Page 93 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Chicago

FIELD MUSEUM  91

development of intricate
pharaonic tombs. Here, the
remains of a 5,500­year­old
woman are displayed, along
with items such as pottery
jars thought to be needed
in the afterlife. A partial
recon struction of a mastaba,
a multiroom “mansion of
eternity,” features a false
door at which the earth­
bound and the wandering
spirits meet.
Other extraordinary artifacts Ceremonial dance mask worn by Alaskan
include the fully preserved inner Eskimo shamans
coffin of Chenet­a­a, a woman
who lived between 945 BC and ceremonies of this Pacific
712 BC. It is not known what is Northwest tribe. Panels on the
A gargantuan Apatosaurus inside the coffin since it has mask are opened and closed by
dinosaur skeleton never been opened or X­rayed. the dancer wearing it to show
various faces.
story of its discovery. Scientists
now know that Sue was 28
years old at the time of her Pacific Cultures
death. By counting the rings The highlight of the Pacific
in one of her rib bones, they cultures exhibits, with a section
determined Sue went through on headhunting and a
a teenage growth spurt re­creation of a Tahitian market,
between the ages of 14 and is the sacred Maori
18, during which she gained meetinghouse, Ruatepupuke II.
4.6 lb (2.1 kg) each day. Built in 1881 in New Zealand, it
The Hall of Jades displays was acquired by the museum in
jade artifacts along a 1905. The 55­ft­ (17­m­) long,
chrono logical story line beautifully carved house
from Neolithic burial sites symbolizes the body of the
through the Bronze Age, Maori ancestor Ruatepupuke,
the Chinese Dynasties, and credited with sharing the art of
into the early 20th century. wood carving with the world.
A 300 lb (136 kg) jar that A Pacific Coast Indian carved figure, once a The house’s ridgepole
once stood in the Imperial house entranceway represents his spine, the rafters
Palace of Emperor Qianlong his ribs, and the expansive roof­
is a highlight of the exhibit. boards his arms, open in
Americas greeting. It is the only Maori
The museum’s holdings of meetinghouse in the western
artifacts from North American hemisphere and remains
Ancient Egypt
Indian tribes reflect one of governed by Maori customs.
The museum’s Ancient the Field’s main missions:
Egyptian holdings consist of to encourage improved
more than 1,400 rare artifacts, understanding among
including statues, hiero­ cultures. Ceremonial objects
glyphics, and mummies. and splendid totem poles –
The predynastic burial exhibit two Haida examples rise to
reveals Egypt’s intriguing the ceiling of Stanley Field
burial practices before the Hall – are just some of the
treasures in this exhibit.
The Pawnee Earth Lodge, a
life­size reproduction, was built
in conjunction with the Pawnee,
a group of American Indians
based in Oklahoma.
The 19th­century cedar
Kwakiutl transformation masks
Isty’s Book of the Dead, an ancient are colorful and vivid. Such Spirit mask from Papua
papyrus scroll masks are often used during the New Guinea

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