For the 15th year, the IAS is soliciting papers for the Jeanette E. Stephens Student Paper Awards. The competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students with research concerning Illinois Archaeology. Papers are due by June 30, 2019. Click on the link for details.

https://ilarchsurv.org/stephensaward

Prehistory on the Prairie III: Excavations at the Middle Grant Creek Site

Join us on the prairie again this year as we explore the cusp of prehistory at the Middle Grant Creek site! Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie’s mission is the restoration and preservation of indigenous prairieland – a now rare type of ecosystem – that nearly disappeared after 200 years of Euro-American land use in the area. As part of that effort, ongoing archaeological research is being done to identify both prehistoric and historic sites, cultures, and land-use patterns. One such site, identified in 2002, is the Middle Grant Creek Site. The site is an Oneota Culture (ca. A.D. 1150-1700) resource extraction and utilization site, dating to the Huber Phase (ca. A.D. 1600). Phase II testing in 2006 determined that it was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and, since 2016, Professor Mark Schurr and Dr. Madeleine McLeester of the University of Notre Dame have been working on excavations to further investigate the site. We invite you to come out to the Midewin and work side-by-side with these professionals as they excavate the site’s deep storage pits, which, so far, have yielded unique pottery, animal bones, a shell from Florida, projectile points, painted mussel shells, and more! You will get the chance to excavate, screen, and record the site, and help us find evidence of how Huber people lived and interacted with their environment. For more information: 

http://www.passportintime.com/prehistory-on-the-prairie-iii-2019.html?fbclid=IwAR1EZ7KHN9aXO-t0Qw5YCzzDsn6UeXFfkcQwXzvYx6gmVJTMogw8zMgIFU8

Let us all congratulate Lynne Goldstein on being this year's SAA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in recognition of her extensive contributions to the field of archaeology.  

The Field Museum is offering a number of paid internship opportunities for students this year. These may be found on The Field Museum's website (http://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/careers see pages 2 and 3) and include:

Intern, Anthropology Alliance, Collections
Intern, Anthropology Alliance, Summer Fieldwork
Interns, Boone Scholars for East Asian Studies
Intern, Mullins Martin-North American Anthropology
Interns, North American Biological Anthropology
Interns, Regenstein Pacific Collections

The annual conference of the Illinois Archaeological Survey is scheduled to convene on September 6 and 7, 2019 at the Interpretive Center of the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, https://cahokiamounds.org/. The business meeting and conference presentations will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, and an opening reception on Friday evening, Sept. 6. Plan on a fun weekend in Cahokia!

Floyd Mansberger of Fever River Research received the IAS Charles Bareis Distinguished Service Award in 2018. His archaeological and historical investigations of the Springfield Race Riots of 1908 are the subject of a January 2019 Smithsonian article.

2019 Illinois Association for Advancement Archaeology Permanent Fund Grants

The IAAA Permanent Fund has been awarding annual research assistance grants since 2004. These grants are open to avocational, professional, student, and educational groups for projects conducted within the state of Illinois. In 2019, the IAAA Permanent Fund will award two $400 grants. The deadline for grant applications is Monday, January 21, 2019. The application form, as well as guidelines and requirements for a grant, are available on the IAAA website under the Permanent Fund link (www.museum.state.il.us/iaaa).

Send any questions on the grants to Doug Jackson (dkjackso@illinois.edu)

The final program for the Illinois Archaeological Survey Conference of presentations on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, is available online.

Paper and poster presentations, our Annual Business Meeting, and Awards ceremony, convene at the Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center, 1501 S. Neill St., Champaign. We meet in the combined, main ballrooms at the front of the Conference Center. Presentations include current research and specialized topics in prehistoric and historical archaeology.

As the Illinois Archaeology Awareness initiative observes: “People have lived in Illinois for over 10,000 years, but only a portion of that history is known from historic documents. Celebrate some of the significant archaeological discoveries and projects that have aided in reconstructing and preserving the history of Illinois since it became a state in 1818.” Paper presentations are 15 minutes in length. Poster presentations will be displayed throughout the day. Beverages and snacks will be provided by the Conference Center throughout the day. Free parking.

Need a Date? Join Beta Analytic’s Raffle

Beta Analytic is inviting all undergrad and postgrad students who need radiocarbon dating to join our raffle. We are giving away five (5) AMS dates worth US$595 each. The raffle is open to all students in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. Beta Analytic will select one winner per region.

To join the raffle, please fill out the form found in Beta Analytic's raffle page which requires a description of your research that needs AMS dating. Winners are required to show proof of enrollment for any semester in 2018. For details, please visit https://www.radiocarbon.com/raffle.htm