University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

The Akhenaten Temple Project was the first computer project assumed by the University of Pennsylvania Museum. It was proposed in 1965 by Ray Winfield Smith, and in 1966 he began the project with the aid of IBM’s nascent computer technology. The IBM computer was abandoned in 1976. This collection spans Ray Winfield Smith’s entire involvement as director of the project 1968-1971, and begins the career of Dr. Donald B. Redford who acted as a consultant in 1971 and has been director since 1972. The records contain papers and photographs relating to the foundation of the Akhenaten Temple Project, and are divided into five series: Financial; Correspondence and Reports; Project Negatives; Photographs; Misc.

Alison Frantz, born in 1903, was a classicist and photographer. She attended Smith College and Columbia University. She first went to Greece in 1929 as a member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. In 1934 she joined the staff of the newly begun excavations of the Athenian agora. Frantz became the official photographer for the excavations there in 1939 and remained in that position until 1964. During her time as official photographer, Frantz also served as a Cultural Attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Athens from 1946 to 1949.

The Antigua Guatemala expeditions were conducted in 1969 and 1970 by Dr. Ruben Reina. Originally from Argentina, Dr. Reina received his B.A. at the University of Michigan and his M.A. at Michigan State University. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina followed by a Research Assistantship at the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Reina began his career at the University of Pennsylvania after teaching at the University of Puerto Rico. He became a Professor in the Anthropology Department in 1967 and assumed the position of Curator of Latin American Ethnology, American Section of the Penn Museum. Dr. Reina spent 34 years at the University, becoming Professor Emeritus in 1990. The expeditions to Guatemala yielded three boxes of field notes and drawings, a catalogue of findings, extensive information on native ceramic pottery, and photographs. In addition, Dr. Reina's trips produced a file of five-by-eight catalogue and excavation unit cards and an additional photograph catalogue file of three-by-five cards. Both of the card files are housed separately in smaller archival boxes.

Although classical, including Etruscan, collections had been donated to the University of Pennsylvania Museum since the early 1890s it was in 1896 that the Museum formally authorized excavations in Italy and the acquisition of Etruscan tomb groups, as well as individual objects, for the Museum. Professor Arthur L. Frothingham of Princeton, then Secretary of the American School of Classical Studies in Rome, was commissioned to represent the Museum in Italy. Most of the tomb groups which Frothingham obtained are from Narce and Vulci, although there are objects from many other sites including Cerveteri, Orvieto, and Civita Castellana. The textual records from the excavations in Italy consist of one linear foot of correspondence, notes, financial accounts, and photographs related to the excavation of Etruscan tombs through which the Museum obtained the majority of its Etruscan collections.

The Asian Section collection includes correspondence and receipts all dealing with the donation or sale of artifacts to the Penn Museum from 1890 to 1969. Artifacts are mostly from China, Korea, and Japan. Notable donors include Stewart Culin, William Pepper, Phoebe Hearst, and Worch of Paris, C.T. Loo, and Yamanaka and Co.

The Benque Viejo (Xunantunich), Cahal Pech expedition, conducted by Dr. Linton Satterthwaite, was an extension of his expedition to Caracol, British Honduras (Belize). It was conceived as a "Housemound Project" and continued for two seasons from 1950 to 1953. The area of Benque Viejo, Cahal Pech contained seventeen structures and five stelae for investigation. Much of the collection relates to the Ball Court and East Plaza sites, as well as Structure A6 first and A6 second. The expedition produced objects and numerous photographs of the area. The Benque Viejo, Cahal Pech expedition records consist of twenty-nine folders in three archival boxes. Materials relate to the proposal for the expedition, preliminary data, budget and financial records, maps, notebooks, field notes, diaries, bag study sheets, progress and summary reports, press and publication materials, and photographs.

