The Museum Journal

Originally published from 1910–1935, the Museum Journal includes articles which may not reflect the current views and values of the Penn Museum.

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The scope and purpose of the Journal make it a standard publication of merit, containing much information regarding exploration and kindred topics which cannot be had elsewhere... It will relate the history of expeditions in the field and give descriptions of all new acquisitions.
A New Departure — Volume I - Number 1 (1910)
Rooms east of the Temple of Amenophis III

Expedition to Beth Shean

Beth Shean was to be the first major excavation in the Near East after World War I. Work began with cutting into the medieval and classical strata of the tell’s high southern platform, which uncovered evidence of an Ummayadqasr-type (palace or mansion) walled enclosure, an unusual Byzantine round church, and seven Byzantine houses. Investigations expanded to include a necropolis and Byzantine monastery near the city’s northern edge, from which came many of the artifacts currently on display.

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The expedition camp at Marajo

The Amazon Expedition

William Curtis Farabee conducted a pioneering expedition to the Amazon in 1913. For three years he explored and collected among the little-known tribes of the Amazon, Guyana, and eastern Peru, and conducted excavations on the Island of Marajo, at Santarem, and explored several small waterways once inhabited during prehistoric times at the mouth of Brazil’s Amazon River in the State of Pará. His work resulted in a wealth of field notes, linguistic data, physical measurements, drawings, photographs, and specimen collections, both archaeological and ethnographic.

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Edith Hall Dohan

Edith Hall Dohan

Dohan was an mediterranean archaeologist who brought the first Mycenaean and pre-Mycenaean collection to the United States for display. She excavated throughout Greece, including in Crete, Sphoungaras, and Vrokastro. She was the second American woman to direct an archaeological excavation on Crete and the third woman ever to in Greece, going on to become Curator of the Mediterranean Section at the Penn Museum.

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William C. Farabee

William C. Farabee

Farabee was one of the great forgotten American explorers and anthropologists. He lead the Penn Museum’s Amazon expedition, a three-year journey up and down the Amazon River and its tributaries, exploring and mapping remote regions. He collected vast amounts of detailed enthographic records, and helped found the study of human genetics.

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Clarence S. Fisher

Clarence S. Fisher

Fisher was called “the ablest field archaeologist in America,” and helped invent the “American Method” of excavation. He was Curator of the Egyptian Section at the Penn Museum, and led excavations throughout Egypt, and discovered the palace of Merenptah in Memphis.

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