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News from ISAS

The Illinois State Archaeological Survey protects, preserves, and interprets irreplaceable and non-renewable cultural resources within the context of Illinois’ need to encourage and promote sustainable development. ISAS is a division of the Prairie Research Institute (PRI).

blog posts

  • Tamira Brennan returns to ISAS as curator

    May 1, 2020 2:30 pm

    Dr. Tamira Brennan, who previously worked at the American Bottom Field Station as a coordinator, researcher, and ceramic analyst, is returning to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey as the section head of curation. ISAS houses one of the most extensive archaeological research collections in the state of Illinois, which is used by researchers from around the world to gain insights into our history. 

  • Paula Porubcan and Paula Bryant win 2020 Outstanding Collaboration Award

    Apr 22, 2020 4:15 pm

    The Prairie Research Institute recently honored the two Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) staffers for their contributions to a long-running collaboration with the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC). 

  • POSTPONED TO 2021 – Toward the Middle Range conference

    Mar 12, 2020 1:30 pm

    As we all seek to limit spread of COVID-19, this event will be postponed to 2021.  

    The Illinois State Archaeological Survey will host a visiting scholar conference May 30–31, 2020. Toward the Middle Range will focus on the intersection of theory, method, and case study through the lens of the New Materialisms. Up to 15 participants—local, national, and international—will be selected for this two-day conference, which will feature both public and private sessions. Papers will be compiled into an edited volume.

  • The Richard and Marilyn Schryver Collection

    Feb 18, 2020 11:00 am

    The Richard and Marilyn Schryver Collection was donated to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey in the Fall of 2019 by their children.

  • Deciphering the culture found in prehistoric plants

    Feb 5, 2020 11:15 am

  • Reading history in the soil

    Jan 28, 2020 3:30 pm

    Illinois State Archaeological Survey postdoctoral researcher Rebecca Barzilai maps and collects soil samples from the floor of a religious shrine in Greater Cahokia, an ancient Native American settlement on the Mississippi River in and around present-day St. Louis.

  • State Archaeologist leads Cahokia tour for Illinois alumni

    Sep 18, 2019 4:15 pm

    Illinois State Archaeologist Tim Pauketat led a tour of Cahokia Mounds on Sept. 19 for a group of University of Illinois alumni. This special event was organized by the Illinois Alumni Association and the Prairie Research Institute. 

  • Meet Michael Aiuvalasit, environmental archaeologist

    Aug 29, 2019 7:15 am

    Michael Aiuvalasit joins ISAS as an environmental archaeologist, leveraging his expertise using archaeological and paleoclimate data to tell a story about how people solved resource management problems in the past.

  • Archaeological predictive modeling app offers clues for future development

    Aug 15, 2019 2:30 pm

    The Illinois Archaeological Predictive Models (IAPM) offers a publicly available resource to predict where archaeological sites may be found.

  • Extracting history from a cornfield

    Jul 17, 2019 8:30 am

    Illinois News Bureau writer Diana Yates recently participated in an archaeological investigation of an 800-year-old village in central Illinois.