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Artistic reconstruction of a museum hall with architectural models, ceramics, maps, and textiles

MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATIONS & CULTURES

Many ways to make a world.

Explore 18 exhibits on communities, connections, and living heritage. Each display offers context, methods, limits, and further reading.

Gallery images are artistic reconstructions of representative subjects. These are educational displays, not photographs of accessioned Eftsona objects; no collection provenance or community attribution is claimed. Cultures are living and diverse.

GALLERY 01 · Settlement, water & records

Building Communities

Communities shaped their environments through planning, craft, and systems of record.

Choose an exhibit below to see its complete label.

CC · 001Town planSettlement model CC · 002Irrigation canalWater management model CC · 003Ceramic vesselHousehold pottery model CC · 004Clay tabletWritten record model CC · 005Cylinder sealSeal and impression model CC · 006Urban drainageIndus urban planning model

EXHIBIT CC · 001 / 018

Town plan

A settlement is a network of homes, work, routes, and shared places.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Settlement model
Period represented: Ancient and later examples
Typical setting: Urban settlement
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Plans reveal choices about access, defense, water, and meeting places. A reconstructed street represents possible relationships among structures, not a universal model of urban life.

How to investigate it

Compare mapped foundations, excavation layers, building materials, and the dates assigned to each phase.

What the display cannot establish

A plan cannot tell us how every resident experienced the town or whether all its buildings stood at once.

Look closer: Whose homes are easiest to miss when only monumental ruins survive?

Further reading: The Met · Timeline of Art History ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 002 / 018

Irrigation canal

Channels can redirect water to fields and settlements.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Water management model
Period represented: Ancient and later examples
Typical setting: Farming landscape
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Managing water requires construction, maintenance, agreements, and adaptation to seasonal change. The same landscape may have hosted different systems over centuries.

How to investigate it

Look for canal traces, sediments, crop remains, dated repairs, and written records where they survive.

What the display cannot establish

A channel alone cannot identify who governed it or how fairly its water was shared.

Look closer: What evidence could distinguish a canal from a natural stream?

Further reading: The Met · Timeline of Art History ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 003 / 018

Ceramic vessel

A vessel carries traces of making, use, and repair.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Household pottery model
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Home and workshop
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Clay composition, forming marks, firing, residues, and wear can tell different stories. Pottery occurs across many societies and has no single fixed meaning or function.

How to investigate it

Compare fabric, shape, soot, residue analysis, find context, and local parallels.

What the display cannot establish

The appearance of a pot cannot by itself establish its maker’s identity or its complete use history.

Look closer: What would soot on one side suggest, and what else might cause it?

Further reading: The Met · Timeline of Art History ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 004 / 018

Clay tablet

Marks in clay preserved some transactions and messages.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Written record model
Period represented: Ancient Mesopotamian example
Typical setting: Archive and marketplace
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Cuneiform was used for several languages and many types of record. The archive that survives reflects what was written, stored, and preserved, leaving many voices undocumented.

How to investigate it

Compare sign forms, language, archaeological context, tablet envelope, and independent translation.

What the display cannot establish

Decorative marks in this illustration are not an authentic text and cannot be translated.

Look closer: Which everyday activities might have left no written record?

Further reading: The Met · Cuneiform and Trade ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 005 / 018

Cylinder seal

A rolled design could mark ownership or identification.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Seal and impression model
Period represented: Ancient Mesopotamian example
Typical setting: Administration and trade
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

A seal was pressed into wet clay, making a repeatable impression. Images and inscriptions require careful reading in the context of a particular object and its documented find.

How to investigate it

Compare the seal with a genuine impression, material, iconography, inscription, and acquisition record.

What the display cannot establish

The motif alone cannot prove who used a seal or the terms of the transaction it marked.

Look closer: Why preserve both a seal and the impression it made?

Further reading: The Met · Cylinder Seal ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 006 / 018

Urban drainage

Drainage structures form part of a larger built environment.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Indus urban planning model
Period represented: Third millennium BCE example
Typical setting: South Asian city
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Indus settlements in present-day Pakistan and northwestern India show planned construction and material standardization in some places. Their writing remains undeciphered, limiting what can be said about institutions.

