The Importance of Local Antiquities in the Middle East

When you name your special series The Day Tomorrow Began, you inevitably have to ask yourself: just how far back are we going to go? If there’s one group of scholars who could tell us what the earliest possible day that “tomorrow” began is, it’s archaeologists. On this episode, we go back in time to learn about James Henry Breasted, a UChicago scholar who in the early 20th century revolutionized the field, founded the world-renowned Oriental Institute (the OI) and uncovered the roots of ancient civilizations. And we talk with leading scholars, who look to the future as the field of archaeology wrestles with its colonialist past.