Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

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Large Maya sculptures and artifacts of the ancient world Sign up for behind-the-scenes news and program updates at https://www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/503
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09/06/2026

1,600 years ago today, a pivotal moment in Maya history took place: K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ (“Solar-Green-Quetzal-Macaw”) completed his ch’am-k’awiil accession rite at Teotihuacan, Mexico before traveling to Copan, Honduras to found its legendary royal dynasty.

Building on a long history of working alongside the people of Copan, the Harvard project team is proud to collaborate with the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia .hn and the Ministry of Tourism . Together, the team is developing updated interpretive programming and visitor information for a new exhibition display at the Copan Site Visitor Center . Bringing the latest archaeological and epigraphic insights to these updated materials ensures that locals and global travelers alike can connect deeply with this monumental legacy.

Visiting Cambridge? You can see a cast of the famous Altar Q depicting K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ (second from the left), and fifteen of his successors right now in the Encounters gallery at the Peabody Museum.

Museum Expedition, G. B. Gordon and J. G. Owens, Directors, 93-27-20/C580

08/19/2026

This World Photography Day, we are celebrating the extraordinary power of the medium through artist Azadeh Akhlaghi’s exhibition, 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙄𝙧𝙖𝙣: 𝘼 𝙑𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙮, currently on view at the Peabody Museum.

Created over fourteen years, Akhlaghi’s project uses meticulously staged, cinematic photography to recreate pivotal 20th-century Iranian political events that were never originally captured on camera. Drawing on years of archival research, historical locations, and both actors and non-actors, her large-scale prints bridge the gap between historical absence and our imagination.

“𝘉𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.”
— 𝘈𝘻𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘩 𝘈𝘬𝘩𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘪

Plan your visit to the exhibition:
https://tinyurl.com/FromIranExhibit

📷 Niles Singer, Harvard Staff Photographer

08/04/2026

The Peabody Museum and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture staff teamed up to create a replica of the siapo (tapa bark cloth from Samoa) that was on display in 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴, returning the original to storage.

HMSC exhibition staff experimented with materials and techniques that could mimic the original's color and texture, consulting with Conservation to ensure any materials would be safe for all the items in the shared display case.

Burnt umber and black acrylic paint were used to create a custom color for staining, and fabric test strips were dyed for different lengths of time until the desired color was achieved. Stirring and squeeze-drying the fabric by hand gave it the natural wrinkles that mimic the organic texture of the bark cloth, resulting in the beautiful replica currently seen on display. Learn more about how they created the replica!
https://peabody.harvard.edu/upp-replica

Siapo (Samoan bark cloth) collected in Fiji, c. 1911. Gift of Dr. R. B. Dixon, 1912. © President and Fellows of Harvard College, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology,12-31-70/84109

07/15/2026

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology announced the selection of Stephanie Syjuco as the 2026 Robert Gardner Fellow in Photography following an international search. The fellowship provides a $50,000 stipend to support a proposed project culminating the publication of a book. Read the full announcement: https://tinyurl.com/SyjucoGardner

Known for innovative installations that merge photography and installation, Syjuco will photograph conservation efforts in Philippine cultural institutions and juxtapose those images with materials from the archive of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦, a prominent newspaper shuttered in 1972 when President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law. Its vast collection of photojournalistic prints is now widely known as the "photo morgue."

Previous Gardner Fellows include Azadeh Akhlaghi, whose fellowship work is currently on view at the Peabody Museum in the exhibition 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯: 𝘈 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺.

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘴: Stephanie Syjuco photo by Kija Lucas; “Anti-Riot Police Squad (Batons, Shields),” 2024. From the series Inherent Vice: images sourced from the photo morgue of The Manila Chronicle, held by The Lopez Museum and Library, Manila, Philippines.

07/10/2026

Watch Harvard staffers compete in the World Stickball Series tournament in the Tvshka Homma Ohoyo (THO) vs. Beaver Dam game, which goes live on Friday, July 10 at 8pm ET (7pm CT) See https://tinyurl.com/MBCIStickball for the livestream link.

Harvard staff on THO’s team, shown in order: Audrey Jacob (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) a Peabody Museum NAGPRA coordinator; Erica Green (Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona), a Community Coordinator with Harvard University Native American Program; and Katherine Santos (Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb), the librarian for American Indigenous Studies at Harvard. THO will be playing Beaver Dam team.

07/09/2026

Native American tribes have played stickball for centuries. Meet Audrey Jacob (center, in the red shirt), one of three Harvard staffers helping the Tvshka Homma Ohoyo (Lady Red Warriors or THO) team in the World Series of Stickball tournament this week.

Audrey (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) is one of the Peabody Museum’s NAGPRA coordinators. She says, "The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma will be represented across multiple divisions: 14-17, 18+men, 35+ men, 18+ women. Our women’s roster alone has 129 players listed.”

Joining the team this year are Erica Green on the left in a hat (Hualapai Indian Tribe of the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona), a community coordinator with Harvard University Native American Program, and Katherine Santos on the right in a white shirt (Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb), the librarian for American Indigenous Studies at Harvard.

Check https://tinyurl.com/MBCIStickball for a livestream link to the Tvshka Homma Ohoyo vs. Beaver Dam game, which goes live on Friday, July 10 at 8pm ET (7pm CT)!

07/02/2026

In the United States, tomorrow marks Independence Day: the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1776, American artist Charles Willson Peale painted a portrait of George Washington, wearing a blue taffeta sash across his chest. Washington himself decided the system of colored sashes to denote rank. A silk taffeta sash formerly worn by George Washington is now on view in the 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘐𝘴 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 gallery in through October 18th, 2026.

We are open all weekend, 9am-5pm. While you're here, see the related Harvard Yard Archaeology Project display in the lobby.
Read more: https://tinyurl.com/PeabodySash

Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827). George Washington, 1776. Oil on canvas, 44 x 38 5/16 in. (111.7 x 97.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 34.1178.

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