From 1921 to 1933, the Palestine Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania Museum conducted excavations at Bet Sh'ean, a site located 12 miles south of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The expedition was intended to be an extensive research effort in Syria-Palestine, but this goal was never fully achieved due to financial stringencies imposed during the Depression of the 1930s. Clarence S. Fisher, Curator of the Egyptian Section of the University Museum, directed the first three seasons of work at Bet Sh'ean. Alan Rowe and Gerald M. FitzGerald directed the subsequent seven field seasons. Nine major occupation levels were described, the earliest dating to the Late Neolithic, and the latest from the Arab/Crusader periods. Records describing the excavations at Bet Sh'ean consist of forty linear feet of records, including diaries, a card catalog, plans, photographic material, field notes, correspondence, financial records, notes, and publication drafts, as well as dozens of maps, drawings, and paintings.

William Pepper, originally a Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, was the visionary behind the establishment of the University Archaeological Association in 1889, and the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology in 1891, the precursors to the University Museum. The groups were composed of wealthy Philadelphians, interested in the ancient world, and capable of soliciting subscriptions to the Associations from their friends and colleagues. The University's sponsorship of an expedition to Nippur, Babylonia in 1887, financed by private funds was the impetus for Pepper to work toward the establishment of organizations to support exploration and house artifacts from the ancient world. With the need for a fire-proof building to house the finds, supported by the Trustees, College Hall was designated as the first repository in response to a request from William Pepper. By 1892, the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, was operating under an independent Board of Managers whose first President was Joseph Leidy. Pepper himself became President of the Department in 1894, working tirelessly along with Sara Yorke Stevenson, toward the funding and building of the Free Museum of Science and Art. Toward this goal, the American Exploration Society was created an an independent funding organization for the recovery of artifacts and the establishment of a museum of archaeology. The Board of Managers records consists of seven boxes of correspondence and financial records spanning the creation of the University Archaeological Association, the Department of Archaeology and Paleontology, the American Exploration Society and the Museum. The records are organized first by the entities that preceeded the museum and contributed to its creation. The next group of records are organized by the tenure of the Presidents of the Board of Managers.

The Cape Nome expedition collection was donated to the University Museum by the author himself, John Bockstoce. The collection documents Bockstoce’s records and analysis of his archeological findings in Cape Nome fom 1969-1974. It consists of five series: field notes, drawings, photographs, reports and publications, and oversized documents. The expedition was conducted by Bockstoce for the purpose writing a dissertation on the cultures of the Arctic and obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford, which he achieved in 1974. This expedition was advised by Dr. Froelich Rainey of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Douglas Anderson of the Haffenreffer Museum of Brown University, and Dr. Derek Roe of Oxford University.

Linton Satterthwaite, a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and Curator of the American Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, conducted three trips to Caracol, Belize in the 1950s to investigate a previously unknown site of Maya culture. While his primary interest was in Maya inscriptions and chronology, his journeys to Caracol yielded artifacts for the Museum, including twenty-six vessels of the early classic period, nine vessels of the late period, Stela 11, a new "giant glyph" altar, and the bottom portion of Stela 3. The Caracol expedition collection consists of 16 boxes of correspondence, field notes and notes on individual stela, altars, and stones, glyph decipherment and chronology data, information for publication, and photographs and drawings including contact sheets and photographs from Caracol, Benque Viejo, and Cayo X. Satterthwaite organized and catalogued the photographs according to the type of film used, field numbers, and monument number. The collection also contains three file boxes of card notes to the photographs and a few pieces of oversized material. Satterthwaite's "The Monuments and Inscriptions of Caracol, Belize" with co-author Carl Beetz, was published after his death. The publication materials relate to his instructions and notes for publication and Beetz' collection of Satterthwaite's monument notes for the book.

Carl W. Bishop, the first assistant curator of Oriental Art at the University Museum, was a vital force in the advanced knowledge of the Far East for the University Museum. Before Bishops excavations to the Far East, the Chinese collection started modestly in 1913, with acquisition of small bronzes and some porcelain pieces. Bishop set out to explore other museum’s exhibits on China as well as acquire artifacts from Ancient China. Due to the political turmoil in China during Bishop’s active years and a lack of funds, the expeditions were not always successful. During the second of the two trips Bishop took to the Far East from 1917-1918, he did conduct archeological reconnaissance, but no excavation was undertaken. The Carl W. Bishop papers consist of ten folders in two archival boxes of correspondence mostly to George Byron Gordan, journals, and photographs.

