Groundstone celts made of slate. Neolithic, c. 5200–4100 BC. Fayoum, Egypt. African Archaeology, Peterson Collection. UMMAA 6651.

Enoch E. Peterson, director of the University’s early 20th-century excavation at the Graeco-Roman town of Karanis in the Fayoum Basin in Egypt’s western desert, also made collections at nearby prehistoric sites. Materials from Karanis comprise the heart of the Kelsey Museum’s archaeological collections, while the prehistoric artifacts came to the anthropology museum. These small groundstone celts are included in the collection of more than 1200 prehistoric stone tools that Peterson collected at settlement and camp sites along ancient lakeshores of Birket Qarun. Less than three inches in maximum dimension, these tools were likely used in fine woodworking or other plant processing tasks.

Back to Day 113 or continue to Day 115.

In honor of the University of Michigan’s 2017 bicentennial, we are celebrating the remarkable archaeological and ethnographic collections and rich legacy of research and teaching at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology by posting one entry a day for 200 days. The entries will highlight objects from the collections, museum personalities, and UMMAA expeditions. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology is also posting each day for 200 days on Twitter and Facebook (follow along at #KMA200). After the last post, an exhibition on two centuries of archaeology at U-M opens at the Kelsey. Visit the exhibit—a joint project of the UMMAA and the Kelsey—from October 18, 2017 to May 27, 2018.