The Epigraphic Survey and Chicago House

Celebrating Emily Teeters new book, Chicago on the Nile: 100 Years of the Epigraphic Survey

Emily Teeter, ISAC (Retired)

In 1924, an Egyptologist, an artist, and a photographer—the staff of the University of Chicago’s new Epigraphic Survey—began the task of recording the scenes and inscriptions carved on the walls of the enormous, 3,000-year-old temple of Pharaoh Ramesses III at Medinet Habu near Luxor. It was the culmination of a long-standing dream of James Henry Breasted, the first American Egyptologist and founder of ISAC (then the Oriental Institute), to both copy and publish all the historical texts in the Nile Valley. The Epigraphic Survey was established to undertake this unimaginably ambitious program of field research.

A century later, the Epigraphic Survey continues to fulfill Breasted’s mission. Housed at Chicago House in Luxor, the expedition has documented some of the most important—and endangered—records to survive from ancient Egypt, using a well-established and tested method to create highly accurate facsimiles of the carvings and texts and to publish them as a permanent archive.

To download or purchase the book, please visit:

https://isac.uchicago.edu/research/publications/ISACMP/isacmp2

OI Podcast Episode 16

Afrofuturism: Ancient Egypt in Speculative Fiction

Ytasha Womack

Time as a web, weaved in storytelling to offer a remix of narratives exploring who we are and how we got here. Author Ytasha Womack, "Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture," joins us for a discussion that examines the Black Speculative Arts Movement in general and the roles that ancient Egyptian culture and religion play in her upcoming graphic novel, "Blak Kube."

To explore this topic, look for "Afrofuturism" by Ytasha Womack, Lawrence Hill Books, 2013. Available everywhere books are sold.

The graphic novel "Blak Kube" is coming soon!

This podcast continues our Contemporary Artist/Ancient Voices series, a set of conversations with artists who draw inspiration from the ancient Middle East. These conversations focus on individual artists interpretations of the ancient world, and are not intended to provide historical accuracy.

A video version of this discussion with images can be viewed on the Oriental Institute YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/bPBnrU8mUnI

To support OI research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: https://oi.uchicago.edu/join-and-give/become-member

Please excuse the audio and video quality, this was recorded at home during the pandemic.

2021, Oriental Institute

Image credits and original art:

Tim Fielder, Infinitum

John Jennings

Album covers:

The ArchAndroid, Janelle Monáe, Wonderland Arts Society, Atlantic, Bad Boy, 2013

Raise!, Earth Wind and Fire, ARC, Columbia, 1981

Next Lifetime, Erykah Badu, Kedar Records, 1997

Music: Andrew List

Intro Music: bensound.com

OI Podcast Episode 15

Egyptian Influences/Contemporary Music

Andrew List

Ancient Egypt offers a feast of inspiration. From the mammoth carved temples to the intimate, painted tombs, visitors to these sites often daydream a fantasy of what life must have been like. Earlier this year, composer Andrew List, Berklee College of Music, reached out to the OI for permission to use translations from the Book of the Dead by OI scholar Thomas Allen George in a composition that is influenced by his own recent travels and a lifelong fascination with this ancient religion.

Join us as we listen to selections from List's works, The Temple of Dendera and From the Heart of Ra, while exploring how the ancient Egyptian world continues to influence his compositions.

This podcast continues our Contemporary Artist/Ancient Voices series, a set of conversations with artists who draw inspiration from the ancient Middle East. These conversations focus on individual artists interpretations of the ancient world, and are not intended to provide historical accuracy.

To listen to The Temple of Dendera and From the Heart of Ra visit:

https://soundcloud.com/andrewlist/sets/from-the-temple-of-dandera-twelve-etudes-for-piano-inspired-by-the-egyptian-zodiac

https://soundcloud.com/andrewlist/from-the-heart-of-ra-for-viola-and-piano-1

A video version of this discussion with images can be viewed on the Oriental Institute YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/aP_TkAuD_JI

To support OI research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: https://oi.uchicago.edu/join-and-give/become-member

2021, Oriental Institute

Music: Andrew List

Intro Music: bensound.com

OI Podcast Episode 14

The Lyre Ensemble, Part 2

Playing the Gold Lyre of Ur

Contemporary music played on an ancient Lyre. The Lyre Ensemble continues a discussion on the recreation of the Gold Lyre of Ur, focusing on both the possibilities and trappings of creating music on an ancient replica. Andy Lowings, Jennifer Sturdy, Mark Harmer, and Stef Conner sit down with the OI for a look at their project, The Flood, a piece of music that incorporates ancient texts into a speculation on what ancient music might have sounded like.

To watch part 1, visit: https://youtu.be/CimbNIhc70E

To listen to part 1, visit: https://soundcloud.com/orientalinstitute/oi-podcast-episode-13-the-lyre-ensemble-part-1

Part 2 of the Lyre Ensemble podcast, continues our Contemporary Artist/Ancient Voices series, a set of conversations with artists who draw inspiration from the ancient Middle East.

