The June 2018 artifact of the month is a beautiful Agate Basin point (Paleoindian type) recovered by our Western Illinois Field Station.

During the month of June, field crew from the American Bottom Field Station (ABFS) of ISAS carried out pedestrian surveys in southern Illinois for a proposed interstate reconstruction project. One of the site areas investigated contained numerous Mississippian artifacts including hoe fragments and shell-tempered pottery. 

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.

Found at the bottom of a deep pit dating to the Late Woodland period (circa 600-800 AD), this point displays surprising characteristics in both form and choice of material. The point is idiosyncratic, meaning it displays an unusual mix of aspects making it difficult to identify and compare with other known point types. 

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.

Last fall, while investigating an Archaic period site northwest of Macomb, an unexpected artifact was recovered from the plow zone: a 1943 German Reichspfennig (“imperial penny”). How this foreign World War II-era coin ended up in a US agricultural field far from any residence is puzzling and may never be known with certainty.

While excavating a site including a historic house cellar in Randolph County, staff from the American Bottom Field Station found this 1834 half dime, along with animal bones, buttons, bottles, and ceramic tableware. Indications are the house was in use in the 1830s and 1840s. 

Recently the Illinois State Archaeological Survey excavated the site of a small, short-term farmstead in rural Morgan County dating to the 1830s and 1840s. Found in an abandoned well was a rare intact plowshare made of hand-forged iron by an unknown blacksmith.

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

Recently staff from the Northern Illinois Field Station, along with volunteers, investigated and helped restore a site in the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC). 

Staff from the Northern Illinois Field Station, along with volunteers, recently collaborated with the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) to investigate and restore a large Native American farming village last month. Bone needles and ceramic vessels were found during this recent dig.

The Western Illinois Field Station team recently recovered an interesting rim section from a cord-impressed vessel while sampling a restricted bluff base midden or trash deposit during an IDOT-sponsored bridge replacement project in Tazewell County.

Archaeologists from the Northern Illinois Field Station recently recovered two bone tools from a small site in Stephenson County.

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.

ISAS recently hosted two researchers from the University of Louisville who are studying Dalton projectile points (8500–7900 BC) from the Midcontinent as part of a pilot research grant project. 

A Facebook message from a citizen scientist with a keen eye in Henderson County revealed an impressive assemblage of artifacts.

Ongoing volunteer work with the Herb Mangold donation reveals important new information about Late Woodland ceramic technology in the Sny Bottom locality south of Quincy, Illinois.

Volunteers, including students from Knox College, pitched in to help ISAS staff with a project at the DeWulf site, a Paleoindian site that dates back about 9,500 years. 

Two archaeology enthusiasts in Clinton County have collected dozens of clay-fired objects, which archaeologists believe were used to cook food in southern Illinois approximately 2,000 years ago.

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.

In 2019, the Illinois State Archaeological Survey encountered a pre-1850 historic site on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River as part of a bridge replacement project conducted by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Wedged between a gas pipeline and a modern highway right-of-way was a remarkably well-preserved footprint of an early 19th century structure, and as well as a rich deposit of material culture associated with what turned out to be tavern-keeping.