How to investigate it

Compare excavated drains, street levels, building phases, water sources, and regional variation.

What the display cannot establish

A model cannot establish a single government or read an undeciphered sign.

Look closer: What would repair layers reveal about the people maintaining a drain?

Further reading: The Met · South Asia Chronology ↗

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GALLERY 02 · Exchange, movement & adaptation

Routes & Encounters

Objects travel, but their routes and meanings need evidence beyond their appearance.

Choose an exhibit below to see its complete label.

CC · 007Trade route mapInterpretive route model CC · 008Coin and balanceExchange tools model CC · 009Shipping jarTransport vessel model CC · 010Woven silkTextile craft model CC · 011Printed folioReproduced book leaves CC · 012Crossroads modelArchitectural interpretation

EXHIBIT CC · 007 / 018

Trade route map

Routes join many local journeys rather than one unbroken road.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Interpretive route model
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Interregional networks
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Merchants, travelers, ideas, and materials moved through changing networks. A map simplifies geography and often erases the people who carried goods between hubs.

How to investigate it

Compare dated finds, inscriptions, shipping records, and changing political boundaries.

What the display cannot establish

A drawn route cannot prove that a particular object followed every line shown.

Look closer: How might a traded object have changed hands without one person traveling its whole route?

Further reading: The Met · Nishapur Excavations ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 008 / 018

Coin and balance

Standardized weights and coins can support exchange.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Exchange tools model
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Market and workshop
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Coins may name authorities or carry images; weights can help compare quantities. Many economies also used credit, barter, gifts, and obligations, so a display of money shows only part of exchange.

How to investigate it

Check weight, metal composition, date, mint evidence, and the context in which objects were found.

What the display cannot establish

One coin cannot establish a market price or prove it was used where it was found.

Look closer: What might a worn coin reveal that a pristine one cannot?

Further reading: The Met · Timeline of Art History ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 009 / 018

Shipping jar

Containers could protect and measure cargo in transit.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Transport vessel model
Period represented: Ancient Mediterranean example
Typical setting: Port and ship
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

A jar’s shape, clay source, markings, and residues can help reconstruct trade. Its contents and travels may change over its use life; reused containers complicate simple labels.

How to investigate it

Compare fabric analysis, stamps, residue, shipwreck context, and port records.

What the display cannot establish

A shape resembling an amphora cannot identify its cargo or itinerary by itself.

Look closer: How could reuse mislead someone reading a residue sample?

Further reading: The Met · Timeline of Art History ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 010 / 018

Woven silk

A fabric records technical skill and choices of material.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Textile craft model
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Workshop and household
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Fibers, weave, dye, and repair show both local making and long-distance exchange. Cloth often disappears archaeologically, so surviving textiles are a selective record.

How to investigate it

Study weave structure, fiber identification, dyes, tool marks, and documented community knowledge.

What the display cannot establish

A pattern alone cannot establish a maker, an ethnic identity, or a precise route of travel.

Look closer: Which information disappears when a textile is shown without its maker’s account?

Further reading: The Met · Nishapur Excavations ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 011 / 018

Printed folio

Reproducible pages spread texts to new readers.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Reproduced book leaves
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Library and print workshop
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Printing takes different forms in different places and periods. A page also depends on authors, printers, patrons, readers, and preservation; survival does not equal universal access.

How to investigate it

Compare paper, type or block impressions, edition, ownership marks, and catalog records.

What the display cannot establish

A display leaf cannot show how widely a book circulated or what its readers believed.

Look closer: What marks could reveal a page’s later journey?

Further reading: Library of Congress · Preservation ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 012 / 018

Crossroads model

Built spaces can reveal encounter and change.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Architectural interpretation
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Meeting of routes and settlements
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

A crossroads might connect markets, homes, worship, and government, but its meaning depends on local accounts and the chronology of structures. The model deliberately combines representative elements.

How to investigate it

Map construction phases and examine contemporary descriptions, archaeology, and community histories.

What the display cannot establish

An attractive reconstruction cannot recover the voices or motives of all who used a place.

Look closer: Which stories vanish when a plan shows only buildings?

Further reading: The Met · Timeline of Art History ↗

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GALLERY 03 · Everyday practice and living heritage

Lives & Stewardship

The record continues through people, knowledge, care, and decisions about custody.

