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  • October 2018 Field Notes

    Oct 22, 2018 1:45 pm
  • Example of a plow-scarred rock

    Plow scars and omarolluks

    May 18, 2021 8:00 am
  • three archaeologists looking for chert in Jersey County, Illinois.

    Search for local chert

    Mar 10, 2020 11:00 am

  • September 2018 Field Notes

    Sep 11, 2018 9:30 am
  • Both sides of a shell tool, which may have been used to decorate a ceramic vessel before final firing. The tool was found at a site in Cook County earlier this year.

    Shell tool

    Sep 9, 2019 1:45 pm

    During a collaborative restoration project with the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC), this shell tool, which archaeologists believe may have been used to make decorative designs on a ceramic vessel prior to final firing was recovered.

  • soda and mineral water bottles embossed with the names of East St. Louis soda water companies.

    Soda and mineral water bottles

    Oct 15, 2018 11:00 am

    Between 2009 and 2012, ISAS conducted excavations within multiple turn of the 20th century neighborhoods as part of the excavation in East St. Louis and the New Mississippi River Bridge project. One of the more common artifacts found were soda and mineral water bottles embossed with the names of East St. Louis soda water companies.

  • The Cardosi Site

    Oct 29, 2018 2:30 pm
  • Vegetables harvested from the WIFS garden.

    The past feeds the present

    Aug 15, 2022 8:00 am

    The WIFS Macomb Fieldstation is currently home to the ISAS flotation laboratory, where flotation samples from projects across the state are processed. Leftover sediments have been repurposed in the on-site staff vegetable garden, once again enriching the local soils for a new food crop.

  • horse femurs found on a river bank

    Trained eye IDs animal bones

    May 3, 2022 8:00 am

    Earlier this year, ISAS received some photos the submitter believed were from a bison. The bones in all of these photos are actually from a horse. Steve Kuehn, an ISAS zooarchaeologist, notes two elements show distinct traits that separate horses from bison and cattle.

  • This bayonet was found during excavation of a structure at Fort Johnson/Cantonment Davis in Warsaw, in the immediate vicinity of a limestone fireplace.

    War of 1812 American socket bayonet

    Aug 9, 2018 10:15 am

    August’s Artifact of the Month: This bayonet was found during the excavation of a structure at Fort Johnson/Cantonment Davis in Warsaw, in the immediate vicinity of a limestone fireplace. It is a standard United States issue model 1808 bayonet, representing the first regulation of U.S. accouterments of the type that remained in service until 1828.

  • 4 people excavating and screening

    Western Illinois Field Station evaluates sites related to U.S. 34 project

    Apr 29, 2019 2:30 pm
  • ISAS staff excavating in the woods

    Western Illinois Field Station staff explore the 'Nile of North America'

    Sep 23, 2019 8:15 am
  • The c. 9000-years-old serrated Kirk cluster point was broken and reworked into a drawshave-type of hafted tool displaying a needle tip.

    Western Illinois projectile points

    May 17, 2019 11:45 am

    Various projectile points were found in fields across Western Illinois, including Shuyler and Cass counties. 

  • three maps of Illinois archaeological survey density across all townships

    What we don’t know about Illinois archaeology

    Oct 25, 2021 12:00 pm

    Despite more than 100 years of archaeological research in Illinois, large parts of the state have received very little professional survey. Almost one third of townships in Illinois have less than 1% of their area surveyed! By and large, places with high populations, a lot of modern development, more road building, or proximity to universities have received more attention from archaeologists.