is frequent documentation, even of small transactions such as this. It is interesting that they went to the effort to shape such a small tablet and record this transaction separately, rather than only recording it in a larger balanced account.

A3275, baked clay, Iraq, Ur III period (ca. 2100 BCE)

Join us for a special reception at the ISAC Museum during ASOR’s 2026 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Explore the permanent g...
10/12/2026

Join us for a special reception at the ISAC Museum during ASOR’s 2026 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Explore the permanent galleries, connect with fellow ASOR attendees, and visit the new exhibition Hartapu: The Forgotten King of Anatolia!

🗓️ Saturday, November 21

⏰️ 7:00–8:00 PM or 8:15–9:15 PM

Admission is complimentary for ASOR attendees, but space is limited. Advance registration is required: http://asor-isac-reception.eventbrite.com/

In Ur III Mesopotamia, there were "weaving mills" or "weaving houses" (e2 uš-bar) which employed a large number of indiv...
10/09/2026

In Ur III Mesopotamia, there were "weaving mills" or "weaving houses" (e2 uš-bar) which employed a large number of individuals in this period. One tablet from Lagash records some 10,000 weavers working in the province of Lagash alone in a single year. Evidently people of all ages were expected to work as weavers, although in that text about 2/3 of the weavers were women and some people who were working in the weaving mills were prisoners of war or enslaved people. Here, in the individuals working the weaving mill are being paid in barley and the hired workers are being sent to work in the weaving house of Šu-zu-ga2-ra-še3.

A2727, baked clay, Iraq, Ur III period (ca. 2112–2004 BCE)

A reminder that today Friday, October 9, the museum will be closing at 2pm. We look forward to welcoming you to the muse...
10/09/2026

A reminder that today Friday, October 9, the museum will be closing at 2pm. We look forward to welcoming you to the museum on Saturday, October 10.

This textile initially looks like one large piece of cloth that might be used as a wall hanging or covering something, b...
10/09/2026

This textile initially looks like one large piece of cloth that might be used as a wall hanging or covering something, but it is in fact a piece of clothing. The slit in the center was for the neck for it to go over the head of the individual who was wearing it. There are two narrow purple stripes that run the entire length on either side of the opening for the neck. The piece would have been placed of the head and then presumably belted as needed. The extremely good preservation is the result of having been found at a grave at the site of Qustul in Nubia. The textile looks similar to those found in Egypt at the same time. It is also quite a generous size at 1.4 meters wide and 2.48 meters long.

E20349A, wool, Nubia (Qustul), Meroitic or later (3rd century CE or later)

Address

1155 E 58th Street
Chicago, IL
60637

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

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(773) 702-9514

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