Choose an exhibit below to see its complete label.

CC · 013Cooking vesselHousehold practice model CC · 014Woven basketBasketry technique model CC · 015Market modelEveryday social space reconstruction CC · 016Oral history stationRecording and consent model CC · 017Weaving practiceLiving craft interpretation CC · 018Provenance deskCollections stewardship model

EXHIBIT CC · 013 / 018

Cooking vessel

Food preparation links materials, labor, and environment.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Household practice model
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Kitchen and household
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

A cooking vessel can bear residues, soot, and repair marks. Recipes and meanings also depend on living knowledge and conditions that an object alone cannot contain.

How to investigate it

Compare residues, fuel traces, crop remains, oral accounts where appropriate, and contemporary recipes with context.

What the display cannot establish

One vessel cannot stand for a whole cuisine or a single unchanging tradition.

Look closer: Who prepared meals, and how could their labor appear in the evidence?

Further reading: UNESCO · Living Heritage ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 014 / 018

Woven basket

Local fibers become durable forms through skilled work.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Basketry technique model
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Household and workshop
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Material selection, preparation, weave, and repair reflect knowledge transmitted by makers. Meanings and authorized uses vary by community; a generic illustration makes no attribution.

How to investigate it

Consult makers and community sources; compare fibers, construction, function, and documented provenance.

What the display cannot establish

A weave pattern cannot establish a community affiliation or permission to reproduce it.

Look closer: What should a museum ask a maker before describing or displaying a basket?

Further reading: UNESCO · Living Heritage and Indigenous Peoples ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 015 / 018

Market model

A market joins work, exchange, conversation, and regulation.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Everyday social space reconstruction
Period represented: Variable periods
Typical setting: Local marketplace
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Trade takes place among people with different resources and obligations. A market scene is useful for questions about daily life, but it should not be mistaken for a documentary view of one specific town.

How to investigate it

Compare price records, excavated stalls, travel accounts, and oral histories, noting whose perspectives survive.

What the display cannot establish

A model cannot reproduce the sounds, relationships, or full social hierarchy of a market.

Look closer: What records would include sellers usually absent from official archives?

Further reading: The Met · Timeline of Art History ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 016 / 018

Oral history station

A recorded account preserves a speaker’s chosen testimony.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Recording and consent model
Period represented: Contemporary practice
Typical setting: Community archive
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Oral history depends on a speaker, interviewer, context, permission, and ongoing care of the recording. Different memories may disagree without making a participant’s experience meaningless.

How to investigate it

Read the consent terms, date, interview questions, transcript, and community access choices alongside the recording.

What the display cannot establish

A single interview cannot speak for an entire community or replace other evidence.

Look closer: Who decides whether a sensitive recording should be public?

Further reading: UNESCO · Ethical Principles ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 017 / 018

Weaving practice

Skills live through practice, teaching, and change.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Living craft interpretation
Period represented: Contemporary and historical
Typical setting: Community workshop
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Living heritage is defined and sustained by communities. The display uses a generic loom and fabric and does not claim to represent one group’s protected design or a fixed past.

How to investigate it

Seek a community-led account of technique, materials, transmission, and preferred terms before making an attribution.

What the display cannot establish

A static fabric cannot show the relationships and decisions involved in making it.

Look closer: How can a museum support makers rather than simply collect their products?

Further reading: UNESCO · Living Heritage and Education ↗

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EXHIBIT CC · 018 / 018

Provenance desk

An object’s custody is part of its history.

Display type: Illustrated reconstruction · Collections stewardship model
Period represented: Contemporary museum practice
Typical setting: Research and conservation room
Accession / origin: No physical Eftsona object; image is illustrative

What this represents

Museum records should document origin, transfer, restrictions, and uncertainties. Communities may seek access, shared care, or return; ethical stewardship requires listening and documented action.

How to investigate it

Compare acquisition files, export records, object history, and the perspectives of communities connected to the material.

What the display cannot establish

A polished display cannot by itself establish lawful or ethical acquisition.

Look closer: What should happen when the record has a gap at a crucial transfer?

Further reading: Smithsonian · Ethical Returns ↗

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