A video version of this discussion with images can be viewed on the Oriental Institute YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/PaWPtHdRV58

To learn more about the Lyre Ensemble, please visit: http://lyre-ensemble.com/admin/

To explore the text used in the Lyre Ensemble's recordings, click on these two dramatic interpretations of the death of Enkidu produced by the Lyre Ensemble, the first video is in Akkadian, the second is in English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlMQtxg-JA&t=58s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUdllauhlvM&t=5s

To support OI research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: https://oi.uchicago.edu/join-and-give/become-member

2021, Oriental Institute

Music: They Lyre ensemble

Intro Music: bensound.com

OI Podcast Episode 13

The Lyre Ensemble, Part 1

Recreating the Gold Lyre of Ur

What might ancient Mesopotamian music sound like?

Inspired by both this question and the 2003 looting at the Baghdad Museum, harpist Andy Lowings set out to recreate a playable replica of the iconic Gold Lyre of Ur. Andy, along with his friend Jennifer Sturdy, enlisted the help of academics, students, artisans, and musicians to faithfully reconstruct the ancient instrument. Their journey resulted in a series of recordings, concerts, and radio broadcasts, all featuring the haunting sounds of the ancient lyre.

With part 1 of the Lyre Ensemble podcast, we start our Contemporary Artist/Ancient Voices series, a set of conversations with artists who draw inspiration from the ancient Middle East.

A video version of this discussion with images can be viewed on the Oriental Institute YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/CimbNIhc70E

To learn more about the Lyre Ensemble, please visit: http://lyre-ensemble.com/admin/

To support OI research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: https://oi.uchicago.edu/join-and-give/become-member

OI Podcast Episode 12

Demons in Ancient Egypt

Rita Lucarelli

From Pazuzu to Baphomet, demons in modern pop culture are figures of dark terror and fear. In the ancient world, the concepts of demons weren't always so simple.

The OI's Steven Townshend sits down with Rita Lucarelli, University of California, Berkeley, for a podcast that explores the many different roles and natures of demons in the ancient Egyptian world.

A video version of this discussion with images can be viewed on the Oriental Institute YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/68ZXXYEX3Zo

To support OI research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: https://oi.uchicago.edu/member

Please excuse the audio and video, this podcast was recorded at-home.

In the Wake of the Phoenicians: Makers of the Mediterranean

Presented by David Schloen, OI

From olive oil to the alphabet, the Phoenicians left a lasting mark on the Mediterranean. The OI's David Schloen guides us through exciting new research into this ancient civilization and anticipates future excavations of Phoenician colonies in coastal Spain.

In the Wake of the Phoenicians: Makers of the Mediterranean

**This is an at home lecture, please excuse the audio and video quality.

This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on November 4, 2020. The video of this lecture is available on the OI YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/fofxL3WEhZc

Our lectures are free and available to the public thanks to the

generous support of our members. To become a member, please visit: http://bit.ly/2AWGgF7

2020, OI

Music credit: bensound.com

OI Podcast Episode 11

Who Is Medjed?

Ilaria Cariddi

An obscure Egyptian deity has exploded into Japan's popular culture. Who is this mysterious marshmallow? And why is it becoming more popular than Isis and Osiris?

The OI's Steven Townshend sits down with Ilaria Cariddi, research fellow at the University of Florence, to try and make sense of this this enigmatic creature.

A video version of this discussion with images can be viewed on the Oriental Institute YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/L5uibTPClJ0

To support OI research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: https://oi.uchicago.edu/member

Please excuse the audio and video, this podcast was recorded at-home.

Truth or Consequences:

The Public Display of Things from the Holy Land

Presented by Morag M. Kersel, DePaul University

When museums place items on display they take on multiple roles as custodians of sacred relics, shapers of public interpretation, fiduciary institutions, and educational establishments. The public counts on the museum to tell the truth, to act ethically, and to be responsible and transparent in the presentation of the past–they place their trust in the organization. This lecture examines the differing strands of attachment to objects and the consequences created by the desire to “own,” interpret, and display the material remains from the Holy Land. A survey of exhibitions of artifacts from the Holy Land at institutions like the Royal Ontario Museum, the Israel Museum, and the Museum of the Bible allows for the consideration of truth and consequences in these museums.

**This is an at home lecture, please excuse the audio quality.

To learn more about the Eastern Badia Archaeological Project, click this link:

https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/projects/eastern-badia

This audio recording was originally presented as an illustrated lecture on October 14, 2020. The video of this lecture is available on the OI YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/WwWWQqT6OwQ

Our lectures are free and available to the public thanks to the generous support of our members. To become a member, please visit: http://bit.ly/2AWGgF7

2020, Oriental Institute

Music credit: bensound.com

OI Podcast Episode 10

Plague Prayers of the Ancient Hittites Part 2

Theo van den Hout

Early in the 14th Century BCE, the Hittites faced a twenty year plague. How did these ancient Anatolians deal with pandemics? While the methods may be different, not much has changed.

Join Theo van den Hout, the Arthur and Joanne Rasmussen Professor of Anatolian Languages and Cultures, OI, for part two in the discussion on plague prayers and scapegoating rituals used to combat plague in the ancient Hittite world.

A video version of this discussion with images can be viewed on the Oriental Institute YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/7rhpDi86xm4

To support this and all of our research, become a member of the Oriental Institute. To explore the benefits of joining, please visit: oi.uchicago.edu/member

Please excuse the audio and video, this podcast was recorded at-home.