Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

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.

Even when a statue is fragmentary, such as this one, the inscription helps to tell us who the statue depicted, even if n...
06/17/2026

Even when a statue is fragmentary, such as this one, the inscription helps to tell us who the statue depicted, even if nothing of the individual is preserved. Found in the remains of the Ramesseum, Ramses II's mortuary temple, by Quibell, this is the right side of a seated statue. The inscription is also not entirely straightforward, but it is for someone named Pare, which may be a variant of the name Penre. Pare is said to be the "overseer of the southern foreign countries" (Nubia) and while the fragment does not bear other titles, it has been argued that he is Penre, Viceroy of Kush during the reign of Hatshepsut. Penre is also identified as the "overseer of southern foreign countries" and "king's son."

E1568, granite, Egypt, Dynasty 18 (1479–1457 BCE)

This week we're looking at sculpture in the ISAC Museum! While we often think of sculpture as being from a single piece ...
06/16/2026

This week we're looking at sculpture in the ISAC Museum! While we often think of sculpture as being from a single piece of stone, as we can see from these bull ears from the site of Persepolis in Iran, that is not necessarily the case. Instead of the bull being carved from a single block of stone, the hours and ears slotted into the larger sculpture. This clearly would be practical, since then these pieces could be carved separately and slotted in later, rather than someone attempting to carve tiny ears and horns on a much larger head. We can see the slots for the ears and horns in this historic photograph of one of the bull sculptures from Persepolis found in the ISAC excavations.

A24080, limestone, Iran, Achaemenid period (550–330 BCE)

Today! Joint ARCE-ISAC lecture this Saturday, June 13, 5–6pm Central Time (live in Breasted Hall and available to stream...
06/13/2026

Today! Joint ARCE-ISAC lecture this Saturday, June 13, 5–6pm Central Time (live in Breasted Hall and available to stream over Zoom, but not recorded). Dr. Brian Muhs, Associate Professor of Egyptology at ISAC will give the lecture: ⁠
"Individuals, Households, Families, and the Law in Ancient Egypt." Most individuals in ancient Egypt lived as members of corporate households, though they might move from their birth household to another through marriage, adoption, or by founding a new household of their own. Each household was governed by a household head, whose authority was sanctioned by law and custom. Household heads controlled household revenues and allocated resources among household members, and could even arrange for succession to their headship and the distribution of their property after their own deaths. However, household heads could also be constrained by the expectations of and obligations to other household members and society, and by legal agreements with household members and outsiders. At the same time, individuals also belonged to families and kinship groups, by birth, marriage or adoption, which extended beyond their households, and which also played an important role in inheritance. This paper will explore how individuals, households, and families interacted with each other and with the law, especially in the New Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Periods.

Sometimes we have quite extensive information about particular families, such as this archive from the site of Hawara, l...
06/12/2026

Sometimes we have quite extensive information about particular families, such as this archive from the site of Hawara, located at the entrance to the Fayyum in Egypt. The papyri, primarily written in Demotic with some Greek, and give us extensive understanding of some of the important business dealings of this family. The archive is of a family of god's sealers and embalmers from Hawara and has documents that range over almost 150 years. It consists of 5 annuity contracts (where a woman pays a man a certain amount of money and then he agrees to support her with goods and money annually) and these payments can be inherited, as well as donations, sales, mortgage agreements, and a loan repayment. All these documents allow us to reconstruct the family and as one can see from the family tree, this is extremely complicated and we can also get a sense of the property that they owned and some of their neighbors.

E17841, E25255–E25263, E25388, papyrus and ink, Dynasty 30–Ptolemaic (365/364 BCE–221 BCE)

to the photographs of the Armenian-Iranian photographer Antonio Sevruguin. As we can se in his photographs of people, ...
06/12/2026

to the photographs of the Armenian-Iranian photographer Antonio Sevruguin. As we can se in his photographs of people, Sevruguin's pictures of landscapes and architecture are carefully staged. While the focus is on the palace that dominates the hillside overlooking the valley, one can just see in the foreground, very much in shadow, what seems to be two horses, one with a pack and another in front of a wheel, which may be a cart. In addition to the palace, the double line of trees in front of the road is emphasized to the viewer. The description with the photograph notes that the large building is a Qajar royal palace just outside of Tehran. The photograph further notes that the present royal family always liked to build palaces on elevated ground.

