Oriental Institute’s founding tale full of adventure By William
Harms Photo courtesy of the Oriental Institute This is a
fascinating glimpse of a pivotal moment in history—the birth of
the modern Middle East as we know it today.” James Henry
Breasted left Chicago in 1919 for a daring journey of adventure
and archaeological discovery. He came back with a research
agenda that shaped the work of the Oriental Institute for
decades and would forever change how the ancient Middle East is
studied and understood. His trek through Egypt and what are now
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel comes to life in dozens of his
letters and 1,000 of his photographs that are featured in a new
exhibition at the Oriental Institute Museum. In “Pioneers to the
Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919–1920,”
the famed archaeologist’s own dispatches help recount his
exciting, dangerous journey amid the unstable aftermath of World
War I. “This is a fascinating glimpse of a pivotal moment in
history—the birth of the modern Mi