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). 

The Illinois State Archaeological Survey offers a GIS-based tool that draws on more than a century of data to predict the probability of encountering an archaeological site in any 2-acre section of Illinois. Land owners, developers, preservationists, and other Illinoisans can use this tool to proactively assess and protect archaeological resources while enabling sustainable development. 

It is with profound sadness that we share the news that James “Jimmy” Burns passed away on November 7, 2023. Jimmy was a consummate field archaeologist who worked extensively across the Midwest, Far West, and Southeast over a 40-year career in both cultural resource management and academic settings. Above all, Jimmy was the best friend a person could be and he will be missed forever across ISAS, PRI, and beyond. 

In the early 1900s, archaeologist William Mills dug up a treasure-trove of carved stone pipes that had been buried almost 2,000 years earlier. Mills was the first to dig the Native American site, called Tremper Mound, in southern Ohio. And when he inspected the pipes, he made a reasonable—but untested—assumption. The pipes looked as if they had been carved from local stone, and so he said they were. That assumption, first published in 1916, has been repeated in scientific publications to this day. But according to a new analysis, Mills was wrong.

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.

Corn cultivation spread from Mesoamerica to what is now the American Southwest by about 4000 B.C., but how and when the crop made it to other parts of North America is still a subject of debate. In a new study, scientists report that corn was not grown in the ancient metropolis of Cahokia until sometime between A.D. 900 and 1000, a relatively late date that corresponds to the start of the city’s rapid expansion.

The ancient North American city of Cahokia had as its focal point a feature now known as Monks Mound, a giant earthwork surrounded on its north, south, east and west by large rectangular open areas. These flat zones, called plazas by archaeologists since the early 1960s, were thought to serve as communal areas that served the many mounds and structures of the city.

New paleoenvironmental analyses of the north plaza suggest it was almost always underwater, calling into question earlier interpretations of the north plaza’s role in Cahokian society. The study is reported in the journal World Archaeology.

John Lambert and Alleen Betzenhauser describe how they used a 3D scanner to capture digital images of petroglyphs that were pecked and ground into limestone boulders during the Mississippian Period

The Illinois State Archaeological Survey seeks Archaeological Field Technicians to fill hourly field crew positions for large-scale Phase I, II, and III projects conducted out of our Central Illinois Field Station in Champaign. These are temporary (with potential of long term), full-time (40 hour/week), non-benefits-eligible, field/laboratory positions that may also involve some additional fieldwork, data processing, and specialized-analysis opportunities. Technicians will need to relocate to the Champaign area.  In-house training in ISAS methods is provided, and lodging and per diem are paid on out-of-town projects.

Recognized for her exceptional contributions, Mera Hertel, a cornerstone of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS), has been honored with the prestigious Prairie Research Institute’s 2024 Distinguished Support Staff Award.

Longtime researcher Alleen Betzenhauser has been named the new director of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey and Illinois State Archaeologist at the Prairie Research Institute.

A team of medical experts and researchers will present new findings on the Spurlock Museum mummy at a symposium at the museum on Nov. 2. Sarah Wisseman, the director of the Program on Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey and the author of "The Virtual Mummy," led the effort and will introduce the event.

A recent meeting between Tribal Nations and researchers from the Prairie Research Institute focused on the cultural significance of freshwater mussels, priorities for conservation and preservation, and opportunities for collaboration.

People living 700 to 900 years ago in Cahokia, a massive settlement near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, ritually used a caffeinated brew made from the leaves of a holly tree that grew hundreds of miles away, researchers report.

A new book from the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, the Prairie Research Institute and the Illinois Department of Transportation offers a detailed overview of insights gained from more than a century of archaeological study.