This pendant, approximately 2” in diameter, on a 28” chain, reproduces in gold-plated pewter the design of an original gold roundel from the time of the Achaemenid (Persian) ruler Artaxerxes II, now in the collection of the Oriental Institute Museum.

This pin, approximately 2” in diameter, reproduces in gold-plated pewter the design of an original gold roundel from the time of the Achaemenid (Persian) ruler Artaxerxes II, now in the collection of the Oriental Institute Museum.

Amon-Ra was held to be the physical father of the pharaoh. He also had cosmic functions such as the creation, controlling the seasons, and protecting of the weak. Mut was considered the great and mighty divine mother. The marriage of Amon and Mut was one the the great annual celebration during the New Kingdom (1550 - 1070 B.C.)

6" sculpture made in Egypt

Examine x-ray images of a real mummy! Become the archaeologist for a virtual Nubian burial site! Decode inscriptions and learn to write in ancient Middle Eastern scripts!

History and archaeology come alive when students discover the Oriental Institute Museum collections with this new educational DVD about ancient Egypt, Nubia, Mesopotamia, Israel, and Turkey. Created by the Oriental Institute's Public Education Department with support from the Polk Bros. Foundation "Ancient Artifacts of the Middle East!" features fun interactives in English and Spanish for teachers, students, and families. Included with the software are fifteen original lesson plans, games, puzzles, and classroom activities created for and by teachers that build on the interactive content of the DVD.

Everything you need to be an aspiring Archaeologist.

Jacket with Oriental Institute Logo, Pith helmet, binoculars, and jar with magnifying lid

Bast or Bastet. the cat-headed goddess, is closely associated with the the goddess Sekhmet. Bastet brings joy and familial bliss to her worshipers. Her chief center of worship was at a town in the Delta, Bubastis, whose Greek name derives from the house of Bastet. Extensive cemeteries of cat mummies have been excavated at this site.

5.5" blue resin, Made in Egypt

Gold-plated pewter cylinder seal (approximately 1” long) on a 21” black cord. This piece, depicting a heroic figure contending with fantastical beasts, is a reproduction of a Mesopotamian cylinder seal from the Neo-Babylonian period (8th-7th centuries B.C.). The necklace also comes with a small piece of modeling clay so that you can make seal impressions as the ancients did.

Pyramid Dig Kit

This distinctive style of pottery was popular throughout Egypt in the Badarian and NaqadaI-II periods (ca. 4400-3300 bc). Blacktopped vessels were valuable luxury items, created by professional craftsmen in specialized workshops. Black-topped ware was handmade (not wheel-thrown) out of Nile silt clay. It is characterized by its distinctive colors, thin walls, and lustrous finish. Ancient potters achieved the polished look by burnishing the pots with pebbles. The black top was probably created by placing the pot upside-down in ash either during or immediately after firing. This process not only created an attractive bi-color appearance, but also helped make the clay less porous.

Microwave, oven, and dishwasher reliable.

The eye of Horus, or Udjat became a sign of protection. It was worn as an amulet and placed in mummy wrappings.

.5" vermeil (gold over sterling silver)

The ankh was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph meaning “life,” and for that reason it was frequently used as a motif in ancient jewelery and amulets. Our ankh, in gold vermeil, is approximately 2.25” long, suspended on a 26” black silk cord with vermeil caps at the ends.

The hieroglyphs on these elegant earrings stand for “Life, Prosperity, and Health,” three blessings the ancient Egyptians always craved. These earrings, in gold vermeil with lapis-lazuli beads, are approximately 1.25” long and 0.5” at the widest point.

A unique design created from various astral symbols taken from cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals in our own collection.

Made of 100% silk. Available in yellow or blue. Each tie is 3.75” wide.

Graduated carnelian and gold finish bicone beads. 20" long
 

• Apadana at Persepolis, Iran by Joseph Lindon Smith, 1935
• Vintagers and Bird-Catchers by Nina De Garis Davies, 1932
• View of Nippur Iraq, by Peggy Sanders, 1982
• Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, Egypt, by Uvo Hölscher, 1930
• Reconstruction of fourth-millennium temple at Choga Mish, Iran by Farzin Rezaeian, 2007
• Military officers at Persepolis, Iran by Joseph Lindon Smith 1935
• Reconstruction of Neo-Assyrian wall from Khorsabad, Iraq by Charles B. Altman, 1935
• View of Babylon, by Maurice Bardin, 1936

Reproduction of a game found at Ur during joint University of Pennsylvania and British Museum expeditions led by Leonard Woolley between 1924 and 1934. The originals were made with wood frames, inlaid with lapis lazuli and shell fragments.