The Casting Department of the Penn Museum was begun in the 1890s and continued until 2010. The museum staff was initially in charge of making the casts. Those involved in the early days included Paul Casci, the first museum restorer, and M. Louise Baker, the official museum artist. The Casting Department papers consist of 0.5 linear feet of annual reports, list of available casts and prices, and labels from the Museum casting department. The material has been divided into three series: Annual Reports, Labels, and List of Available Casts.

The Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Proto-History Project Collection includes budgets and proposals, reports and publications, financial records, artifact loans, field notes, artifact analysis, radiocarbon analysis, photographic prints and negatives, site plans and sections, and fourty-one pottery drawings. It is housed in 1 box and 2 oversized folders in Map Case M-20.

Charles H. Rosher was a trained engineer who worked with W.M. Flinders Petrie on archaeological sites in Egypt. Flinders Petrie's recommendation of Rosher as a capable engineer to the Penn and Cairo Museums resulted in his employment to remove several monuments from a site in Tanis. As a part of his duties, Rosher was charged with obtaining a permit for the work. As the permit did not materialize, Sara Yorke Stevenson of the Egyptian section of the museum traveled to Cairo to expedite the process. The diplomacy required to obtain the necessary permits and approvals from the Egyptian governing authorities proved too difficult for even Mrs. Stevenson. While embroiled in the process however, she dismissed Rosher to work for three months with Flinders Petrie to gain basic archaeological skills. As fate would have it, due to delays, Petrie was not able to meet with Rosher nor to train him. Rosher did perform some work at Dendereh and surveyed at the Tanis site. A dispute over his request for more money from the museum led to Penn accepting Rosher's resignation. The permit was never issued to Penn to excavate or remove monuments at Tanis. The Charles S. Rosher collection consists of two drawings from his time in Egypt. These tiems are oversize and kept in the map case. The first drawing, done in 1898 for the American Exploration Society shows "Details of some of the Tombs Excavated at Dendera." It is a reproduction of an ink drawing on paper. There are two small copies of the larger work that have been encapsulated. The second drawing is "Dendera Sketch Map of the Ancient Cemetery excavated by W.M.Flinders Petrie on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund". The drawing was completed by Rosher from "surveys by himself and W.M. Flinders Petrie" during the years 1897-1898. This map is also a reproduction of an ink drawing on paper.

Clarence S. Fisher was born in Philadelphia in 1876 and attended the University of Pennsylvania, attaining a degree in architecture in 1897 but devoting his entire life to archaeology. His first archaeology field experience was as the architect for the initial Babylonian expedition to Nippur from 1898 to 1900. This was followed by a research fellowship in Babylonian archaeology at the University Museum. Fisher also worked as an assistant to Harvard Archaeologist, George Andrew Reisner in Egypt and Samaria. From Reisner, Fisher learned archaeological techniques and the methods of meticulous record keeping he would use in his later work. Fisher was appointed a curator of the Egyptian section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum by George B. Gordon in 1914. He spent the next nine years in the field collecting data in Dendereh, Giza, Memphis, and Dra Abu el-Naga. Fisher's expedition to the cemetery at Dendereh re-worked a site that had been explored by Charles S. Rosher and W.M. Flinders Petrie, producing more precise data and a wealth of objects from the burial sites. The Clarence S. Fisher Dendereh expedition records consist of seven archival boxes of correspondence, diaries, notebooks, plans, post-excavation notes and photographs. Additional material includes three card files with tomb notecards and object cards. In addition, there are seven large object register books stored in two boxes and oversize materials stored in the map case.

From January 28 to March 9, 1915 Clarence Stanley Fisher (1876-1941) conducted excavations at Giza, assisted mainly by Ashton Sanborn, but also by H. Lyman Story and Alan Rowe. Bechari Mahfud was the field photographer. Fisher had worked as expedition architect at Giza with George Andrew Reisner in 1908-1910. A graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Architecture, Fisher began his career as an archaeologist during the University Museum’s Fourth Expedition at Nippur (modern Iraq) in 1899-1900. The Records of the Clarence S. Fisher Giza Expedition are housed in two archival boxes of field notes and publication materials, one box of photographs and maps and drawings filed in the manuscript case.

