Much like today, ancient “consumers” were connected to distant markets. Both basic and precious goods from faraway lands “shipped” to royal palaces, elite estates—sometimes even rural households—and technological advances in craftsmanship and commerce transcended boundaries of language, religion, or culture to spread rapidly. Mediterranean Marketplaces explores how the movement of goods, peoples, and ideas around […]

Muchos Méxicos explores Mexico’s rich history as a site of human innovation, creativity and cultural diversity. Featuring Mexican objects from the Peabody Museum collections, this bilingual exhibit tells the story of Mexico as a multicultural and geographic crossroads—one where the exchange of resources, products, and ideas among Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas before the Spanish […]

Cochineal, a tiny insect found on certain species of Oaxacan cacti, was harvested for millennia by Indigenous peoples to dye fabrics a vibrant red color. But following the European invasion […]

Harvard Museums of Science & Culture members are invited to a fun, informative, rotating tour of our newest exhibitions. Curators, exhibitions staff, and educators will discuss the making of Mediterranean Marketplaces in the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Muchos Méxicos in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, and From the Hands of […]