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The Gilat Lady, ram, and a beautifully decorated "cornet" cup
found in the central cult room at Gilat, northern Negev Desert,
Israel. © Kenneth Garrett.
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The Waitt Family Foundation is proud to sponsor “Journey to the
Copper Age: Pre-Biblical Archaeology in the Holy Land” at the
San Diego Museum of Man.
Imagine a world without metal. Journey to the Copper Age: Archaeology
in the Holy Land tells the story of the profound changes that metallurgy
brought to human society: the birth of Mediterranean farming, the creation
of the first temples and cemeteries, and the emergence of complex societies.
This special exhibit is based on a National Geographic expedition led
by Professor Thomas Levy (University of California, San Diego) when
a group of international scientists rode donkeys across the deserts
of Jordan and Israel to reconstruct the ancient trade route, mining
methods, and ore smelting that were first used more than 6,000 years
ago.
Drawing on evidence and discoveries dating to the Copper Age, or Chalcolithic
Period (4500 to 3600 B.C.E.), Journey to the Copper Age takes us on a fascinating
journey through the development of humanity in present-day Israel, Palestine,
and Jordan and its ties to the beginnings of metal production. The exhibition
is based on the research of Anthropology and Judaic Studies Professor Thomas
Levy at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and a research team
of international scientists from Israel, Jordan, the United States, and Europe.
Highlights from the exhibition include photographs from renowned National Geographic
photographer Kenneth Garrett and a collection of archaeological artifacts,
seen for the first time on the West Coast, from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem,
the UCSD Levantine Archaeology Laboratory, and the Department of Antiquities
of Jordan. There will also be hands-on activities for both children and adults.
Dr. Tom Levy, the leading expert on the Chalcolithic period in the southern
Levant, has directed major archaeological research projects supported by the
National Geographic Society in Israel and Jordan and has published widely on
the subject.
Kenneth Garrett is a specialist in archaeological photography and a long-time
photographer for the National Geographic Society. Garrett accompanied Levy
on the expedition and along the way photographed most of the spectacular Chalcolithic
artifacts housed in museums in Israel and Jordan, as well as the archaeologists,
sites, and landscapes that provide the backdrop for this exciting journey.
Journey to the Copper Age was developed by the San
Diego Museum of Man, the
Israel Museum, Jerusalem, the National Geographic Society, and the University
of California, San Diego.
Tickets for Journey to the Copper Age are available now, and may be purchased
online at this link. Museum members, please call (619) 239-2001 for information
on tickets at members' rates.
 Copper Age ossuaries (left), Israel Museum.
Photographs © Kenneth Garrett.
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