Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
East Meets West tympanum, designed in 1931 by sculptor Ulric Ellerhusen | |
Former name | The Oriental Institute (OI) |
|---|---|
| Established | May 1919 |
| Location | 1155 E 58th Street Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Coordinates | 41°47′22″N 87°35′52″W / 41.78944°N 87.59778°W |
| Type | Archaeology; languages |
| Owner | University of Chicago |
| Website | isac |
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia and North Africa (ISAC), formerly known as the Oriental Institute (OI), is a research institute and museum of the University of Chicago, located in Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Established in May 1919, the institute was founded by Egyptologist and professor James Henry Breasted with funds donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr. It conducts research on ancient civilizations throughout the Near East, including at its facility, Chicago House, in Luxor, Egypt. The institute also publicly exhibits an extensive collection of artifacts related to ancient civilizations and archaeological discoveries at its on-campus building in Hyde Park, Chicago. According to anthropologist William Parkinson of the Field Museum of Natural History, the institute's highly focused "near Eastern, or southwest Asian and Egyptian" collection is one of the finest in the world.