COVID-19 Update (1 April 2020)

The following CAA 2020 programs have been cancelled following the extension of the stay-at-home order in Illinois to 30 April:

Students enrolled in those programs have been notified. If you did not receive an email, let us know immediately at education@caa-archeology.org

We will have all of these programs again in 2021.

COVID-19 | An Appeal for Aid

The Center for American Archeology is actively monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has ordered all Illinois residents to stay at home and for all non-essential businesses to cease operations until 7 April 2020 in order to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The CAA is complying with this order.

Though the coronavirus outbreak has not yet been documented in Calhoun County, the disease is spreading. We do not know the full effect of the pandemic on our programs, but it is already having consequences.

Arizona State University has cancelled the 2020 ASU Kampsville Field School at the CAA.

We have not cancelled our other programs for now. We are still accepting enrollments in the hope that we will be able to have them. However, we may have to cancel all of our Spring and Summer 2020 programs, and perhaps those in the Fall, if this crisis continues.

Cancellation of the 2020 ASU Field School represents a temporary, but significant, setback for the CAA. Further program cancellations present a real risk for the Center for American Archeology.

  • Students and staff will not be able to participate in our annual field program for the first time in decades.
  • New discoveries about the past will not be made.
  • The CAA will lose tens of thousands of dollars in annual revenue we need to survive.

We realize this is a challenging time for everyone. If you are able, please make a donation to the CAA now. We need your help.

No matter its size, your donation will allow us to weather this crisis and continue to pursue our 67-year mission of education, research, and public service in archeology.

Donate Now

COVID-19 Statement (30 March 2020)

The Center for American Archeology is actively monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has ordered all Illinois residents to stay at home and for all non-essential businesses to cease until 7 April 2020 in order to combat the coronavirus outbreak . The CAA is complying with this order.

We do not know how the pandemic will affect our programs.

At the time of this posting, we are accepting enrollments for our programs in the hope that we will be able to have them. We are not accepting deposits or tuition payments at this time.

If you would like to attend a field school or other program, simply submit your enrollment and scholarship forms. Invoices for tuition payment will be sent once we are certain programs will occur.

In the event that programs are cancelled because of the coronavirus, refunds will be issued. Until that time, our standard refund policies are in place.

The deadline for the Women in Archeology Internship has been extended by ten days to give applicants more time to complete their applications and for recommenders to get their letters submitted.

Please note: Arizona State University has cancelled the ASU Kampsville Field School at the CAA. Students in enrolled in that program have been notified and should contact ASU with questions.

Experience Archeology in 2020

The Center for American Archeology is pleased to announce that enrollment is open for all 2020 programs!

Field Schools

Join us at the German site, a Late Woodland / Jersey Bluff (ca 800-1200 CE) habitation site in the Crawford Creek valley. Fieldwork in 2019 revealed several possible structures and associated features. Excavators recovered domestic artifacts, including chert tools, pottery, animal bone, and botanical remains. In 2020 we will continue to locate and excavate house basins and associated features in order to better understand Late Woodland communities in the Lower Illinois Valley.

The CAA offers partial scholarships for the High School and Adult Field Schools.

Women in Archeology Internship

The Women in Archeology Internship is a ten-week internship for women pursuing a career in archaeology funded by a generous grant from the Monticello College Foundation. Interns work with CAA archaeologists and supervise field and laboratory activities for our field schools. The application deadline is April 5!

Flintknapping Workshop

Enrollment is open for the 2020 Flintknapping Workshop with Tim Dillard. The workshop is a week-long class on all aspects of stone tool production such as percussion, billet and pressure flaking, tool forms, chert, quarrying strategies, and local geology. Participants go on chert collection trips and learn how to heat-treat their own chert. 

Archeology Day 2020

Join us for Archeology Day — 10 am-4pm on Saturday, July 18!

Archeology Day is our free open house for all ages. Learn about archaeology, the CAA, and over 10,000 years of Illinois River valley history. There are activities for all ages, including site tours of the our excavation at the German Site.

Check out our full list of programs!