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University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. |
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Wampum: Native American Money or Belts Used for Diplomacy? Beads made from sea shells have always been important objects in the ritual and ornamental activities of all of the Native American tribes in the Northeast. Around 1615 CE a small, cylindrical bead type called “wampumpeag” began to be made in huge numbers along the shores of Long Island Sound. The uniform size and shape of these beads, generally called “wampum,” allowed them to be woven into bands of all sizes. This slide illustrated lecture shows how this bead type developed, how the Lenape, Five Nations Iroquois, and other Native peoples used these bands, and how Dutch traders were important in spreading wampum to the Puritans and other colonists. Dr. Marshall Becker Archaeology of the Lenape and Other Indians of the Delaware Valley Archaeological studies at Lenape sites, and in particular at the Printzhof (36DE3) and the Montgomery Site (36CH60), have told us much about how the Lenape lived before the Europeans came, and how their lives were altered by contact. Historic records about the lives of these fascinating Americans and how they were blended with the Europeans provide us with a rich understanding of how they once lived. Dr. Marshall Becker |
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The Lenape [Delaware]: How They Lived and Where They've Gone By the time that William Penn arrived the Lenape had long been trading with and living among the Swedish settlers in the area that was to become Philadelphia. How the Lenape lived in the forests before European contact, how they interacted with these colonial peoples, and how they learned to adapt to European influences are the main subjects of this slide-illustrated lecture. Dr. Marshall Becker |
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Indians of Pennsylvania: Archaeology and History "Lenape, Munsee, Susquehannock, Monongahela, Iroquois, Delaware..." all these names which are so familiar to us are a reminder of the Native American peoples who were here long before the time of the Vikings or Columbus. The exciting things that we have learned from archaeology about the way that they lived and how they interacted with each other, their dealings with Europeans, and what became of them will be reviewed in this illustrated slide lecture. Dr. Marshall Becker |
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Modern Indians and the Pan-Indian Movement: No one knows exactly how many Native American cultures existed before 1500. Today over 500 are Federally recognized as being able to trace "tribal" identity back into the past, and provides each group with special benefits from the United States Government. However, most "Indian" activities which we read about today do not relate to any specific "Nation" but are based on activities only recently developed. The origins of dances, pow-wows, clothing, decorations/decorative arts, and foods now commonly seen in Pennsylvania, and their relationship to traditional counterparts, are the focus of this slide illustrated lecture. Dr. Marshall Becker |
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Pueblo Indian Pottery: Beautiful Manifestations of the Spirit The Pueblo Indians of the Southwest have an ancient relationship with the land. This connection is both physical and spiritual. What are these special attributes? How are they reflected in the pottery aesthetic? This lecture will feature slides of the Southwest and pottery from the University of Pennsylvania Museum collections. (A children's version is also available.) Ms. Phoebe Eskenazi |
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Indians of the Southwest and their Pottery
What does the bear paw imprint on Santa Clara pottery mean? What
does the Road Runner -- the Arizona State Bird that can run twenty
miles an hour -- mean to the Zia potters? What does Blue Corn house
look like and why is her pottery, along with Maria's, in major museums
throughout the country? This slide lecture relates personal interviews
with major pueblo potters and helps one identify and understand
their pottery. Ms. Elaine Garfinkel |
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Dances With Wolves: Life on the Plains Popular notions of American Indians include images of the eagle and the thunderbird. This slide illustrated lecture will examine Sioux history and material culture. From war bonnets to the sacred pipe, from the sun dance to the sweat lodge, the eagle is a dominant figure in Sioux life. Ms. Straw uses artifacts from The University of Pennsylvania Museum collections to illustrate Sioux techniques in art and clothing. Ms. Elizabeth Neaves Straw |
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| Sustainable Gardens of North America Who invented ecological gardens? No one can answer that question, but
Native Americans certainly cultivation plants in a sustainable manner
long before the emergence of the native plant movements of the twentieth
century. Anthropologist Marshall Becker will discuss what we know about
how Native Americans created gardens and managed wild plant populations.
Dr. Marshall Becker |
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| Growing Up Hopi: Escaping the Ogres This slide lecture presents the ways in which the traditional Hopi Indians of Arizona instilled from an early age the values of community, family solidarity, and respect for the land through encounters with the kachinas, or spirits, both frightening and protective. As Hopi children grew older, their education included more complete knowledge of, and closer associations, with the spirits that guarded, protected, and fed them. With llustrations of Hopi sculpture, traditional rituals, and Southwestern landscape. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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| What Native Americans Share: An Introduction to the
Art of the North American Peoples This slide lecture is a general introduction to some major ideas shared by many Native American peoples, including concepts of an animate universe, reciprocity between people and the spirit world, the vision quest, and shamanism as an important part of curing. Illustrated with the sculpture, painting, and beadwork of various native peoples. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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| Dances with Wolves Revisited: The Art of the Plains
Peoples This slide lecture illustrates some major arts of the Plains peoples, including pipes, beadwork, clothing, and small-scale sculpture. Because the people moved frequently, their art consisted of practical objects, often beautifully made and decorated, and miniature works with monumental proportions. Their art reflects their intense and respectful relationship to the horse, the buffalo, and the land. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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| The Raven's People: The Art of the Northwest Coast This slide lecture presents the soaring architecture and poles of the people who live along the coast of British Columbia. Their rich oral history told of ancestors who met, and fought or befriended powerful spirits, and who received the right to use the spirits’ images in their arts. Each house or post, as well as each family, had its origin story and reflected the great stories of the past. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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| The Far North: The Art of the Inuit This slide lecture illustrates the art of the Inuit, who inhabit one of the most difficult environments on earth—the northern polar regions. Nevertheless, with the simplest of tools and materials, the Inuit (whose name means “people”) created elaborate masks that reflected a universe filled with spirits, both kind and unfriendly. They “danced” their masks in annual rituals and for special ceremonies at the requests of their shamans in order to cure illnesses or bring back absent game animals. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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| Stories in Shell and Stitches: The Art of the Iroquois The Iroquois of New York state created the League or Confederacy, a complex political organization that united the five Iroquois nations. They recorded the treaties and agreements they made with each other, other Native American groups, and the US government in the so-called “wampum belts” made of native shell beads. On public occasions, they read the belts and recited the terms of their treaties. After contact with European culture, they adopted needles, threads and commercial beads, and crafted exquisite clothing, footwear, and cradleboards that captured their appreciation for the natural world. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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| Sacred Time and Sacred Space: The Art of the Hopi The Hopi of Arizona were (and are) farmers, who carefully observed the times to plant and harvest. They gave thanks to the kachinas, or spirits that sustained them and their crops. During the winter, the spirits came into the village in the form of masked dancers, who received the gifts and prayers of the Hopi people, and Hopi men carved small images of the kachinas to give to their children. Images and dance costumes remain major art forms among the Hopi. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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| Sheep, Silver, and Sand: The Art of the Navajo The Navajo of New Mexico and Arizona borrowed many of their crafts from their neighbors, and then transformed them into magnificent, characteristic Navajo arts that are world famous. They received sheep from the US government in compensation for land, and became master weavers. From Mexican smiths, they learned to work metal and then created fine silver and turquoise jewelry. Their pueblo neighbors taught them to paint in earth pigments, and they elaborated “sand” painting into a fine art. In every case, the Navajo added a spiritual dimension to these crafts. An age-appropriate version is available for younger audiences. Dr. Jill Furst |
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