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The
Oriental
Institute
(OI),
established
in
1919,
is
the
University
of
Chicago's
interdisciplinary
research
center
for
ancient
Near
Eastern
("Orient")
studies
and
archaeology
museum.
It
was
founded
for
the
university
by
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
publicly
exhibits
an
extensive
collection
of
artifacts
related
to
ancient
civilizations
at
its
on-campus
building
in
the
Hyde
Park,
Chicago
community.
According
to
anthropologist
William
Parkinson,
the
OI's
highly
focused
"near
Eastern,
or
southwest
Asian
and
Egyptian"
collection
is
one
of
the
finest
in
the
world.
The
Museum
of
the
Oriental
Institute
has
artifacts
from
digs
in
Egypt,
Israel,
Syria,
Turkey,
Iraq,
and
Iran.
Notable
works
in
the
collection
include
the
famous
Megiddo
Ivories;
various
treasures
from
Persepolis,
the
old
Persian
capital;
a
collection
of
Luristan
Bronzes;
a
colossal
40-ton
human-headed
winged
bull
(or
Lamassu)
from
Khorsabad,
the
capital
of
Sargon
II;
and
a
monumental
statue
of
King
Tutankhamun.
The
museum
has
free
admission,
although
visitors
are
encouraged
to
donate.
The
Oriental
Institute
is
a
center
of
active
research
on
the
ancient
Near
East.
The
building's
upper
floors
contain
a
library,
classrooms
and
faculty
offices,
and
its
gift
shop,
the
Suq,
also
sells
textbooks
for
the
University's
classes
on
Near
Eastern
studies.
In
addition
to
carrying
out
many
digs
in
the
Fertile
Crescent,
OI
scholars
have
made
contributions
to
the
understanding
of
the
origins
of
human
civilization.
The
term
"Fertile
Crescent"
was
coined
by
J.
H.
Breasted,
the
OI
founder,
who
popularized
the
connection
of
the
rise
of
civilization
in
the
Near
East
with
the
development
of
European
culture.
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