In the ancient world, as today, families did not always get along. This tablet, a letter from Nabu-iqisa to his brother ...
06/11/2026

In the ancient world, as today, families did not always get along. This tablet, a letter from Nabu-iqisa to his brother Nabu-mushetiq-urri, shows signs of a certain amount of familial tension. After beginning the letter wishing the blessing of Bel and Nabu on his brother, Nabu-iqisa gets to the actual issue. Namely, he first complains that "I have sent you 2 or 3 letters (but) I have not seen (a response). Not only is Nabu-mushetiq-urri not writing the letters his brother wants, he also apparently complains but never gives in return. The tone of the message then shifts to Nabu-iqis saying he is sending salt for the people of Borsippa, presumably along with the letter. The tone then shifts again and Nabu-iqisa then states: "There is an injustice against me" before asking his brother to bring someone with him when he visits to irrigate land. Therefore, it is clear the Nabu-iqisa is upset at his brother for a variety of reasons, but is still sending him things and anticipates him visiting, in spite of all these issues, which presumably will be discussed when Nabu-mushetiq-urri visits, assuming he does not think the better of it.

A1054, baked clay, Iraq, Neo-Babylonian period (626–539 BCE)

It's ! This sales document, written in cuneiform, dates to the Seleucid period and comes from the site of Uruk. In it, ...
06/10/2026

It's ! This sales document, written in cuneiform, dates to the Seleucid period and comes from the site of Uruk. In it, a woman sells her son an empty plot of land. The question is what is actually happening here. That is, does the son actually buy the plot of land from his mother or not? Or is this, as seems more likely, a legal fiction whereby through the sales document, the mother is able to guarantee that her son will inherit the plot of land by him "buying" it from her. There are other documents in the Hellenistic period were a man gives land to his wife with the stipulation that after her death, it will go to their sons, for example. Therefore this text seems to be a way to get around any possible issues with inheritance by turning it into a "sale."

A3671, baked clay, Iraq, Seleucid period (312 BCE–141 BCE)

Now available on the ISAC YouTube page! The ISAC Visiting Scholar lecture, "A Treasure Box Buried in Sand. Africana Byza...
06/09/2026

Now available on the ISAC YouTube page! The ISAC Visiting Scholar lecture, "A Treasure Box Buried in Sand. Africana Byzantina from Nubia." This lecture, by Artur Obłuski, director of the Poilish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, focused on landmark discoveries that have transformed our understanding of Nubian societies between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, with particular emphasis on two historic capitals: Faras and Old Dongola. Drawing on key excavations and recent interdisciplinary research, it highlights spectacular finds—from monumental architecture and urban landscapes to funerary evidence, inscriptions, and painted decoration—that illuminate religious change, political authority, and everyday life along the Middle Nile.
Watch It here: https://bit.ly/ISACObluskiYouTube

This week we're looking at evidence for families in the ancient world. Inscriptions frequently mention various individua...
06/09/2026

This week we're looking at evidence for families in the ancient world. Inscriptions frequently mention various individuals, their spouses, parents, and children, sometimes in great detail. And sometimes families could be quite large, such as this statue base of Djedhor son of Djedhor and Tasheritentaihet. In addition to mentioning Djedhor, his wife Tayhesi, they are also depicted on the statue base in addition to their children and Djedhor's daughter with his other wife, Tayhor. On one side of the statue base Djedhor, followed by his wife Tayhesi are depicted. They are followed by three daughters are listed as Khut, Tasheritentayisw, Tayhesi, all the daughters of Tayhesi. The fourth daughter, Bastetiyw is said to be the daughter of Tayhor. Behind the fourth daughter is the wife Tayhor. On the other side of the statue base is Djedhor, followed by his sons: Hori, Horpabik, Djedhorpaisw, Irtyhorraw, Djedhorpabik, Djedhorpanebkahet, and Djedhorpaisjerw all sons of Tayhesi. The status of Tayhor remains unclear, but it seems likely she passed away.

E10589, basalt and plaster, Egypt, Macedonian period (315 BCE)

In case you missed it, the ISAC Visiting Scholar lecture by Vincent Francigny, CNRS, is now available on YouTube! His le...
06/08/2026

In case you missed it, the ISAC Visiting Scholar lecture by Vincent Francigny, CNRS, is now available on YouTube! His lecture, "Sudan: a Cultural Heritage at Risk" focused on cultural heritage in the Sudan. Caught in a war that has ravaged its land, killed and displaced its population, Sudan has for several years been experiencing a crisis of unprecedented scale. Endowed with a rich heritage that has been the focus of extensive international cooperation, the country faces numerous challenges in preserving the remains of its ancient past, safeguarding its collections and restoring an academic network that has been profoundly shaken. This presentation will revisit the origins of the conflict and assess its impact on the country’s archaeological heritage, before providing an overview of the current situation and of some initiatives undertaken in the field. Watch here: https://bit.ly/ISACFrancignyLectureYouTube

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