„(Don’t) look back! – Alte Kulturen neu entdecken!“

In the organizer's words:

How do ancient cultures shape our present? What knowledge from the past still influences our society today? And how do researchers gain knowledge about the past? The new special exhibition "Don't look back - rediscover ancient cultures!" places historical artifacts in new contexts.

"Don't look back!" - a student exhibition project

What we know today and how we live is the result of centuries of social developments. Scientists who study ancient cultures and antiquity research past social, cultural and religious structures. "Don't look back!" shows the relevance of ancient studies for the present. The special exhibition makes it clear that past cultures are by no means "dusty", but still influence our knowledge and our lives today.

With "Don't look back", students of Egyptology and Coptology, Ancient History, Classical Archaeology, Art History and Pre- and Early History have worked together with the Forum Wissen to design an exhibition that addresses new research questions and methods in ancient studies and presents exhibits from the University of Göttingen's collections.

From ancient technology to modern research

The objects on display include archaeological finds of everyday objects, but also special exhibits such as a historical fountain, a ring sundial and the so-called Gotha mummy. The mummy came to Göttingen in 1810 when Duke August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg gave it to the Göttingen naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. It is presented in a protected exhibition area, where ethical issues in dealing with human remains are addressed. The student exhibition project invites visitors to reflect on how we deal with our cultural heritage. The exhibition also focuses on technical innovations from past eras that are still relevant today.

The exhibition can be viewed during the opening hours of Forum Wissen. Admission is free of charge.

Audio perspective

This is the perspective of Ricarda Gericke, a doctoral student at Philipps University in Marburg. She previously studied Egyptology in Göttingen and Leipzig. As a research assistant, she is part of the project "Agency and Ethics - Sensitive Objects in University Collections", which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Her research project deals specifically with the handling of human remains from Ancient Egypt and the stages between the burial site and the current storage location of mummies and individual mummy components that are currently located in Germany.