Pioneers to the Past

American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920

edited by Geoff Emberling

Book cover: Pioneers to the Past

Extent: 160 pages

Publisher: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

Subjects: Ancient Near East, Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies

Series: Oriental Institute Museum Publications

Series volume number: 30

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(April 2010)

ISBN: 9781885923707

Price: $9.95

In stock

Catalogue of the Oriental Institute special exhibit of the same name, highlights the interconnected stories of an important figure in intellectual history – James Henry Breasted – and the beginnings of American scientific archaeology in the Near East at a crucial turning point in world history at the end of World War I.


Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920, the catalogue of the Oriental Institute special exhibit of the same name, highlights the interconnected stories of an important figure in intellectual history – James Henry Breasted – and the beginnings of American scientific archaeology in the Near East at a crucial turning point in world history. At the end of World War I, Breasted and a small team of scholars set sail for the Near East on what would be an eleven-month odyssey across the region. The fascinating mix of politics, scholarship, and history (both ancient and modern) as seen through a focus on the larger-than-life persona of James Henry Breasted lies at the heart of Pioneers to the Past. Breasted’s letters and photographs from his trip provide a window into the engagement of modern scholarship with the ancient world, in a highly charged setting of power politics in the early twentieth century. The essays in this catalogue explain the historical, legal, and political context in a way that greatly enriches our understanding of Breasted’s journey and its aftermath.

  • Edited by Geoff Emberling