Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East 1919-20

A new exhibition at the University of Chicagos Oriental Institute Museum chronicles an amazing and sometimes dangerous journey 90 years ago by James Henry Breasted, a famed archaeologist who brought back Egyptian artifacts to Chicago.

"Pioneers to the Past: American Archaeologists in the Middle East, 1919-1920," will be on display at the Oriental Institute from January 12 through August 31, 2010. The exhibit follows Illinois native James Henry Breasted's daring travels through Egypt and Mesopotamia in the unstable aftermath of World War I. Breasted, a leading Egyptologist, was the founder of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, and this journey was the first Oriental Institute project. This video previews the exhibit and gives a little background on Breasted the man and Egyptologist