Clarence S. Fisher was born in Philadelphia in 1876 and attended the University of Pennsylvania, attaining a degree in architecture in 1897 but devoting his entire life to archaeology. His first archaeology field experience was as the architect for the initial Babylonian expedition to Nippur from 1898 to 1900. This was followed by a research fellowship in Babylonian archaeology at the University Museum. Fisher also gained experience as an assistant to Harvard Archaeologist, George Andrew Reisner in Egypt and Samaria. From Reisner, Fisher learned archaeological techniques and the methods of meticulous record keeping he would use in his later work. Fisher was appointed a curator of the Egyptian section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum by George B. Gordon in 1914. He spent the next nine years in the field collecting data in Dendereh, Giza, Memphis, and Dra Abu el-Naga. The Clarence S. Fisher Memphis excavation records consist of six archival boxes of correspondence, notes, field cards, diaries, catalogues and photographs. In addition there is a card file with object notes. Oversize drawings, maps, plans, watercolors and financial records complete the collection.

Daniel Garrison Brinton is considered one of the founders of modern American Anthropology. He was also the first to hold a professorship in Archaeology in the United States. His library, which includes the Carl Hermann Berendt collection of manuscripts in the indigenous languages of Mexico and Central America, is considered the core of the University of Pennsylvania Anthropology Library. Among the collection are 4515 items; rare illustrations, contemporary photographs, portraits of individual authors, and texts in Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Brinton gathered his information from archival and library studies and did not participate in any archaeological expeditions. This small collection, attributed to Brinton by J. Alden Mason of the University Museum, consists of four folders. Two contain linguistic notes on the Maya languages. The remaining two, contain drawings of pottery, objects, sites, and maps of Maya regions, primarily in Mexico. Some of the drawings are believed to be those of Carl Hermann Berendt, purchased by Daniel Brinton for the library at the University. The collection is in fragile condition and many of the items are in need of conservation assessment, particularly the Berendt drawings.

The collection comprises the papers of Diana Buitron-Oliver (1946-2002) relating to her archaeological excavation work in the archaic precinct of the Apollo sanctuary at Kourion on the island of Cyprus. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, field notes, and reports on the work by Diana Buitron-Oliver.

Dr. Robert H. Dyson, Jr., Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum 1982-1994, directed excavations in 1966 and 1968 at Dinkha Tepe in the Ushnu Valley, west Azerbaijan, northwestern Iran. This expedition formed part of the Hasanlu Project. The papers documenting these excavations are for the most part primary reference materials and were deposited as a closed collection in The University of Pennsylvania Museum Archives for safekeeping until publication research begins within the next several years. Records were kept in their original order. The textual records of Dinkha Tepe consist of 2.66 linear feet of excavation notebooks, indexes and catalogues, photographic material, manuscripts, and drawings, maps and plans.

The Dun Ailinne, Ireland Excavation Records Collection is housed in 5 boxes, plus oversized material in Print Cabinet P-11 and Map Case M-10. It includes correspondence, financial records, field notes, maps and drawings, artifact drawings, information regarding artifact analysis, progress reports and publications, artifact inventories, and photographic prints and negatives from years ranging from 1968 to 2005 (Bulk 1968-1975).

The Eckley B. Coxe Jr. Expedition to Nubia was among those Egyptian trips financed by Coxe during his short life. The expedition was headed by David Randall-MacIver of the University Museum and C. Leonard Woolley of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Ancient Nubia, located in a corridor linking continental Africa and the Mediterranean, was rich in natural resources, especially gold. The northern part is now located under the Aswan Dam. The southernmost part is in modern day Sudan. Its people were culturally and linguistically different from the Egyptians and strong cultural interactions occurred in the ancient history of the region. Randall-MacIver and Woolley dug at Anibeh, Nasr Ibrim, Ma'am, Buhen, Areika and Karanog from 1907 to 1911. The records of the Nubia expedition include correspondence, notes, an object register, account books, photographs and oversize items that fill two archival boxes with additional oversize material in the map and print cases.