Dominique Gould, Near East Educator
Ancient Daily Life Through Objects: Cuneiform, Clay & Community
Most people imagine the ancient world as primitive. They believe these people were simply cavemen and hunters. However, Sumerian scribes were recording festivals on clay tablets. Meanwhile, Egyptian families were cherishing their children in hieroglyphic art. Additionally, Ugaritic merchants were trading ideas across the Mediterranean. Growing up surrounded by books on ancient Egypt, Sumer, and Canaanite cultures, Dominique Gould learned early on. Her mother won a museum award for Egyptology artwork in 1985. Through this, she discovered that ancient people lived rich, complex lives. Unfortunately, museums rarely help visitors understand this reality.
Tours will reveal the everyday humanity in archaeological collections. First, we’ll explore how families worked together. Then, we’ll examine how ordinary people made pottery and textiles. Finally, we’ll discover how they raised children. We’ll examine Sumerian cuneiform tablets. Along the way, we’ll study Egyptian hieroglyphs depicting daily interactions. Additionally, we’ll view Near Eastern artifacts that show sophisticated Neolithic societies. Most visitors never recognize these complex cultures.
Tour Approach
Interactive, storytelling-focused tours connecting ancient objects to everyday human experiences, followed by a hands-on clay workshop. First, we’ll explore how Sumerians used pictographic writing to communicate. Then, we’ll examine artifacts revealing family life in ancient Egypt. Next, we’ll discuss how Mediterranean cultures traded both goods and ideas. Each tour includes creating your own cuneiform or hieroglyphic inscription using earthen clay and carving tools. Together, we will directly experience the tactile process ancient scribes used. Afterward, you’ll have a tangible artifact to take home that reinforces what we’ve learned. Whether at the Smithsonian examining Near Eastern collections or at Dumbarton Oaks exploring Byzantine iconography, you’ll leave with new understanding. Ultimately, you’ll grasp the sophisticated daily lives museums rarely explain. Plus, you’ll have a physical connection to the ancient communication methods we discussed.
Museums + DMV
- Museum of the Bible houses ancient Near Eastern artifacts including cuneiform tablets and archaeological evidence of daily life in biblical-era cultures. Perfect for exploring how ordinary people lived, worked, and communicated in Sumerian, Ugaritic, and Canaanite societies.
- The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers extensive plant collections and cultural exhibits that reveal how different societies used herbs for medicine, food, and ritual. Tours here connect scientific specimens to living herbalist traditions and cultural plant knowledge.
- Dumbarton Oaks provides Byzantine iconography and Mediterranean cultural artifacts, showing how ideas traveled between Egypt, Cyprus, and the ancient Near East through trade networks and artistic exchange.
- National Museum of Asian Art features ancient South Asian cultures and their connections to Near Eastern Neolithic traditions, revealing cross-cultural influences most visitors don’t recognize.