Zoe Tunnicliff
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Irene Soto Marin
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Classical Studies / Kelsey / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 5 – 3:40pm – 4:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors:
Presenter: 30
Abstract
In the 1920s, the University of Michigan had an excavation project in Egypt led by Dr. Francis Willey Kelsey. His goal was to obtain artifacts and papyri for research and teaching from Egypt, resulting in a large number of letters and correspondence between Ann Arbor and Egypt. However, these letters have gone largely unstudied despite their value as a primary source. In order to study and organize these letters, we had to first transcribe the over 150 documents. Once this was completed, we began organizing the letters chronologically so that the events within the letters could be better understood. From there, the letters can be published and better utilized for research about the time period. While we still have not finished organizing the letters and reading through them chronologically, we have learned much about Dr. Kelsey’s life as well as the customs and practices that went along with collecting artifacts and papyri during that time period, because it is very different from modern-day. The contents of the letters and documents are very diverse, containing information about the people in the correspondence, events happening during that time, papyri and artifacts, and more. This research is valuable after publication, as the letters will be a primary source available for other researchers to utilize in different projects.
Arts and Humanities
