The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago offers a remarkable journey into the world of ancient Egypt, providing visitors with an up-close look at the daily lives of ancient Egyptians and their beliefs about death. The museum is renowned for the size and quality of its educational and scientific programs, attracting up to 2 million visitors annually with its permanent exhibitions.
The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Inside Ancient Egypt: A Journey Through Time
Inside Ancient Egypt combines the museum's extensive Egyptian collection with realistic settings of ancient Egyptian life, creating a powerful and unforgettable visitor experience. Visitors to Inside Ancient Egypt can enter a recreated full-size village shrine covered in beautiful votive statues and complemented by an animal niche cemetery. The religious life of ancient Egyptians continues through the exhibition at the shrine of the cat-goddess Bastet.
Inside Ancient Egypt takes visitors into the daily lives of ancient Egyptians. A Nile Valley scene contains representations of the huge variety of plant and animal life that made their home near the ancient river. Living so close to the water, boats were an essential part of the daily lives of ancient Egyptians.
The Tomb of Unis-Ankh
Visitors enter Inside Ancient Egypt through a monumental three-story recreation of the tomb of Unis-ankh, the son of the 5th Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Unis. The reconstruction is based around original pieces of the tomb, creating two authentic chamber rooms dating back to 2400 BC. Visitors move from the ground-level of the tomb towards the burial chamber, where 23 human mummies are on display.
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Mummy case of Padihershef at the Field Museum.
Mummification Process
Included with the mummies and sarcophagi are dioramas depicting the full 70-day mummification process. Ancient Egyptians mummified the dead because they believed the soul lived within the body even after death, so they meticulously preserved bodies to keep the spirit intact.
Along with the mummies and sarcophagi on display in Inside Ancient Egypt are dioramas that depict the 70-day process, an extensive ritual that required both spiritual and biological knowledge. The process began by removing all internal organs that might decay rapidly-all but the heart, which was thought to house the soul. Using a salt called natron, embalmers dried out the body completely. Then the body was wrapped in strips of linen.
Egyptians believed the gods could appear in any form including animals, and this may explain why animals were frequently embalmed after death, just like their human counterparts.
The Royal Boat of Sen-Wosret III
Visitors to Inside Ancient Egypt have a unique opportunity to see The Field Museum’s extremely rare, 4,000-year-old royal boat which belonged to the powerful Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Sen-Wosret III.
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How to make a mummy - Len Bloch
The Ancient Marketplace
Past the Nile Valley, visitors enter a recreation of an ancient marketplace; a space that provides especially active, hands-on learning. The marketplace was reconstructed from authentic market scenes from tomb walls.
Other Notable Exhibits at the Field Museum
In addition to the Egyptian exhibits, the Field Museum boasts a diverse array of permanent and temporary exhibitions that showcase the natural and cultural history of the world. Some of the key exhibits include:
- Evolving Planet: Follows the evolution of life on Earth over 4 billion years.
- The Ancient Americas: Displays 13,000 years of human ingenuity and achievement in the Western Hemisphere.
- Africa: Offers 14 different displays that are primarily ethnographic in nature.
- Cyrus Tang Hall of China: Showcases three hundred and fifty objects are displayed throughout the five galleries.
- Grainger Hall of Gems: Consists of a large collection of diamonds and gems from around the world.
The Field Museum: A Legacy of Knowledge
The Field Museum was incorporated by the State of Illinois on September 16, 1893, for the purpose of the "accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of artifacts illustrating art, archaeology, science and history". The museum has maintained its reputation through continuous growth, expanding the scope of collections and its scientific research output, in addition to its award-winning exhibitions, outreach publications, and programs.
The professional staff maintains collections of over 24 million specimens and objects that provide the basis for the museum's scientific-research programs. The collections include the full range of existing biodiversity, gems, meteorites, fossils, and extensive anthropological collections and cultural artifacts from around the globe.
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Collections Management
Field Museum collections are professionally managed by collection managers and conservators, who are skilled in preparation and preservation techniques. Collection management requires meticulous record keeping. Field Museum was an early adopter of computerization of collection data beginning in the late 1970s.
Field Museum contributes its digitized collection data to a variety of online groups and platforms, such as: HerpNet, VertNet and Antweb, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (also known as GBif), and others. All Field Museum collection databases are unified and currently maintained in KE EMu software system.
The Field Museum's commitment to education and research ensures that it remains a vital institution for understanding the world's natural and cultural history.
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