ISAS Field Notes

A word about dating

Jul 19, 2021 8:00 am

ISAS staff excavating the Deer Shed Bluff site

A glimpse of an antebellum tavern on the Mississippi River

Nov 22, 2021 10:00 am

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.

John Lambert works to recover text from a heavily eroded and weathered gravestone.

3D scanning of a weathered stone grave marker at Allerton Park

Feb 4, 2020 2:00 pm

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.

Late Woodland Fall Creek Cordmarked ceramic jar.

Herb Mangold donation: Sny Bottom Late Woodland pottery vessels

Sep 9, 2020 8:00 am

a rare intact plowshare made of hand-forged iron by an unknown blacksmith.

Hand-forged iron plowshare

Apr 11, 2019 2:30 pm

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.

Plow scars and omarolluks

May 18, 2021 8:00 am

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.

ISAS staff and volunteers work at a site in the Forest Preserves of Cook County

ISAS and Forest Preserves of Cook County collaborate on site investigation and restoration

Jul 1, 2019 12:00 pm

three archaeologists looking for chert in Jersey County, Illinois.

Search for local chert

Mar 10, 2020 11:00 am

ISAS Assistant Director Thomas Loebel (Left) works with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to uncover an artifact at the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPDCC) site , Sept. 12, 2020.

Long-standing collaboration works to keep archaeological record intact

Sep 28, 2020 8:00 am

Assortment of projectile points collected by Ed Duling spanning nearly a 10,000 year period of time.

Ed Duling arrowhead collection donation

Oct 10, 2023 1:30 pm

Ed Duling's lifelong passion for collecting Native American artifacts has found a lasting legacy at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS). His collection, painstakingly gathered over decades, is more than a mere assortment of arrowheads; it’s a testament to the rich tapestry of our heritage. Inspired by his unwavering dedication, his family, Sheryl Ketner and Noelle Walton, made a heartfelt decision – to contact ISAS to preserve their father's legacy and share it with the world.

Clinton County finds

Oct 6, 2021 3:15 pm

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.

Bone and shell tools provide food for thought

Feb 4, 2021 9:00 am

white drone hovering above 3 men in corn stubble field

ISAS uses drone to investigate Late Woodland village

May 20, 2020 2:30 pm

Archaeologists found this bone awl (made on a white-tailed deer metatarsus) in Stephenson County.

Bone awls

Jul 30, 2019 10:00 am

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

Tombstone of Priscilla "Mother" Baltimore

Commemorating Freedom Village

Jul 26, 2021 8:00 am

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

Apr 29, 2019 2:30 pm

Fort Edwards geophysical survey

Sep 1, 2020 8:00 am

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

Sep 23, 2019 8:15 am

Stone tools that are suggestive of generalized Archaic period (probably 3,000 or more years old) use of the area where they were located – one is a drill or perforating tool and the other may be a reworked knife form.

Archaic stone tools and Late Woodland ceramics

Jul 22, 2020 9:45 am

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

Patrick Durst's head and chest are visible as he stands in an excavation, with Steven Boles standing six feet behind him

ISAS staff follow precautions while conducting essential fieldwork

Apr 20, 2020 9:45 am

NIFS staff member Allison Densmore shows George Johnson how researchers are using his donated collections for a research project on the distribution of projectile points in Illinois. Photo credit: Clare Tolmie

George Johnson donation: projectile points with a lasting impact

Feb 8, 2023 8:30 am

Our Northern Illinois Field Station (NIFS) recently had a friendly visit from a familiar face – George Johnson! Johnson, who donated an important projectile points collection to ISAS many years ago, stopped by to donate more artifacts to his collection. Johnson's donated collection is a major hotspot on the projectile points database.

ISAS supports Arthur Johnson Foundation’s mission of ‘hope, vision, and positive direction.’

Mar 15, 2024 2:15 pm

The Illinois State Archaeological Survey recently assisted with an archaeological survey for the new Arthur Johnson Foundation Center in East St. Louis, Illinois. The Foundation’s mission is to “give hope, vision and positive direction to our youth through the medium of athletics” and to rebuild inner-city communities by inspiring youth and assisting families experiencing crises.

Dalton projectile points

Sep 13, 2019 8:15 am

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.

Large erosional gully at an archaeological site in St. Clair County, Illinois

Climate change threatens to erode Illinois' archaeological record

Dec 12, 2022 9:15 am

Large swaths of the state—areas where the soil is easily eroded, where farm field slopes are particularly steep, and where there are many cultural sites of historic significance—are poised to suffer significant impacts in the coming decades. And with every fraction of an inch that washes downstream, the farmer’s plow goes a little deeper each year.

Aerial photo showing the McKeown (11WT33) site area taken with a drone. The site extends along the ridge in the bottom center of the photo to the woodlot in the top right. View to the southwest. Photo credit: John Lambert.

ISAS collaborates with landowners in Whiteside County to document pre-contact village site

Aug 2, 2023 8:00 am

The Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) recently collaborated with landowners in northwest Illinois to investigate a pre-contact village and associated mound using non-invasive geophysical survey. Originally recorded in 1961 as a Late Woodland site, a brief revisit to the McKeown site in 1974 showed that the site actually dates to the Upper Mississippian Langford Phase and contains not only a mound, but intact house pits and other features.

The Cardosi Site

Oct 29, 2018 2:30 pm

(Left to Right) Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery founders Leslie Cooperband, Wes Jarrell, and ISAS staff Madeline Evans and Mike Smith holding artifacts.

Identifying artifacts at Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery

Jan 24, 2022 8:00 am

ISAS volunteers Mike Smith and Madeline Evans were able to visit Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery in Champaign this past December to assist the owners in identifying a collection of artifacts that came into their possession as they expanded their farm operation.

Jacob Skousen collects magnetometer data at the Hunze site in Missouri.

ISAS staff, students conduct geophysical survey in Missouri

Apr 25, 2019 2:15 pm

IFR students sorting through archaeological materials being donated to the Center for Archaeological Investigations at SIUC.

Curating a new curriculum

Aug 2, 2021 8:00 am

Allerton Cemetery Workshop

Aug 28, 2019 12:45 pm

female Knox College student at the DeWulf excavation

'Citizen archaeologists' contribute to DeWulf project

Aug 5, 2021 11:45 am

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.

January 2019 Field Notes

Jan 11, 2019 10:00 am

February 2019 Field Notes

Feb 14, 2019 3:15 pm

A 2022 IFR field school student rehouses archaeological materials to prepare them for permanent storage.

Counting on the future to save the past

Oct 11, 2022 8:00 am

When one thinks of excavations taking place in the blazing summer sun, most people don’t realize how much discovery occurs in the cool, dark collections spaces that curators like Tamira Brennan, section head of curation at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) and her colleagues care for.

IFR students excavating at a 14th-century village during the first half of their six-week field school.

2022 Field School uncovers pre-contact 14th century village

Jul 22, 2022 1:30 pm

Dr. Tamira Brennan, section head of curation at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, recently completed a six-week archaeological field school in southeast Missouri. Hosted by the Institute for Field Research (IFR) in partnership with Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), Field School students travel from all over the U.S. to participate in hands-on research.

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.

September 2018 Field Notes

Sep 11, 2018 9:30 am

American Bottom Field Station investigates homestead

Apr 24, 2019 2:15 pm

5 people at work with augurs at the rivershore

March 2019 Field Notes

Mar 27, 2019 3:30 pm

October 2018 Field Notes

Oct 22, 2018 1:45 pm

June 2018 Field Notes

Jun 18, 2018 8:45 am

August 2018 Field Notes

Jul 31, 2018 2:45 pm

Photo (left to right): John Sullivan '23, Mathew Ragonjan '22, Elise Griffin '24, Devin Nessler '24, Monika Poudel '25, John Alexander Schone Scobbie (Archaeological Specialist), Erin Hughes (Research Archaeologist), James Pisell (Staff Archaeologist). July 2022.

Jacksonville lab tour

Aug 3, 2022 1:00 pm

Members of the Illinois College summer student scholarship cohort met with staff from the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) at the Western Illinois Field Station in Jacksonville, Illinois. Staff members John Alexander Schone Scobbie, an archaeological specialist, Erin Hughes, research archaeologist, and James Pisell, staff archaeologist, shared an overview of the mission and services of the ISAS and led a behind-the-scenes site tour.

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