Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1979 - 55

famouspioneersof Egyptianarchaeology.
In the 1890's Sophia Schliemann,the
wife of the famous excavator Heinrich
Schliemann, presented the National
Museumwithan especiallysignificantcollection of material that came from the
originalexcavationsat Troy.Homer'sIliad,
the epicthat gavethe site muchof itsfame,
ties Troy to an importantfeature of the
state- the maintenanceand use of military
powerto controlterritoryand combatcompetinggroups.The Schliemanncollection,
whichincludesa wide varietyof ceramic,
boneand stone implements,is displayedin
a settingcomposedof large photographs
and silkscreens madefromwoodcutspublished in Schliemann'sworks. The discoveriesat Troy,especiallythe intactgold
jewelry,caused quitea stir throughoutthe
worldand are documentedbycopiesofthe
contemporaryNew YorkTimesarticles.
The fourthmaintopicof the exhibitionis
trade and the expansionof empires. Importanttrade items of the Mediterranean
worldduringthe second and firstmillennia
b.c. are displayed.Collectionsof Bronze
and IronAgepotteryfromCyprusillustrate
howinternationaltrade linksacted as corridorsfor bothobjectsand ideas. Translations of various ancient texts are
presented- includinga treaty between
states, a business contract concerning
overlandtrade,and the portionof an annal
of an Assyriankingrecordingthe complex
dealingof governments,traders and conof
querorsinthe acquisitionand distribution
property. This theme is reinforced in
anotherarea of the exhibitthat containsa
collectionof excavated materialfromTel
a site locatednear the Gulfof
el-Kheleifeh,
Aqabahin modernsouthern Israel. It has
been arguedthatthissite,excavatedbythe
well knownBiblicalarchaeologistNelson
Glueck in the 1930's, was actuallySolomon's port city of Ezion-Geberused by
Solomonof Israel and Hiramof Tyre in
Phoeniciaforjointtrade ventures.
The Etruscans,Greeksand Romanscontinuethe developmentoftrade and empire.
Earlymaritimelinksof the Mediterranean
worldduringthe firstcenturiesof the first
millennium
b.c. are symbolizedbya bronze
"spiritboat"or "barchetta,"on loanfromthe
HirshhornMuseum,whichmay be Sardinian in origin.The images foundon later
Atticpotteryare used to illustratethe competitivenesscharacteristicof Greek life.
DuringRomantimes,military,politicaland
economicefficiencyfosteredculturalunificationofthe empirewhichis wellillustrated
by their far-reachingglass industry.Romanswere also successfulintheiragricultural pursuits. In fàct, the productive
capacities of their farms generated the
surplusthat fueledRomanlife.Muchof the
detailof the organizationof these agriculturalenterprisesis knownfromthe manuals
of such ancientwritersas Columellawho
livedduringthe first centuryafter Christ.
Figurinesand lampsdepictingagricultural
productsand activitiesare used to illustrate

about30.5centimeters.
B.C.Length,
, datingto about1000-500
"SpiritBoat"probablyfromSardinia
some of the Roman farmingtechniques.
Duringthe reignof the EmperorDiocletian
pricecontrolswere instituted.Photographs
of fragments of the emperor's Edict of
Prices foundat Aphrodisiasin Turkeyare
includedin the exhibition.One especially
interestingsectionof the exhibitcompares
the recipes attributedto a Romannamed
Apiciusto those of moderncuisine.
Romanrule in NorthAfricawas a keyto
economic success because of the immenselyrichfarms locatedthere. A large
mosaic fragmentexcavated at Carthage
duringthe nineteenthcenturydramatically
reflects Roman presence. Both during
Ptolemaicand Roman times, Egyptwas
minedfor its agriculturalriches.Papyrirecordingbusiness transactionsfromthese
periodsare on displayalongwitha stone
statue of the god Tutu,a Fayum encaustic
portraitand a bullmummy,all representing
the complexmixtureof Hellenisticand traditionalEgyptianfeatureswhichdeveloped
during the expansion of the Greek and
Romancivilizations
intoNorthAfrica.
Theeffectsofcatastrophicnaturalevents
such as earthquakes, volcaniceruptions
and human-inducedchanges such as erosionand deforestationare notoverlookedin
the exhibition.A large panel describes
some of the periods of politicalupheaval
and culturalchange influencedby these
events. The use of force,one of the most
commonelementsinthe historyofwestern
also caused changethroughout
civilization,
the centuries.One of the most impressive
monumentsillustratingthis fact is the inscriptionand reliefwhichKingDariushad
carved at Bisotunin western Iranto commemoratehis consolidationof leadership
over the Persian empire duringthe sixth
centuryb.c.

The fifthmaintopicof WesternCivilization: Originsand Traditionsis the persistence of ancient culturaltraditionsin today's world.Twoextremelyancientcharacteristics of life in southwest Asia are
nomads and bazaars, both depictedin dioramas based on ethnographicmaterials
from Pakistan, Afghanistanand eastern
Iran.Additionally,
the traditionof classical
architecturecan be seen inmanyoftoday's
buildings.This is made strikinglyclear in
the hall by a model of the acropolis in
Athens which is placed near a window
where one can compareit to the government buildingsalongConstitutionAvenue.
Finally,a filmpresented at the end of the
exhibittraces traditionsin culturaldevelopmentfrom Romantimes to the present
day. The focus of the filmis Winchester,
England,where over a decade of painstakingresearch has produceda detailed
historyof politicaland culturalevolution.
WesternCivilization:
Originsand Traditions is expectedto remainat the Museum
of NaturalHistoryand NationalMuseumof
Manfor about 15 years, and a smallpamphletdescribingits mainfeatures is available. The exhibitionprovidesa uniqueopportunityto see a gamutof archaeological
materialand researchgatheredunderone
roof whichdemonstratesthat the past is
relevantto boththe presentand the future.
Its contents amplify the diversity and
simultaneous development of culture
throughoutwesterncivilization,
culminating
in the emergenceof modernsociety.
Brian Hesse
SmithsonianInstitution
Robert K. Evans
George WashingtonUniversity

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Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1979

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