Our game is a reconstruction, made from a sturdy painted wooden frame. Game rules are included, based on those of the original British Museum reproduction and our own research.

• Read the instructions on-line

The Senet game is played on boards simliar to those found in the tombs of Egyptian Kings such as Ramses III and Tutankhamen. The Egyptians referred to the game in hieroglyphs as one of "passages" with the movement of the pieces representing the wanderings of the soul in the underworld. The hieroglyphs on the sides of the Senet game are reproductions of hieroglyphs found on a 3,000 year-old papyrus and describe the wandering in the game. The game rules of play have been enjoyed by thousands of game enthusiasts. We believe they will give you hours of entertainment and the game will be a beautiful addition to your home.

• Includes wooden game board, playing pieces, “throw-sticks” and instructions

Natural olive soap, 3" x 3", made in Syria from a millennia-old recipe.

This vermeil pin measuring approximately 1.25" x 1" is a reproduction from an Achaemenid (Persian) gold ornament in the collection of the Oriental Institute. 5th-4th Century B. C.

Natural Alabaster tea light, 3.25" high, carved in Egypt.

We will miss Martyl Langsdorf whose 1987 exhibit at the Oriental Institute was enjoyed by all.

20" x 28"

4GB USB Flash Memory Stick
Compatible with most Windows, Mac and Linux Operating Systems
Compatible with all USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices
Read speed of up to 24MBs and a Write speed of up to 10MB

Learn more about Afghanistan, the trade routes that brought lapis to Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Written by St John Simpson, Assistant Keeper of the British Museum with many beautiful color illustrations.

By Jeffrey Abt

Hardcover: Autographed Copy!

"He traveled on expeditions to remote and politically unstable corners of the Middle East, helped identify the tomb of King Tut, and was on the cover of Time magazine. But Breasted was more than an Indiana Jones—he was an accomplished scholar, entrepreneur, and talented author who brought ancient history to life not just for students but for such notables as Teddy Roosevelt and Sigmund Freud."

Erica Reiner

With the completion of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary this year there has been renewed interest in Erica's book. As editor of the Dictionary for many years she tells the behind the scenes decisions made in the development of the CAD.

Gabrielle Novacek

Highlights from the Collections of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

This is the first comprehensive study of birds in ancient Egyptian society, economy, art, and religion. Essays address the role of birds in the religious landscape, their use in hieroglyphic and Coptic scripts, birds as protective symbols, as decorative motifs, and as food. Plus a group of essays on “Egyptian Birds and Modern Science.”

Pp. 232; 210 illustrations (most in color)

By Ian Manners. Hard back 2nd printing, with minor corrections.

The text is accompanied by images of illuminated manuscript charts and atlases, the earliest printed maps of the Ottoman Empire, and bird’s-eye views of cities that provided “arm-chair travelers” with the experience of knowing distant places.

Professor of Ancient Near Eastern History here at the Oriental Institute in his new book argues the origins of Islam lie in what we may call the "Believers movement" begun by the prophet Muhammad.

Hoch, Middle Egyptian Grammar

Hoch, Middle Egyptian Grammar Sign List

Geoff Emberling

The beautifully illustrated catalog that accompanied the show.

This is the catalog for the Oriental Institute Museum Special Exhibit of the same name. With an introduction by Professor McGuire Gibson, this up-to-date account describes the state of the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad and chronicles the damage done to archaeological sites by illicit digging.

This companion volume and catalog to the exhibit of the same name traces the life of Meresamun whose mummy, dating to about 800 B.C., is one of the highlights of the Oriental Institute's Museum. The text introduces the historical and cultural setting of Egypt during her time. Essays and artifacts examine the role of music and of musicians in Egyptian temple cults, their training, and the types of musical instruments that Meresamun would have used. The life of Meresamun outside the temple is explored, with emphasis upon her social and legal status, what other professions were available to her, and what home life was like. The study of the life of this individual is augmented by forensic evidence obtained with the newest generation of CT scanners that sheds light on Meresamun's life and death.

Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920, the catalogue of the Oriental Institute special exhibit of the same name, highlights the interconnected stories of an important figure in intellectual history - James Henry Breasted - and the beginnings of American scientific archaeology in the Near East at a crucial turning point in world history. At the end of World War I, Breasted and a small team of scholars set sail for the Near East on what would be an eleven-month odyssey across the region. The fascinating mix of politics, scholarship, and history (both ancient and modern) as seen through a focus on the larger-than-life persona of James Henry Breasted lies at the heart of Pioneers to the Past. Breasted's letters and photographs from his trip provide a window into the engagement of modern scholarship with the ancient world, in a highly charged setting of power politics in the early twentieth century. The essays in this catalogue explain the historical, legal, and political context in a way that greatly enriches our understanding of Breasted's journey and its aftermath.

This catalog for an exhibit at Chicago's Oriental Institute Museum presents the newest research on the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods in a lavishly illustrated format. Essays on the rise of the state, contact with the Levant and Nubia, crafts, writing, iconography, and evidence from Abydos, Tell el-Farkha, Hierakonpolis, and the Delta, were contributed by leading scholars in the field. The catalog features 129 Predynastic and Early Dynastic objects, most from the Oriental Institute's collection, that illustrate the environmental setting, Predynastic and Early Dynastic culture, religion, and the royal burials at Abydos. This volume will be a standard reference and a staple for classroom use.

Our Work: Modern Jobs – Ancient Origins is the catalog for a photo-based exhibit that reveals that many modern professions originated in the ancient Middle East. Artifacts from the Oriental Institute Museum were paired with a baker, farmer, manicurist, brewer, poet, boat builder, judge and other professionals to show the antiquity of these jobs. The portraits are accompanied by commentary on the contributions of the ancient Middle East to life today and new insights into how members of the public view their relationship to the past. This volume will be of interest to educators, historians, and those interested in fine-arts photography.

Photographs by Jason Reblando, interviews by Matthew Cunningham, edited by Jack Green and Emily Teeter

Pp. 128; 24 tintype portraits, 46 illustrations

Edited by Jack Green, Emily Teeter, and John A. Larson
Pp. 184; 168 illustrations

Oriental Institute Museum Publications 34

Reprint of the Charles Scribner's Sons 1943 Edition with New Foreword and Photographs. Published in 2009.

Pioneer to the Past tells the intensely human, often poignantly moving story of the brilliant career of James Henry Breasted, one of the greatest Egyptologists and archaeologists America has yet produced. Breasted's greatest achievement was the founding of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago in 1919, through the generous support of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The Oriental Institute embodies Breasted's vision of an inter-disciplinary research center that unites archaeology, textual studies, and art history as three complementary methodologies to provide a holistic understanding of ancient Near Eastern civilizations, and the ways that they laid the foundations for what we think of today as "Western civilization." Breasted's legacy continues to flourish today.

Emily Teeter, Curator of Special Exhibits of the Oriental Institute
256 pages 101 b/w illus. 2 maps

This book is a vivid reconstruction of the practical aspects of ancient Egyptian religion: Who was allowed to enter the temples, and what rituals were preformed therein? Who served as priests? How were they organized and trained, and what did they do? What was the Egyptians' attitude toward death, and what happened at funerals? How did the living and dead communicate? In what ways could people communicate with the gods?

Autographed

By Theo van de Hoot

 Autographed Copy!

"Hittite is the earliest attested Indo_European language and was the language of a state that flourished in Asia Minor in the second millennium BC. This exciting and accessible new introductory course, which can be used in both trimester and semester systems, offers in ten lessons a comprehensive introduction to the grammar of the Hittite language with ample exercises both in transliteration and in cuneiform. It includes separate section of paradigms, and a grammatical index as well as a list of every cuneiform sign used in the book. A full glossary can be found in the back. The book has been designed so that the cuneiform is not essential and can be left out of any course if so desired. The introduction provides the necessary cultural and historical background, with suggestions for further reading, and explains the principles of the cuneiform writing system."

by Robert K. Ritner Professor of Egyptology, in The Oriental Institute

"This is the definitive edition....Dr. Ritner has reconstructed five Egyptian texts.......that express the hopes and fears of Egyptians for the afterlife." T. G. Wilfong, Professor of Egyptology, University of Michigan

Children's books, each page beautifully illustrated: