Current Research

ISM Current Research

October, 2011: Zooarchaeological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin began identification of animal remains from site HNF 09-10-01-567, a camboose feature in a lumber camp site in the Hiawatha National Forest of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. American Resources Group, Ltd., was awarded the delivery order for the analysis of 54 archaeological faunal assemblages from historic and prehistoric sites in the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas and Oklahoma under terms of an indefinite services contract. Under a subcontract with the Illinois State Museum’s Landscape History Program, Dr. Terrance Martin and Dawn Cobb will examine these faunal assemblages in order to discover the presence of any human remains so that the Ouachita National Forest will be in compliance with NAGPRA. Eleven of the sites selected by Forest Service archaeologists will be analyzed in detail in order to fully document animal exploitation practices. Dr. Martin completed a manuscript on "Subsistence Strategies in Southwestern Michigan and the Spiritual Importance of Lake Sturgeon” that will occur in a Festschrift in honor of Margaret Holman that will be published as a special issue of The Michigan Archaeologist, edited by Janet Brashler, Barbara Mead, and William Lovis.

October, 2011: Oral History Web Site Presented

Dr. Robert Warren was a discussant in a session on oral history moderated by Rand Force Associates at the Oral History Association Conference in Denver.

October, 2011: Paleontological Research Presented

Dr. Chris Widga presented two posters at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  One poster summarized research of mammoth and mastodont extinctions under the auspices of a current grant from the National Science Foundation, the other presented an educational program using matrix from the Aurora Mastodont project.  Dr. Jeffrey Saunders presented a paper on dog remains from Clovis sites at the Plains Anthropological Conference in Tucson, Arizona.

October, 2011: Graduate Student Studies Otter Scats

Greg Fretueg, an environmental studies graduate student at University of Illinois, Springfield, is processing otter scats in the remote processing laboratory at the Research and Collections Center. His thesis project centers on understanding diet and landscape use at Emiquon. He is processing the scat samples and using the Museum's comparative collections to help identify food residues in the scats.

October, 2011: Museum Paleoecologist Moderates Session on Climate

Dr. Eric Grimm moderated a session on "Challenges in Changing Climate" at the 13th Biennial Governor's Conference on the Management of the Illinois River System in Peoria. About 50 individuals attended the session on climate.

October, 2011: Archaeological Research and Career Information Presented

Drs. Bonnie Styles, Terrance Martin, Michael Conner and visiting researchers from the University of Bologna Marco Valerie and Immacolata Valese attended the Midwest Archaeological Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  Museum archaeologists and Research Associates presented 9 papers and posters that reached combined audiences of about 960 professional archaeologists and students. Dr. Terrance Martin participated in a careers workshop for students with colleagues Drs. John Doershuk, Sean Dunham, Lynn Goldstein, William Green, and Robert Sasso on "Building Your Career in Archaeology,” which was attended by 99 undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Styles assisted with the development of the Distinguished Career Award.

October, 2011: Tilia Workshops and Paleoecological Presentations

In October, Dr. Eric Grimm gave a program on the structure of the Neotoma Paleoecology Database at Durham University for 12 University professors under the auspices of a grant from the National Science Foundation. He gave a workshop at the University of Southampton on the Tilia software for entering data in the Neotoma Paleoecology Database for 15 professors, graduate students, and undergraduates.  He also gave a presentation on the high resolution record of climate change in the Northern Great Plains of North America at the University for 20 professors and students.

September, 2011: Research Presented at Conference on Illinois History

Claire Fuller Martin (ISM Research Associate) and Anna Agbe-Davies (University of North Carolina) presented “‘I Shall Undertake a School Myself:’ Searching for the Early Schools at New Philadelphia” at the Thirteenth Annual Conference on Illinois History (sponsored by IHPA and Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation) in Springfield on September 29. About 60 adults attended their presentation. Dr. Terrance Martin served as the moderator for the Historical Archaeology Session for this conference on September 30.  About 36 individuals attended this session.

September, 2011: Curator Studies Paleontological Collections

On September 21-22 Dr. Chris Widga reviewed paleontological collections at the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee. He also searched for additional Paul Parmalee records related to collections houses at the Illinois State Museum.  On September 26-28, Drs. Widga and Jeffrey Saunders reviewed mammoth and mastodont remains at the Cincinnati Museum Center as part of their research of the timing and nature of these large Ice Age elephants (funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation).

September, 2011: New Philadelphia Update

Dr. Terrance Martin and Claire Fuller Martin accompanied Deanda Johnson (Midwest Regional Coordinator, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, National Park Service, Omaha) and Terry Ransom to Pike County for a tour of the New Philadelphia site (September 14). Claire Fuller Martin met with Joe Conover, Pat Likes, and Carol McCartney at the New Philadelphia site to begin plans for a walking trail and interpretive signage (September 16).

September, 2011: American Association of State and Local History Meeting

Angela Goebel Bain attended the annual meeting of the American Association of State and Local History in Richmond, Virginia.  Her travel was supported through the 1877 Fund.

September, 2011: Zooarchaeological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin completed a technical report on a collection of early to mid-19^th-century animal remains from Feature 2 at the Meneley Mill site (11V122) in Vermilion County, Illinois, for Brian Adams, Public Service Archaeology & Architecture Program (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). The most unique specimen is a the cranium and mandibles of a male white-tailed deer, including both attached antlers, that were found intact in what was most likely a pit located below the floor of a house or cabin.  Dr. Martin completed a technical report on approximately 400 animal remains from Site 09-10-05-479 and Site 09-10-05-481 in the East Unit of the Hiawatha National Forest in Mackinac County, Michigan. Both sites have been identified by Forest Service archaeologists as open-fire Anishinabe sugar camps west of St. Ignace that were occupied during the period of 1780 to 1850.  Dr. Martin submitted a manuscript titled “Curating Ethnozoological and Zooarchaeological Collections” to editors Jan Salick and Katie Konchar (Missouri Botanical Garden) for the publication, Biocultural Collection Curation Standards. This publication is the culmination of an international workshop “Biocultural Collections: Establishing Curation Standards” in St. Louis on July 11 that was organized by the Missouri Botanical Garden with funding from the National Science Foundation.  The publication is currently under review.

September, 2011: Illinois Archaeological Survey Meetings

Drs. Bonnie Styles and Terrance Martin attended the annual meeting of the Illinois Archaeological Survey at Dickson Mounds Museum on September 10. Approximately 125 professional archaeologists from across the State convened to present papers and share research findings. Dr. Michael Wiant was the master of ceremonies for the meeting and Museum archaeologists presented results of recent research (see Professional Presentations).

September, 2011: Illinois Geological Mapping Consortium

On September 8, Dr. Chris Widga participated in the annual meeting of the Illinois Geological Mapping Consortium in Champaign, Illinois.

September, 2011: Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference

Claire Fuller Martin (ISM Research Associate) attended Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Springfield on September 8-9.

September, 2011: Museum Researcher and Colleagues Analyze Causes of Species Turnover

Dr. Hong Qian and colleagues from the Institute of Botany and the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences in Beijing, China used regression and other statistical techniques to examine relationships between species turnover for amphibians and reptiles in eastern China with respect to geographic distance and environmental differences.   These two variables explain about 88% of the variance of species turnover. Environmental difference is a stronger predictor of species turnover especially for reptiles. Their findings have important implications for predicting changes in biodiversity and herpetofaunas under climate change scenarios. Results of their research were published in Ecological Research.

August, 2011: Hine's Emerald Dragonfly Survey

On August 29, Dr. Tim Cashatt participated in a meeting for the federally endangered Hine's Emerald Survey in Alma, Illinois to discuss strategies for the remainder of the field season and to exchange information to inform field work.

August, 2011: Oral History of Illinois Agriculture

With support from a small grant from Ecriture, Inc., research assistant Jonathan Warren, under the direction of Dr. Robert Warren, transcribed and edited eight oral-history interview recordings collected by Northern Illinois University (NIU) in 1986 for publication on the Internet (in the Audio-Video Barn Web module). Fourteen of the 18 NIU transcripts are now ready to be put online.

August, 2011: Zooarchaeological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin completed a technical report (with former McMillan Museum Intern Angela Perri) on Middle and Late Woodland animal remains from the Getewaaking site behind the Indian Dormitory building on the south end of Mackinac Island in northern Michigan.  The report was prepared for Andrews Cultural Resources (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and the Mackinac State Historic Parks (Mackinac City, Michigan).

August, 2011: High Resolution Study of Climate Change

Dr. Eric Grimm and colleagues from West Virginia University and the Canadian Forest Service complete a study of paleoecological remains collected through coring of Kettle Lake in North Dakota. The decadal-scale multiproxy record of minerals, pollen, and charcoal from the lake provides a high resolution record of climate and vegetation change spanning the entire Holocene from the Northern Great Plains in North America. The chronology was established by over 50 AMS radiocarbon dates.  The record exhibits millennial-scale trends evident in other lower-resolution studies, but with much more detail on short-term climate variability and on the rapidity of and timing of major climatic shifts. They used the rate of calcium carbonate sedimentation, which depends on groundwater inflow, as a proxy for precipitation. Independent cluster analyses of mineral and pollen data reveal major Holocene mode shifts at 10,730, 9,250, and 4,440 calendar years before present (BP). The early Holocene (11,700 to 9,250 BP was generally wet, with perhaps a trend to higher evaporation with warming temperatures. From 10,730 to 9,250 BP, climate was generally humid but punctuated at 100-300 yr. intervals by brief droughts, including the most severe drought in the entire Holocene at 9,250 BP.  The mid-Holocene from 9,250-4,440 BP was characterized by great variability in moisture on a multi-decadal scale, with severe droughts alternating with more humid periods. The late Holocene (4,440 BP to the present) was also characterized by multi-decadal variability in moisture, but was generally wetter than the mid-Holocene. Dr. Grimm analyzed the pollen data and was the lead for the synthesis of the data. The study was published in Quaternary Science Reviews.

August, 2011: Fort St. Joseph Project

Archaeological excavations at the eighteenth-century site of Fort St. Joseph in southwestern Michigan by Western Michigan University (WMU) resumed on June 30 and continued through August 19.  The principal project researchers consist of Dr. Michael S. Nassaney (Professor of Anthropology at WMU; project director and project archaeologist), Dr. JosJ Antnio Brandno (Professor and Chair of History at WMU; project ethnohistorian), and Dr. Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum; project archaeozoologist). The project received a $10,175 grant from the Michigan Humanities Council to help support the public Open House event at the Fort St. Joseph site. The theme of the Third Annual Summer Archaeology Lecture Series at the Niles District Library, as well as the Open House, was “The History and Archaeology of the Fur Trade.” Dr. Martin presented the lecture series’ fourth public lecture titled “An Archaeological Perspective on the Fur Trade in the Upper Great Lakes” on August 10. Dr. Martin also presented zooarchaeology workshops for 17 WMU field school students on August 11 and for 12 adults in the Archaeology Summer Camp for Graduate/CEU Credit on August 12, and participated in the site’s Open House by displaying animal remains identified from Forts St. Joseph and Ouiatenon on August 13 and 14.

July, 2011: Digitization and Study of Midwestern Archeofaunal Data

Dr. Bonnie Styles and Dr. Sarah Neusius (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) are key investigators of a proposal submitted to the National Endowment for the Humanities by Drs. Kate Spielmann and Keith Kintigh to study prehistoric animalscapes in the Interior East and Southwestern United States using archaeofaunal data in the Digital Archaeological Record, a large database with great research potential.

July, 2011: Stable Isotopic Analysis of Fish Bones

Kayla Little, a graduate student at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and her Advisor Dr. Richard Brugham met with Drs. Bonnie Styles, Terrance Martin, and Chris Widga on July 21 to discuss Ms. Little’s M.S. project involving stable isotope analysis of fish bones (recent and archaeological).  The group discussed methods and archaeological sites that would provide good samples to examine conditions prior to extensive human modification of the Illinois River.

July, 2011: New Philadelphia Project

Laboratory analysis of archaeological collections obtained during June at the New Philadelphia site took place at the ISM RCC during July. Co-directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin, the project is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences of Undergraduates program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students from across the country for ten weeks. Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered from excavations on Block 13, Lot 4 from the cellar of the house that was resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter. On July 29, the students presented oral reports on their individual research projects.  Dr. Martin, Claire Martin, Dr. Chris Fennel, Dr. Bonnie Styles, Dr. Jeffrey Saunders, and Marge Schroeder attended the presentations.

July, 2011: Koster Site Dog Remains Dates

In July, Dr. Chris Widga received new radiocarbon age assessments based on bones from two dogs from Horizon 11 at the Koster site in the lower Illinois River valley.  They are both 8,800 radiocarbon years before the present.  Earlier dates based on associated wood charcoal were younger (8,500 B.P.) and had a much greater error range.

July, 2011: Curator Participates in Joint Meeting of Ichthyology and Herpetology

Dr. Meredith Mahoney attended the joint meetings of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Herpetologists' League, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, and the American Elasmobranch Society in Minneapolis.  For the past two years, she has served on the planning committee for the joint meeting. As Treasurer of the Herpetologist's League, she participated in the Board and Business Meetings and gave an annual report.  She also served as a judge for the student paper competition for the Herpetologists' League.

July, 2011: Great Plains Paleobiology

Drs. Eric Grimm and Russell Graham (Pennsylvania State University) continued their excavations at Rainbow Cave in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Dr. Graham is studying the animal remains from the cave, and Dr. Grimm collected pollen samples for an analysis of climate and vegetation change.  The data are important to the Neotoma Paleoecology Database.

July, 2011: Paleovegetation Mapping

Dr. Eric Grimm and co-authors from University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wyoming, and Pennsylvania State University published a new methodological framework for reducing temporal uncertainty in paleovegetation mapping for Late Quaternary pollen records using data from the Neotoma Paleoecology Database.

July, 2011: Curator Participates in International Quaternary Association Meeting

Dr. Eric Grimm participated in the annual meeting of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) in Bern. Switzerland.  He presented a co-authored poster on the Neotoma Paleoecology Database and gave a talk on multi-decadal changes in vegetation in the northern Great Plains.  He completed his tenure as a Vice-Chair of the U.S. National Committee for INQUA.

July, 2011: Climate Variability in the Great Plains

Dr. Eric Grimm and co-authors Joseph Donovan (West Virginia University, and Kendrick Brown (Canadian Forest Service) published a major study of climate variability and landscape response based on research for Kettle Lake in the northern Great Plains. A decadal-scale record of minerals, pollen, and charcoal from Kettle Lake, North Dakota provided a high resolution record of climate and vegetation change spanning the Holocene. The early Holocene (11,700-9,250 calendar years B.P.) was generally wet, with perhaps a trend to higher evaporation associated with warming temperatures.  The most severe drought of the Holocene is recorded at 9,250 years. The mid-Holocene (9,250-4,440) was characterized by great variability in moisture on a multi-decadal scale, with severe droughts alternating with more humid periods.  The late Holocene (4,400-present) was also characterized by multi-decadal variability in moisture, but was generally wetter than the mid-Holocene and the magnitude of variability was less.   Precipitation variations in the northern Great Plains have been linked with Pacific and Atlantic sea-surface temperatures and mid-Holocene drought has been linked with sustained La Nina-like conditions in the Pacific. These linkages may explain the decadal and millennial scale variations but cause of the prominent century scale variations remains elusive.

July, 2011: Archeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin compiled species composition tables and began writing text for analyzed Middle and Late Woodland animal remains from the Getewaaking site on Mackinac Island, Michigan, for a technical report to Andrews Cultural Resources and the Mackinac State Historic Parks. Dr. Martin worked with New Philadelphia field school students Amanda Burt and Kaila Akina on the identification of animal remains from two different contexts at the New Philadelphia site.

July, 2011: Plant Biogeography

In July, the National Science Foundation (NSF) accepted Dr. Hong Qian's final report for his NSF-funded study of invasive plant species in eastern North America and eastern Asia.  His research results were published in 10 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and the data are included in four additional publications. On July 8, Dr. Qian submitted a proposal to the NSF to further his research of plant biogeography and invasive species.

July, 2011: Mastodont and Mammoth Ecology and Extinction

In July, Drs. Chris Widga and Jeffrey Saunders collected data on mammoth and mastodont remains at the Indiana State Museum and repositories in Michigan and Ontario. They examined collections at 10 repositories. They are sampling bones for radiometric and isotopic analyses that will help characterize the timing, character, and environmental context of large mammal extinctions at the end of the most recent Ice Age.  Stacey Lengyel is revising the Museum's online exhibitions on Ice Age mammals under the auspices of this project. The work is funded by a National Science Foundation grant.

July, 2011: Consequences of Climate and Vegetation Change on Bison in the Paleorecord

Drs. Chris Widga and Eric Grimm and collaborators from the Central Appalachian Stable Isotope Facility and the University of Iowa have submitted a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation to study the consequences of climate and climate-induced vegetation change on bison in the paleorecord.

July, 2011: Fort St. Joseph Project

Archaeological excavations at the eighteenth-century site of Fort St. Joseph in southwestern Michigan by Western Michigan University resumed on June 30 and will continue through August 19.  The principal project researchers consist of Dr. Michael S. Nassaney (Professor of Anthropology at WMU; project director and project archaeologist), Dr. JosJ Antnio Brandno (Professor and Chair of History at WMU; project ethnohistorian), and Dr. Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum; project archaeozoologist).

July, 2011: Hine's Emerald Dragonfly Research

On July 1, Dr. Tim Cashatt documented a new Hine's Emerald Dragonfly breeding site at Cherry Hill Woods. Dr. Cashatt participated in a meeting of the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly working group in Romeoville, Illinois (July 13). The group discussed surveys, habitat restoration, identification problems with related species, and permits.

June, 2011: New Philadelphia Project

Archaeological investigations continued during June under the direction of Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin. The project is supported by a grant from the NSF REU program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. Graduate students Kathryn Fay and Annelise Morris are supervising excavation of a trench across Louisa McWorter’s house cellar in Block 13, Lot 4. Graduate student Mary Kathryn Rocheford is supervising the excavation of numerous transects of soil probes across the site in order to obtain a better understanding of the site’s local landscape history. Dr. Martin supervised excavation of two test units on Block 12, Lot 3; assisted Chris Fennell with transects of shovel tests in Block 8, Lot 1 and excavated one test unit in the search for evidence of the early schoolhouse. In addition to site excavations, The Marvin J and Thomas Leo Likes Memorial Lecture Series of weekly speakers is sponsored by the New Philadelphia Association, Sprague’s Kinderhook Lodge, and the Illinois State Museum with grant support from the Illinois Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly. Students, artifact collections, and lab equipment were moved to Springfield on the weekend of June 25 in order to begin five weeks of laboratory analyses at the ISM RCC.

June, 2011: Zooarchaeological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin finished computer data entry of the analyzed Middle and Late Woodland faunal assemblage from the Getewaaking site, which is located behind the Indian Dormitory Building on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Dr. Martin submitted an abstract for a zooarchaeology symposium organized by Dr. Walter Klippel (University of Tennessee-Knoxville) for the annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology in Baltimore in January.

June, 2011: Curator Chairs Session and Presents Genetics Research

Dr. Meredith Mahoney chaired a session on genetics and presented a paper on her dragonfly genetics conservation research at the annual meetings of the Society for the Study of Evolution, Society for Systematic Biologists, and the American Society of Naturalists on June 18 in Norman, Oklahoma (50 attended the session).

June, 2011: Art History

Judith Lloyd Klauba and Doug Stapleton completed a major study of the life-long work and personal stories of eleven Illinois artists (Ralph Arnold, Morris Barazani, Fred Berger, Gerda Meyer Bernstein, William Frederick, Theodore Halkin, Thomas Kapsalis, Vera Klement, Ellen Lanyon, Elizabeth Rupprecht, and Leopold Segedin) who have influenced generations of other artists through their art, teaching, and community involvement. The research is presented in the Luminous Ground: Artists with Histories exhibition and in a special double-issue of The Living Museum.

June, 2011: Curator Presents on Prehistoric Connections with Mesoamerica

Dr. Jonathan Reyman gave an invited presentation on prehistoric connections between the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica for the Conference on Archaeoastronomy in the American Southwest.  His presentation considered astronomy, cosmology, and cultural objects.

June, 2011: Mammoth and Mastodont Research

In June, Drs. Chris Widga and Jeffrey Saunders conducted research of Great Lakes mammoth and mastodont remains in the collections at the Field Museum. They also examined museum collections in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The research was conducted under the auspices of their National Science Foundation grant to study the ecology and extinction of Proboscidea in the Great Lakes region.

June, 2011: Curator Presents Agricultural History Research

Dr. Robert Warren presented a paper on the Audio-Video Barn Website, which was developed for the Oral History of Illinois Agriculture Project at the annual meeting of the Agricultural History Society in Springfield on June 16 (25 attended).

June, 2011: Tilia Training Workshop

Dr. Eric Grimm conducted a Tilia Training Workshop for researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson in June. Tilia is the software that researchers use to enter pollen data in the North American Pollen and Neotoma Databases.

June, 2011: History of Dickson Mounds Museum

Dr. Bonnie Styles and Andy Hanson reviewed a manuscript by Alan Harn that examines Don Dickson's contributions to American archaeology for inclusion in the summer issue of The Living Museum.  Andy Hanson completed the layout and Dr. Styles and Andy placed images provided by Alan Harn.  Dr. Styles met with Alan Harn on June 9 to review the proposed layout.   Dr. Michael Wiant contributed to the foreword (co-authored with Dr. Styles) and prepared the concluding section for the issue.

June, 2011: Paleoclimatic Research Published

In June, Dr. Eric Grimm and colleagues from the University of Nebraska, University of Alberta, and University of Colorado published a major study of paleoclimate in the Nebraska Sand Hills. Paleohydrological reconstructions for five lakes based on diatoms refine Holocene drought history of the Nebraska Sand Hills, particularly between about 2200 and 4000 calendar years before present (BP). Extended multi-decadal to centennial scale droughts were more common prior to 1000 years BP, while the last 2000 years were hydrologically more variable and climate conditions alternated on shorter time scales. Many of the observed drought events are contemporaneous with severe droughts documented at sites in the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, lending support for the severity and regional significance of these events in western North America. Dr. Grimm collected the sediment core for one of the lakes (Beaver Lake) and carried out the radiocarbon dating for that site. The research was published in Quaternary Science Reviews.

June, 2011: Invasive Plant Species Research

Dr. Hong Qian presented a workshop in China to convey results of his research of invasive plant species in eastern Asia and eastern North America. The workshop focused on biogeography and species diversity of vascular plants and was attended by 35 scholars at Beijing Normal University on June 1. He participated in a field trip in conjunction with a workshop, organized by Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, to observe biodiversity in Tibet. Financial support was provided by Chinese Academy of Sciences.

May, 2011: Invasive Plant Species Research

Dr. Hong Qian presented an invited paper in a symposium on ecology and forestry in China to convey results of his research of invasive plant species in eastern Asia and eastern North America. His presentation on "Exotic Plant Species in North America and Eastern Asia" was given at the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shenyang on May 30 (150 attended).

May, 2011: New Philadelphia Project

Archaeological investigations resumed for the 2011 season on May 23.  Students arrived at the Kinderhook Lodge in Pike County, Illinois, and attended project orientation sessions on May 23 and 24. Fieldwork began on May 24. The project is being directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin. A grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. The major focus will be on the excavation in Block 13, Lot 4 of a trench across the cellar of the former house that was resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter.

May, 2011: Zooarchaeological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin finished fish identifications and began computer data entry of the analyzed faunal assemblage from the Getewaaking site, which is located behind the Indian Dormitory building on Mackinac Island, Michigan.

May, 2011: Quilt Research Records

Negotiations with the Early American Museum and the Illinois Quilt Research Project have begun, which will bring the IQRP records to the Illinois State Museum.

May, 2011: Research for Civil War Quilts Exhibition

Angela Goebel-Bain visited the museums in Quincy doing research for the Civil War quilt exhibition.

May, 2011: Extinction of Late Quaternary Proboscidea

On May 12, the National Science Foundation awarded the Illinois State Museum Society a grant for the study of the chronology and paleoecology of mammoths and mastodonts extinctions in the Great Lakes Region.  Drs. Chris Widga, Jeffrey Saunders, and Stacey Lengyel are the Principal Investigators for this project.

May, 2011: Climate Research Presented

Dr. Eric Grimm presented an invited seminar on the high resolution record of climatic variability and landscape response from Kettle Lake, Northern Great Plains for 20 individuals at Durham University.

May, 2011: Neotoma Paleoecology Database

Dr. Eric Grimm presented "European Pollen Database Tilia-Neotoma Software Workshops" for 50 participants in the United Kingdom and 30 participants in France.  He presented a plenary lecture on "The Neotoma Paleoecology Database: An Open-access Multiproxy Community Database for the Quaternary-Pliocene" for the Pollen Monitoring Programme at their VIII International Meeting in Estonia (60 attended).

May, 2011: Planning for the Digital Archaeological Record

Throughout the month, Dr. Bonnie Styles worked with Drs. Kate Spielmann and Keith Kintigh of Arizona State University and Dr. Sarah Neusius of Indiana University of Pennsylvania to plan a project that will bring archaeozoological data from the interior Midwestern United States and the Southwestern United States into The Digital Archaeological Record and conduct research for a proposal that is being prepared for submission to the National Endowment for the Humanities.

April, 2011: tDAR Database Research Project

On April 27, Dr. Bonnie Styles participated in a conference call with Drs. Kate Spielman and Keith Kintigh (Arizona State University) and Sarah Neusius (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) to discuss dividing a major research demonstration of the utility of the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) database for studies of prehistoric resource use and depression into smaller components to enhance opportunities for funding.

April, 2011: Fort St. Joseph Project

Fort St. Joseph site in southwestern Michigan by Western Michigan University (WMU) have continued since 2002. The principal project researchers consist of Dr. Michael S. Nassaney (Professor of Anthropology at WMU; project director and project archaeologist), Dr. José António Brandão (Associate Chair and Professor of History at WMU; project ethnohistorian), and Dr. Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum; project archaeozoologist). The website for the Museum of Underwater Archaeology featured “Investigations of a Submerged 18^th Century Site in Southwest Michigan” by Dr. Michael Nassaney and Ian B. Kerr on April 28 (http://www.uri.edu/artsci/his/mua/in_the_field/ftsjoe.shtml).

April, 2011: Park Archaeology Program

On April 17, the Illinois State Museum Society was awarded a contract to continue cultural resource management activities for Illinois State Parks. Dr. Stacey Lengyel is the Principal Investigator for the program, and Marge Schroeder manages day-to-day activities.

April, 2011: Archaeologist Participates in Professional Meetings

Dr. Terrance Martin attended annual meetings of the Conference for Michigan Archaeology in East Lansing on April 16 and the Michigan Archaeological Society in Lansing on April 17.

April, 2011: Planning for Online Publications

On April 12, Dr. Bonnie Styles, Pat Burg, Andy Hanson, Dave Bohlen, and Drs. Erich Schroeder, Eric Grimm, Tim Cashatt, and George Godfrey (Research Associate in Zoology) met explore needs for establishing online publications series for the Research Series, Reports of Investigations, and Scientific Papers. Three manuscripts are potential candidates for this online series, including Dave Bohlen's 40 year study of the birds of Sangamon County (currently being edited by Dr. Godfrey), Dr. Eric Grimm and others Neotoma Database protocol, and a study of pollen from archaeological sites in the lower Illinois River valley by Dr. James Schoenwetter (retired professor, Arizona State University). On April 25, Dr. Bonnie Styles met with Pat Burg and Andy Hanson to further discuss this issue.

April, 2011: New Philadelphia Project Update

Archaeological investigations are being directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin, and are supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered from excavations during 2010 on Block 13, Lot 4 that revealed the foundations of the house that resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter as well as an abandoned well east of the house in the adjacent Lot 3. During April, Dr. Terrance Martin and the co-directors reviewed applications from 59 undergraduate students for the 2011 field season and selected nine students for the crew. Dr. Fennell received results from the LiDAR low altitude aerial survey of the New Philadelphia vicinity that occurred last fall with grant support from the University of Illinois.

April, 2011: Hines Emerald Dragonfly Planning Meeting

Dr. Everett D. Cashatt participated in a planning meeting for Hine's Emerald Dragonfly field surveys in Alma, Illinois (May 9).  The fieldwork is being conducted under the auspices of a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

April, 2011: Archaeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin and Erin Brand completed a technical report for SCI Engineering, Inc. (St. Charles, MO) on the faunal assemblage from 2009 salvage excavations at the Renner-Brenner site (23PL1), a multiple-component Kansas City Hopewell site in far western Missouri.  Archaeologists at the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula requested that Dr.  Martin identify collections of animal remains from two 18^th-century maple sugar camps and a lumber camp camboose site.

April, 2011: Syntheses of Aboriginal Use of Fauna in Northeast

Dr. Bonnie Styles summarized American Indian use of fauna and subsistence practices in the Midwest and Northeast during the Holocene, and the results were published in a Smithsonian Institution Contribution to Knowledge. Her research suggests that the natural issues of most importance to the understanding of temporal trends in the human use of fauna in the Northeast include the development of grassland and forest habitats, the stabilization of river systems, changes in Great Lakes water levels, and stabilization of sea levels and coastlines. Human settlement strategies, economies, population sizes, technologies, burning for hunting and land clearing, social and political organization, and customs and cosmologies varied across space and through time. Within-and-between-region differences and changes in these cultural factors affected human use of fauna. As more sedentary occupations were established in some areas, more intensive use of renewable resources resulted. Burning for hunting and land clearing changed through time, and burning had greater impacts in the prairie and prairie parkland settings in the western regions of Northeast. Important changes in hunting and gathering technology included the development of the bow and arrow, nets, and weirs; and changes in food processing and cooking technologies, such as the development of stone boiling and ceramics. Social and political organization changed from Early Archaic family bands to the complex chiefdoms that arose in some areas during the late prehistoric period. These changes affected procurement of animals for food and ritual, as well as food sharing and distribution within and among settlements. Changes in dietary preferences and food taboos based on choice and belief likely occurred. Cosmologies clearly evolved through time and affected use of animals for food and ritual.

March, 2011: High-Resolution Age Model for Kettle Lake

Dr. Eric Grimm completed a high-resolution age model based on 53 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon ages for Kettle Lake in North Dakota. The radiocarbon ages were calibrated with Bayesian statistical methods.  Removal of ages plagued by slumps, debris flows, and landslides produces a continuous sedimentary sequence for the past 13,000 years with the exception of one 260 year hiatus associated with a slump deposit. All ages except one are on terrestrial macrofossils and charcoal. Two specimens of wood charcoal are too old relative to bracketing ages and glacial geological history and provide a caution about the longevity of wood charcoal in the environment and its suitability for age control in lacustrine environments. The results of the research were published in Radiocarbon.

March, 2011: Training for Archaeomagnetic Sampling

On March 16-17, Dr. Stacey Lengyel trained two archaeologists from the Pacific Northwest Lab in Richmond, Washington how to take archaeomagnetic samples. The training was conducted on the grounds at the Research and Collections Center.

March, 2011: Fort St. Joseph Project

Archaeological, historical, ethnohistorical, and archaeozoological investigations of the Fort St. Joseph site in southwestern Michigan by Western Michigan University have continued since 2002. The principal project researchers consist of Dr. Michael S. Nassaney (Professor of Anthropology at Western Michigan University; project director and project archaeologist), Dr. José António Brandão (Associate Chair and Professor of History at WMU; project ethnohistorian), and Dr. Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum; project archaeozoologist).  American Archaeology Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 2011 (quarterly publication of The Archaeological Conservancy) includes an article by Michael Bawaya entitled “The Story of Fort St. Joseph.” Dr. Terrance Martin was interviewed for the article and was quoted concerning how the site’s faunal assemblage reveals not only information about the diet of the site’s inhabitants, but also cultural interaction between the French and the local Native American populations of southwestern Michigan during the 18^th century.  Dr. Martin completed evaluation forms for the Fort St. Joseph Project Open House last August, required by the Michigan Humanities Council in return for funding they provided (March 15).

March, 2011: Archaeozoological Research

Drs. Terrance Martin and Chris Widga completed a technical report on faunal assemblages from Phase II and III investigations at the Lake Christina site (21DL46) in west central Minnesota. Archaeologists at the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula requested Terrance Martin to identify collections of animal remains from two 18^th-century maple sugar camps and a lumber camp camboose site.

March, 2011: Paleontological Remains Salvaged

On March 8, Dr. Chris Widga collected fossils from a paleontological site located along SR24 north of Ripley, Illinois. The Pennsylvanian fossils were exposed by road widening.

March, 2011: New Philadelphia Project Update

Archaeological investigations are being directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin, and are supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered between May 26 and June 25 from excavations on Block 13, Lot 4 that revealed the foundations of the house that resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter as well as an abandoned well east of the house in the adjacent Lot 3. Applications for the upcoming 2011 field season are being received by Dr. Fennell at UIUC.

February, 2011: Fort St. Joseph Project

Archaeological, historical, and ethnohistorical investigations of the Fort St. Joseph site in southwestern Michigan by Western Michigan University have continued and intensified since 2002. The principal project researchers consist of Dr. Michael S. Nassaney (Professor of Anthropology at Western Michigan University (WMU); project director and project archaeologist), Dr. José António Brandão (Associate Chair and Professor of History at WMU; project ethnohistorian), and Dr. Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum; project archaeozoologist).  On February 9, the Fort St. Joseph Project was recognized as the winner of the Archaeological Institute of America’s Online Excavation Outreach contest. Over 10,000 votes were cast in a one-week period. The five other contest entries represented projects in Belize, Florida, Italy, South Carolina, and Spain.  The award text notes: “Based out of Western Michigan University (WMU), the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, in the city of Niles, Michigan, is located at a mission, garrison, and trading post complex occupied from 1691 to 1781 by the French and British. A major project goal . . . [is] to make archaeology accessible to the public.  . . .  Every year the project holds summer camps for middle school and high school students, teachers, and lifelong learners as well as a university level field school. An annual open house features living history re-enactors, lectures, informational panels and displays, site tours, music, food, and ongoing excavations and has been attended by over 10,000 visitors since 2006” [A.I.A. website, http://www.archaeological.org/news/aianews/4006 ].  Dr. Martin was invited to participate in a series of public lectures to accompany The Treasures of Napoleon exhibition at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis. On February 27, Dr. Martin discussed the French and Creole preference for wild animals based on first-hand archaeozoological research on several French colonial and post-colonial sites in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, including the Fort St. Joseph site.  Forty individuals attended this presentation.

February, 2011: Bison Research

Dr. Chris Widga studied Quaternary vertebrate specimens in the Field Museum's collections and gave a public presentation on Bison in Tallgrass Prairies in the eastern United States for the Midewin Prairie Lecture Series at Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie in Wilmington on February 17 (45 attended).

February, 2011: Hine's Emerald Research

Drs. Everett D. Cashatt and Meredith Mahoney presented results of 2010 Hine's Emerald surveys and genetics research at a meeting of the Hine's Emerald Recovery Team in St. Charles, Missouri on February 15.  They also participated in a discussion and planning for next stages of research and surveys.

February, 2011: Dating of Koster Site Dogs

Dr. Chris Widga embarked on a project to date the early domestic dog remains from the Koster site in Green County, Illinois. He selected two bones from the Koster Horizon 11 dog burials for radiocarbon dating in February. These dogs have been hailed as the earliest domestic dogs in the Midwestern United States.

February, 2011: Archeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin finished verifying identifications and began drafting species composition tables for the Lake Christina site (21DL46) in west central Minnesota.  Research Associate Claire Fuller Martin finished the entry of faunal data into the electronic database for this project. Archaeologists at the Hiawatha National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula requested that Dr. Martin identify collections of animal remains from two 18^th-century maple sugar camps and a lumber camp camboose site.

February, 2011: Historic Site Assessments at Fort Leonard Wood

Research Associate Dennis Naglich, Stepanie Nutt (Fort Leonard Wood), Dr. Steven Ahler (University of Kentucky), Dr. Terrance Martin, and Dr. Michael Hargrave (Fort Leonard Wood) completed a multi-year study of historic resources at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. They assessed the archaeological potential of a World War II Prisoner of War site and conducted expanded archaeological investigations at two historic sites at the Fort Leonard Wood property.  The technical report was completed and submitted to the U.S. Army Research and Development Center (see Technical Reports).

February, 2011: New Philadelphia Project Update

Archaeological investigations are being directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin, and are supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered between May 26 and June 25, 2010 from excavations on Block 13, Lot 4.  These excavations revealed the foundations of the house that was resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter as well as an abandoned well east of the house in the adjacent Lot 3.

February, 2011: Botanical Diversity, Latitude, and Metabolic Theory

Drs. Hong Qian and Robert Ricklefs, University of Missouri St. Louis, published a paper in Global Ecology and Biogeography (2011 (20:362-365: "Latitude, tree species diversity and the metabolic theory of ecology") that questions published species richness and temperature relationships between eastern Asia and North America because of lack of comparability in datasets.

January, 2011: Proposal for Mentoring Museum Partnership Submitted

On January 29, Dr. Robert Warren submitted a proposal to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (National Leadership Grant Program) to support a Mentoring Museum Partnership. The Museum partnered with the Illinois Association of Museums and 30 small museums to evaluate a sustainable Mentoring Museum Partnership model designed to build 21st century skills in small community museums.  These skills will increase the capacity of small museums to share their "hidden assets" with wider audiences. The project is a follow-up to the Museum's Oral History of Illinois Agriculture Project, and in the first year the Museum will work with small museums to develop digital resources on a common agricultural theme.  During the second year, museums will develop resources on themes of their own choosing.

January, 2011: Neotoma Database Workshop

In January, Dr Eric Grimm, lead Principal Investigator for the Neotoma paleoecology project, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Geoinformatics Program), led a project workshop at the Research and Collections Center. Dr. Naoko Sasaki of Japan, Suzette Flatura of the Netherlands, and Dr. Jose Prado of Argentina spent a week learning how to enter data into the Neotoma database.  This database is used to model climate change.  Dr. Russell Graham, a Co-Principal Investigator from Penn State and Museum's former Chair of Geology, was also here to work with the group.

January, 2011: Dragonfly Research Presented

Drs. Meredith Mahoney and Tim Cashatt attended a meeting of the I-355 Tollway Environmental Impact Group and the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly Working Group on January 14 in Downers Grove, Illinois.  Dr. Mahoney gave a presentation to the group on the Museum's Hine's Emerald dragonfly research, including genetics research. About 30 representatives of federal agencies and other interested parties attended the meeting.

January, 2011: Archaeomagnetic Dating

Dr. Fabio Donadini of the Institute of Geophysics in Zurich, Switzerland spent three weeks in the Research and Collections Center (January 11-31).  He worked with Dr. Stacy Lengyel to enter North American data she has assembled into a global archaeomagnetic date database. This database is being used to develop and refine models of changes in the Earth's geomagnetic field. Drs. Lengyel and Widga hosted a reception for Museum archaeologists and geologists at their home on January 15.  On January 27, Dr. Styles gave him a tour of the Changes, Peoples of the Past, and At Home in the Heartland exhibitions.  Dr. Donadini participated in Jim Zimmer's walkthrough of The Urge to Embellish exhibition.

January, 2011: Paleoclimatic Research Published

Dr. Eric Grimm and colleagues from The Netherlands (Tim H. Donders, Hugo Jan de Boer, Walter Finsinger, Stefan C. Dekker, Gert Jan Reichart, and Freiderike Wagner-Cremer) published a study of the "Impact of the Atlantic Warm Pool on Precipitation and Temperature in Florida during North Atlantic Cold Spells" in Climate Dynamics (36:109-118).  Using a pollen-climate inference model, they quantified climate changes for Lake Tulane, Florida and consistently found that mean summer precipitation increased (0.5 to -0.9 mm/day) and mean November temperature increased (2-3 degrees C) during pine phases coeval with Heinrich events and the Younger Dryas.  Marine sea surface temperature records indicate that potential sources for these moisture and heat anomalies are in the Gulf of Mexico and the western tropical Atlantic. They explain this low latitude warming by an increased Loop Current facilitated by persistence of the Atlantic Warm Pool during summer. A positive heat anomaly in the Gulf of Mexico and equatorial Atlantic best approximates the pollen inferred climate reconstructions from Lake Tulane during the (stadials) around Heinrich events and the Younger Dryas.

January, 2011: Palynological Research for Augustana College

Dr. Eric Grimm and Pietra Mueller are working with Dr. Adrien Hannus of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on a project to count and analyze pollen from a sediment core from Fish Lake in Minnesota as a part of the development of a predictive model that will include geomorphic, paleoecological, and archaeological data for South Dakota and southern Minnesota.

January, 2011: Research Proposals Submitted to the National Science Foundation

Drs. Chris Widga and Eric Grimm submitted a revised proposal to the National Science Foundation (DEB—Population and Community Ecology Cluster) in collaboration with Dr. David Nelson (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences), and Dr. Mathew Hill (University of Iowa) for "Testing the Effects of Holocene Climate and Vegetation Change on Bison" on January 7, 2011.  Dr. Hong Qian also submitted a revised proposal to NSF (DEB--Population and Community Ecology Cluster) for "Angiosperm Species Diversity Patterns in the Himalaya: Integration and Synthesis of Botanical Information towards Biodiversity Conservation" on January 7.

January, 2011: New Philadelphia Research Presented

Dr. Terrance Martin participated in the 44^th Annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology (sponsored by the Society for Historical Archaeology) in Austin, Texas, January 5-9. He was co-author of a presentation and attended a meeting with co-directors and graduate student assistants of the New Philadelphia Project.

January, 2011: Archaeozoological Research

Erin Brand, Chris Richmond, and Dr. Terrance Martin finished identifications, and Claire Martin continued data entry, for a large sample of animal remains from the Lake Christina site, a multi-component Pre-Contact and Post-Contact habitation site in west central Minnesota for a report that is being prepared for the Duluth Archaeology Center. Dr. Martin prepared species composition tables for the Renner-Brenner site (23PL1), the type-site for the Kansas City Hopewell, for a report in preparation for SCI Engineering, Inc., St. Charles, MO. Dr. Martin submitted a manuscript (“Adaptive Strategies in Southwestern Michigan and a Consideration of Lake Sturgeon”) to The Michigan Archaeologist for a special festschrift for the late Margaret B. Holman.

December, 2010: Christmas Bird Count

The 2010 National Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for Springfield, Illinois was conducted on December 26, 2010. H. David Bohlen served as compiler and a field observer for this count, which is the 111th National Audubon CBC. There were a total of 21 participants, which included field observers and feeder watchers. Ninety-two species of birds were tallied with an additional nine species seen during count week, which is defined as consisting of three days before and three days after the actual count day.  Rarities found were two Ross' Geese, a Black-crowned Night Heron (count week), Peregrine Falcon, Orange-crowned Warbler (being entertained at John and Kay Watt's suet feeder for the second winter in a row), and twelve Snow Buntings. There were also several high counts including 17 Cooper's Hawks, 57 Red-tailed Hawks, 3,367 American Robins, 560 American Tree Sparrows, five Savannah Sparrows, and 759 Dark-eyed Juncos.  The 2010 count had the highest number of a species recorded on a Springfield CBC. Other interesting sightings included twelve Bald Eagles, (9 adults, 3 immature), and twelve Turkey Vultures.

December, 2010: Interview on Fort St. Joseph Project

Dr. Terrance Martin was interviewed by Michael Bawaya for an article on the Fort St. Joseph Project that Bawaya is writing for American Archaeology magazine (December 21). Bawaya is Editor of the magazine, which is the publication of the Archaeological Conservancy).  Dr. Martin analyzed the faunal remains for this project.

December, 2010: The Digital Archaeological Record Research Demonstration

In December, Dr. Bonnie Styles participated as a Co-Principal Investigator in the submission of a National Science Foundation (Anthropology Program) proposal with Arizona State University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania to demonstrate the value of the Digital Archaeological Record archaeofaunal databases to studies of resource depression and intensification in the midwestern and southwestern United States. The project includes archaeofaunal data from Holocene Illinois sites assembled by Dr. Styles and is based on trends in human use of faunal in the Eastern United States during the Holocene documented in her published syntheses. The proposal was submitted on December 17.

December, 2010: Paleobiological Research

Dr. Eric Grimm was the senior author on a poster and an author on two additional posters presented at the American Geophysical Union meetings in San Francisco.  All of the posters summarized results of multiproxy studies of long-term changes in climate and vegetation in the northern Great Plains based on Grimm's palynological research and other datasets. These posters were viewed by over 300 scientists.

December, 2010: Hine's Emerald Dragonfly Research

In December, Dr. Tim Cashatt met with Tim Vogt of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to discuss their studies of the federally endangered Hine's Emerald Dragonfly and Dr. Cashatt's development of a field guide to dragonflies.

December, 2010: Meeting with Illinois Archaeological Survey President

On December 11, Dr. Bonnie Styles met with former Museum Board Chair Dr. James A. Brown (Northwestern University) in Springfield.  Dr. Brown is the incoming President of the Illinois Archaeological Survey and requested to meet with Dr. Styles on respective responsibilities of the Illinois Archaeological Survey and the new Illinois State Archaeological Survey in the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

December, 2010: Proboscidean Extinctions in the Great Lakes Region

In December, the Museum received word that a proposal to the National Science Foundation (Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology Program) was recommended for funding.  The proposed project will examine late Quaternary Proboscidean extinctions in the Great Lakes Region.  Dr. Chris Widga is the lead Principal Investigator for this collaborative research project and worked with NSF to negotiate the budget for the project.

December, 2010: Archeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin examined a collection of 250 calcined and fragmented animal remains from a lumber camp camboose site in Taylor County, (northern) Wisconsin for CCRG, Inc., and identified several pieces of metapodials and phalanges from white-tailed deer.  Angela Perri (McMillan Museum intern, Ph.D. candidate Durham University, U.K.) assisted with the faunal analysis of the Indian Dormitory site on Mackinac Island (Michigan) and inspected dog burials from several collections that are curated at the ISM (Modoc Rock Shelter, Elizabeth Mounds, etc.).  Dr. Martin entered information on Renner-Brenner site (23PL1) animal remains into a database and produced species composition tables for a report to SCI Engineering, Inc, St. Charles, Missouri. Erin Brand, Chris Richmond, and Dr. Martin continued identifying animal remains and Claire Fuller Martin entered information into the database for the Lake Christina Site (21DL46), a multi-component Pre-Contact and Post-Contact habitation site in west central Minnesota for the Duluth Archaeology Center.  Dr. Martin is writing an article on prehistoric lake sturgeon exploitation in western Michigan for a special issue of The Michigan Archaeologist.

December, 2010: Neotoma Workshop

Dr. Eric Grimm participated in a Neotoma software training workshop at Penn State from December 1-5.  The workshop was conducted under the auspices of a grant from the National Science Foundation (Geoinformatics Program).  Dr. Grimm and collaborators are expanding the Neotoma paleoclimate database.

November, 2010: IMLS Proposal for Museum Mentoring Project

Dr. Robert Warren worked on a proposal to the Institute of Museum and Library Services to develop a sustainable Museum Mentoring Project model designed to build vital 21st century skills in small community museums. The Museum is partnering with the Illinois Association of Museums and 30 small Illinois Museums for the project. On November 19, Dr. Bonnie Styles met with Dr. Warren to review the draft proposal. 

November, 2010: Feather Distribution Project

Dr. Jonathan Reyman reported that the Feather Distribution Project passed the 9 million mark in feathers distributed. An article on the project by Catherine Vine, a bird keeper at the Philadelphia Zoo, was published in Good Bird Parrot Magazine. Dr. Reyman provided panels on the project for use in the November Super Saturday program in A Place for Discovery.

November, 2010: Archaeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin finished the technical report on early 19^th-century animal remains from the Squire site in Madison County, Illinois that was prepared for the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, Inc. Erin Brand is identifying animal remains from the Renner-Brenner site (23PL1), the type site for the Kansas City Hopewell Complex in Platte County, Missouri, under a contract from SCI Engineering, Inc., St. Charles, Missouri. Angela Perri (doctoral candidate, Durham University, U.K.; 2010 McMillan Museum Intern) is assisting with the faunal analysis of the Indian Dormitory site on Mackinac Island (northern Michigan). Excavations by Andrews Cultural Resources revealed a significant Middle and Late Woodland habitation site that was occupied during the Laurel, Pine River, Mackinac, Bois Blanc, and Juntunen phases. A major part of the faunal assemblage consists of canid remains that are being studied in detail by Perri.

Dr. Martin continued identifying animal remains from the Lake Christina site (21DL46) for a report to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources that is being prepared by the Duluth Archaeology Center (Duluth, Minnesota).

November, 2010: The Digital Archaeological Record

Dr. Bonnie Styles and Dr. Sarah Neusius, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, worked on a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation (Anthropology Program) with lead Principal Investigators from Arizona State University on a demonstration of the research utility of the Digital Archaeological Record database of faunal remains from archaeological sites for examinations of prehistoric resource depression and intensification in the Eastern and Southwestern United States.

November, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

Archaeological investigations are being directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin, and are supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered during the 2010 field season from excavations on Block 13, Lot 4 that revealed the foundations of the house resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter as well as an abandoned well east of the house in adjacent Lot 3. On Friday, November 5, Dr. Martin assisted Dr. Art Bettis (University of Iowa) and Ph.D. candidate Mary Kathryn Rocheford in taking soil core samples with their Giddings soil coring machine from various areas as part of a geomorphological and landscape history study of New Philadelphia. On Saturday, November 6, Dr. Fennell, graduate student George Calfas, and Dr. Martin assisted Kat Rocheford with an exploratory trench in Block 7, Lot 7 in order to investigate one of the soil terracing berms on the west side of the site.   Dr. Martin and Claire Fuller Martin attended the New Philadelphia Association annual meeting at the Burdick House at New Philadelphia on November 6.

November, 2010: Neotoma Workshop

Under the auspices of a grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Eric Grimm attended Neotoma database software training workshops at Penn State University and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

November, 2010: DNR Emerald Ash Borer Training

Dr. Tim Cashatt attended a special training session on the Emerald Ash Borer at DNR headquarters on November 4. 

November, 2010: Geological Society of America

Dr. Bonnie Styles represented the Illinois State Museum at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America (November 1-2).  She staffed the American Quaternary Association Booth in the exhibition hall and attended paper sessions on Quaternary geology and ecology, advances in geological research, and global warming. 

October, 2010: American Quaternary Association and GSA

Dr. Bonnie Styles represented the Illinois State Museum at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA) in Denver.  She was inducted as a GSA fellow during the Awards Ceremony.  She made the arrangements for the American Quaternary Association (AMQUA) Council Meeting and AMQUA Booth in the Exhibition Hall. She helped install the AMQUA booth and assisted with staffing it.  She attended the Archaeological Geology Division Business Meeting and numerous sessions on Quaternary geology and environments, geoarchaeology, and global warming.

October, 2010: Workshop on the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR)

Dr. Bonnie Styles was an invited participant in a tDAR workshop at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.  She has been serving as an advisor for a National Science Foundation grant to Arizona State University to establish the database and a pilot project to incorporate faunal data from archaeological sites.  Dr. Styles' faunal data from the lower Illinois River valley is in the pilot dataset.  The advisors are currently putting together a proposal to the National Science Foundation to examine resource depression and intensification in the Interior Eastern Woodlands and the Southwestern United States as a demonstration of the research utility of the database. Dr. Styles and Dr. Sarah Neusius of Indiana University of Pennsylvania are the lead Principal Investigators for the Interior Eastern Woodlands.  Dr. Styles gave a presentation at the workshop summarizing trends for the region based on a number of regional syntheses by them and other scholars.

October, 2010: Scientific Research Presentations

Drs. Michael Wiant, Terry Martin, and Michael Conner and Alan Harn presented archaeological research at the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Archaeological Survey in Normal, Illinois. Museum archaeologists also presented research results at the Annual Midwest Archaeological Conference in Bloomington, Indiana.  Dr. Martin and colleagues presented a paper on the archaeology of Fort Ouiatenon (50 attended). Dr. Martin also presented a paper on animal exploitation based on remains from the Citgo site in the Green Bay Area of Wisconsin (40 attended). Dr. Michael Conner presented several papers in a symposium that he organized on "Rediscovering Illinois Yet Again: Early 21st Century Research in the Central Illinois Valley."   A paper by Alan Harn and colleagues on the geomorphological and archaeological research for the Emiquon project area was also presented at the conference. Dr. Chris Widga presented a paper on assessing the niche of mammoths and mastodonts at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontologists in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (75 attended).  Dr. Meredith Mahoney gave a presentation on her genetics research for the federally endangered Hine's Emerald Dragonfly at the annual Natural Areas conference in Osage Beach, Missouri (30 attended).

October, 2010: Zooarchaeological Research

Erin Brand continued identifying animal remains from the Renner-Brenner site (23PL1), the type site for the Kansas City Hopewell Complex in Platte County, Missouri, as a contract from SCI Engineering, Inc., St. Charles, MO. Dr. Terrance Martin continued identifying animal remains from the Lake Christina site (21DL046) for a report to the Minnesota DNR in progress by the Duluth Archaeology Center (Duluth, MN). McMillan Museum Intern Angela Perri (doctoral candidate, Durham University, United Kingdom) is assisting with the faunal analysis of the Indian Dormitory site on Mackinac Island (northern Michigan). Excavations by Andrews Cultural Resources revealed a significant Middle and Late Woodland habitation site that was occupied during the Laurel, Pine River, Mackinac, Bois Blanc, and Juntunen phases. A major part of the faunal assemblage consists of canid remains that are being studied in detail by Perri. Dr. Martin and Angela Perri identified animal remains from Feature 9 along with modified animal remains from various contexts at Fort Ouiatenon that were investigated in 1968 and 1969 by Dr. James Kellar (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University). Neither the artifacts nor biological remains in this early collection have ever been studied systematically or in detail. This project is part of a collaboration with Dr. Timothy Baumann (Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University), who plans to assemble a report on this significant 19^th-century French colonial site.  Dr. Martin analyzed 665 animal remains from Feature 17 in Grid A at the Zimmerman. This feature was a Danner phase roasting pit that was excavated by Margaret Brown during the 1970-1972 excavations sponsored by the La Salle County Historical Society.

October, 2010: Vertebrate Paleontology of Turin Quarry

In October, Dr. Chris Widga was awarded an Academic & Research Relations Grant for a Portable XRF for vertebrate paleontology of the Turin Quarry, Monroe County, Iowa. The grant includes the loan of an OLYMPUS Innov-X Portable XRF Analyzer, which will allow Dr. Widga to conduct noninvasive chemical analyses of the bones from the site.

October, 2010: Neotoma Database

Principal Investigator Dr. Eric Grimm continued to work with collaborators on the expansion of the Neotoma paleoecology database under the auspices of a grant from the National Science Foundation. A graduate student supervised by Dr. Alison Smith (Kent State University) is processing and verifying ostracode data for entry into the Neotoma database. These data include fossil ostracode data from 22 cores (Holocene and Plio-Pleistocene) and ostracode and hydrochemistry data from about 150 modern (surface) samples from the North American Non-Marine Ostracode Database.

October, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

Karen Wall, Evelyn Parks, Dona Wells, and Gretchen Wells met with Claire Martin and Dr. Terrance Martin concerning history and archaeology at New Philadelphia. The group from Kansas are descendents of New Philadelphia families who attended the Apple Festival in Barry the previous weekend and took advantage of the trip to Illinois to come to Springfield to see artifacts from New Philadelphia (October 4).

September, 2010: Oral History of Illinois Agriculture Project Completed

On September 28, Dr. Robert Warren submitted the final report for the Oral History of Illinois Agriculture Project to the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

September, 2010: Zooarchaeological Research

Erin Brand is identifying animal remains from the Renner-Brenner site (23PL1), the type site for the Kansas City Hopewell Complex in Platte County, Missouri, as a contract from SCI Engineering, Inc., St. Charles, MO. Dr. Terrance Martin compiled a table on 500 animal remains recovered during recent excavations at the Warwick’s Fort site (1774-early 1780s), Pocahantas County, West Virginia, for Dr. Stephen McBride, McBride Preservation Services, Lexington, KY. Dr. Martin began identifying animal remains recovered during excavations at the multiple component Pre- and Post-Contact Lake Christina site (21DL046), located on the county line between Douglas and Grant Counties in west central Minnesota. The faunal analysis is being conducted under a subcontract with the Duluth Archaeology Center (Duluth, MN), the firm that is responsible for the Phase III mitigation of the site. McMillan Museum Intern Angela Perri (doctoral candidate, Durham University, United Kingdom) is assisting with the faunal analysis of the Indian Dormitory site on Mackinac Island (northern Michigan). Excavations at the site by Andrews Cultural Resources revealed a major Middle and Late Woodland habitation site that includes artifacts characteristic of Laurel, Pine River, Mackinac, Bois Blanc, and Juntunen phase occupations along with well-preserved remains of mammals, birds, turtles, fish, and freshwater mussels. Dr. Martin finished data entry for the Squire site (11MS2244) (early 19^th century) zooarchaeological collection. The site was mitigated by the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, Inc.    Dr. Martin reviewed and commented on chapter on the New Lenox site faunal analysis for Clare Tolme (September 23-27).

September, 2010: Research Associate Helps with Laboratory Setup

Research Associate Pietra Mueller is helping the School of Integrative Biology-Plant Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign configure a pollen laboratory and train students in standard pollen preparation techniques.

September, 2010: Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project

Inspired by the Archaeology Open House at the site over the weekend of August14-15, local press interviewed Dr. Michael Nassaney (project director at Western Michigan University) about current research and recent finds. Due to the abundance of animal remains recovered during excavations, these stories typically include references to the importance of hunting and local animal procurement, and this information is based on the zooarchaeological research being conducted at the Illinois State Museum. During September, Dr. Terrance Martin continued verifying animal bone identification and data entry for specimens from the various zooarchaeology workshops at Western Michigan University’s fieldschool at the site.

September, 2010: Neotoma Database Workshop

With support from a grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Eric Grimm co-led a Neotoma Database Workshop at the University of Wisconsin Madison in September.  Neotoma includes data from a wide variety of records including pollen, macrofossil plants, diatoms, ostracods, beetles, and bones. Dr. Chris Widga also participated in the workshop, which included discussion taphonomic assessments of faunal data.

September, 2010: Invasive Plant Research

In September, Dr. Hong Qian conducted research of exotic species in North America and Eastern Asia under the auspices of a grant from the National Science Foundation grant. He collected data from several herbaria and libraries in Russia, including those at Moscow State University, Moscow Botanical Garden, Komarov Botanical Institute, and nature preserves.  He gave an invited presentation on his research at Moscow University on September 7 (40 faculty and graduate students attended).

September, 2010: Millennial-scale Vegetation Variability Based on Pollen

Dr. Eric Grimm and colleagues from Spain, France, Arizona, Vermont, New York, Texas, Montana, and Virginia published a study highlighting millennial-scale variability in North American vegetation records of the last glacial in Quaternary Science Reviews. High-resolution pollen records show that terrestrial environments were affected by Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich climate variability during the last glacial. In the western, more mountainous regions, these climate changes are generally observed in pollen records as altitudinal movements of climate-sensitive plant species, whereas in the southeast, they are recorded as latitudinal shifts in vegetation. Heinrich and Greenland stadials are generally correlated with cold and dry climate and Greenland interstadials with warm-wet phases.  The pollen records from North America confirm that vegetation responds rapidly to millennial-scale climate variability, although the difficulties in establishing independent age models for the pollen records make determination of the absolute phasing of the records to surface temperatures in Greenland somewhat uncertain.

September, 2010: Interlibrary Loans for Museum Research

Museum Librarian Pat Burg continued to help Dr. Hong Qian and Marlyana Morgan as needed with special requests concerning interlibrary loans, involving 100 or more items each month.

September, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

Archaeological investigations are being directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin, and are supported by a grant from the NSF REU program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. Work continued at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign during September on preparation of progress reports on the 2010 excavations, which will be posted on the New Philadelphia Project’s Web site (http://www.anthro.uiuc.edu/cfennell/NP/). Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered between May 26 and June 25 from excavations on Block 13, Lot 4 that revealed the foundations of the house that resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter as well as an abandoned well east of the house in the adjacent Lot 3.

August, 2010: Paleoecological Database Presented

Dr. Eric Grimm gave an invited presentation on "Neotoma: a Multiproxy Community Database for the Pliocene and Pleistocene" for a Paleochronology Building Workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in August.

August, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

U.S. Representative Aaron Schock (18th Congressional District, Illinois) visited the New Philadelphia site on August 25 and publically dedicated the plaque designating the site as a National Historic Landmark. He spoke about bipartisan legislation he introduced to require a feasibility study to make the site a National Park. Archaeological investigations are being directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin, and are supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered between May 26 and June 25 from excavations on Block 13, Lot 4 that revealed the foundations of the house that resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter as well as an abandoned well east of the house in the adjacent Lot 3.

August, 2010: American Quaternary Association Contributions

Drs. Bonnie Styles and Eric Grimm and Adjunct Research Associate Dr. R. Bruce McMillan represented the Museum at the 21st Biennial Meeting of the American Quaternary Association in Laramie Wyoming. Dr. Eric Grimm gave a workshop on "Telling Time: The Use of Radiocarbon (14C) Dating" for the Teaching Climate Change from the Geologic Record pre-conference Workshop in Laramie, Wyoming. The workshop was co-sponsored by On the Cutting Edge: Professional Development for Geosciences Faculty and Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College, Northfield Minnesota; the U.S. National Committee for the International Union for Quaternary Research; and the American Quaternary Association (30 teachers attended). He gave a paper on "A New Look at the No-analog Late Glacial through Early Holocene Climates and Ecosystems of the Upper Midwest" in the plenary session for the AMQUA Biennial meeting (150 attended). Drs. Grimm, Styles, and McMillan participated in the pre-conference geological field-trip to the Snowy Range.  They also participated in the plenary and poster sessions and the AMQUA Council meeting on August 13.  Dr. Styles is the Secretary of the American Quaternary Association, and Dr. Grimm is the Immediate past president.  As Secretary, Dr. Styles worked with the AMQUA president to develop the agendas for the Council and Business meetings, took the minutes for the Council and Business meetings, and oversaw all of the awards presentations and travel grants for students. At the Business meeting, Dr. Styles was given special recognition for completing 12 years of service as the AMQUA Secretary.

August, 2010: Zooarchaeological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin completed a technical report on the faunal assemblage from the multiple component Citgo site (Brown County, Wisconsin). The site was investigated by Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc. in advance of Wisconsin DOT’s proposed highway renovations on US 41/141 north of the Suamico River on the west side of Green Bay. Erin Brand is identifying animal remains from the Renner-Brenner site (23PL1), the type site for the Kansas City Hopewell Complex in Platte County, Missouri, as a contract from SCI Engineering, Inc., St. Charles, MO. Dr. Martin began identifying animal remains from the Warwick’s Fort site (1774-early 1780s, Pocahantas County, West Virginia) for Dr. Kim A. McBride, Kentucky Archaeological Survey, Lexington, KY.

August, 2010: Native-Exotic Species Richness in Illinois Wetland Communities

Dr. Hong Qian and colleagues from the University of Illinois, Springfield and the Illinois Natural History Survey published a study examining native-exotic species richness across spatial scales and corresponding biotic homogenization in wetland plant communities. Their study demonstrated a clear shift from a positive to a negative native-exotic species richness relationship from larger to smaller spatial scales.  The negative relationship is suggested to result from direct biotic interactions (competitive exclusion) between native and exotic species, whereas positive correlations likely reflect the more prominent influence of habitat heterogeneity on richness at larger scales. Their finding of homogenization at the community level extends conclusions from previous studies that found this pattern at much larger scales.  Furthermore, these results suggest that even while exhibiting positive native-exotic species richness, community level biotas are still being homogenized because of exotic species invasion.

July, 2010: Geological Site Visits

Dr. Chris Widga visited Mazonia State Park to monitor fossil collecting procedures (July 27). He also assembled materials for a virtual field guide to the Mazon Creek area that he is planning to develop. he visited a sink hole north of Decatur on July 29 to assess its potential for fossil accumulation.

July, 2010: Physical Anthropological Research

In July, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency renewed their contract with Illinois Department of Natural Resources to provide support Illinois State Museum Research Associate Dawn Cobb to assess the content of graves encountered under the auspices of the Illinois Human Graves Protection Act and the Illinois Archeological and Paleontological Resources Protection Act.

July, 2010: Archeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin analyzed and prepared a report on historical animal remains from three sites (23PU278, 23PU757, and 23PU1869) at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for a technical report by Steven Ahler (University of Kentucky). Erin Brand completed identification of animal remains from the early 19^th-century Squire Farmstead site (11MS2244) in Madison County, Illinois. The site was excavated by the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, Inc. Dr. Martin continued preparing species composition tables for the multiple component Citgo site (Brown County, Wisconsin). The site was investigated by Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc. in advance of Wisconsin DOT’s proposed highway renovations on US 41/141 north of the Suamico River on the west side of Green Bay.

July, 2010: Black Hills Paleoecology Project

In July, Dr. Eric Grimm participated in fieldwork at Rainbow Cave in the Black Hills.  The project is a collaboration of Penn State University and the Illinois State Museum.  Dr. Grimm has reconstructed climate and vegetation changes based on pollen preserved in iron bog deposits, and Dr. Russell Graham (Penn State) is studying vertebrate faunal remains from the cave.

July, 2010: Palynologist Participates in International Meeting

Dr. Eric Grimm participated in the European Palaeobotany-Palynology Conference in Budapest, Hungary.  He presented information on the Neotoma database at a special meeting of the European Pollen Database Advisory Committee. Dr. Grimm is an advisor to the European Pollen Database, which is modeled after Dr. Grimm’s North American Pollen Database and the Global Pollen Database. Support for his participation was provided by an EVOLTREE Network grant.

July, 2010: Research Planning in the Natural Sciences

Dr. Hong Qian submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to compile a comprehensive database of angiosperms in the Himalaya, test a series of ecological and biogeographic hypotheses, characterize geographic patterns of richness, determine the geographic, phylogenetic, and ecological patterns of endemism, and explore species turnover and floristic relationships among different regions.  Dr. Chris Widga submitted an NSF proposal to improve the late Quaternary chronology of proboscidean extinctions in the Great Lakes Region by direct dating of mastodont and mammoth assemblages.  The project will also examine regional evolution in ecological niches by examining proxy records of animal diet, seasonality, and mobility based on analyses of teeth and bones, as well as skeletal records of individual life histories.

July, 2010: Oral History Project Presented at International Meeting

In July, Dr. Robert Warren presented the Oral History of Illinois Agriculture project to an international audience at the International Oral History Association conference in Prague, Czech Republic. Over 500 participants from 70 countries participated in the meeting. About 70 individuals attended Dr. Warren's presentation, which highlighted the Audio-Video Barn Website and the use of digital technology to share oral histories with communities.

July, 2010: Zoologist Participates in Joint Meeting of Herpetologists and Ichthyologists

Dr. Meredith Mahoney participated in a joint meeting of ichthyologists and herpetologists in Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Mahoney is the Treasurer of the Herpetologists League and serves on the Meeting Management and Planning Committee (MMPC) as the Herp League representative to this multi-society committee.  She presented the annual Treasurer's report at the Herp League Board and Business meeting and attended committee meetings for the MMPC.

July, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

The laboratory phase of this year’s New Philadelphia Project concluded at the Research and Collections Center on July 30. The project is directed by Drs. Chris Fennell (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Anna Agbe-Davies (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and Terrance Martin, and is supported by a grant from the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students for ten weeks. A weekly speakers’ series is also part of the program. Thousands of artifacts and biological remains (plants and animals) were recovered between May 26 and June 25 from excavations at the site of the former house resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter (in Block 13, Lot 4) as well as an abandoned well that was discovered east of the house foundations (in the adjacent Lot 3). UIUC graduate student Kati Fay was supported by Museum curation funds to supervise the students in analyzing and cataloging the 2010 New Philadelphia artifacts. Dr. Martin mentored the nine students in analyzing animal remains from the 2010 excavations at New Philadelphia, Block 13, Lots 3 and 4. ISM Research Associate Claire Martin mentored the students in historical research involving census, probate, and genealogical records. Andy and Pat Sprague (Sprague’s Kinderhook Lodge) visited the Research and Collections Center (July 13) to see the New Philadelphia Laboratory.  Mr. Mel and Mrs. Mary Conrad  (New Philadelphia Association member and fifth generation descendent of Free Frank McWorter) met with Research Associate Claire Martin and to share and discuss genealogical information on family ancestors who lived in New Philadelphia (July 14).

June, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

Archaeological fieldwork resumed at the New Philadelphia site in Pike County, Illinois, on May 26 and continued through June 25 under the direction of Drs. Chris Fennell (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Anna Agbe-Davies (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and Terrance Martin. The project is supported by a grant from the NSF REU program, which provides stipends and housing for nine undergraduate students. Although geophysical anomalies in various areas of the site were investigated during the first week, Blocks 12 and 13 were the major areas of attention during June. Lot 4 in Block 13 is the site of the former house resided in by Squire and Louisa McWorter, and efforts were directed at locating and uncovering the foundation in order to find a cellar feature. Excavation of a circular soil anomaly to the east on Lot 3 resulted in the discovery of an abandoned well that was associated with the McWorter household. Excavation of the eastern portion revealed that it was filled in with large limestone slabs. Whereas attempts were made to investigate areas in Block 12 for a possible early schoolhouse, continuous water seepage into test units prevented extensive work in this area. Operations shifted to the Research and Collections Center in Springfield on June 26, where laboratory analysis of recovered materials will occur through July 30. Sandra McWorter (New Philadelphia Association) and Kathryn Harris (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library) visited the RCC on June 29.

June, 2010: Paleoecological Research

Dr. Joe Donovan, West Virginia University, came to the Research and Collections Center in June to work with Dr. Eric Grimm on a paper summarizing their paleoecological research at Kettle Lake in North Dakota.  This study is based on pollen, charcoal, and sediment geochemistry and documents long-term trends and short-term climatic variability in the northern Great Plains.

June, 2010: Dragonfly Genetics Research

Dr. Meredith Mahoney completed a report of genetics research for Hine's Emerald (Somatochlora hineana) dragonfly populations in Missouri. She found genetic variation among and within Missouri populations that was comparable to what is observed across the whole species range. Genetic analyses showed that there is gene flow, and therefore movement of individuals, among disjunct populations in Missouri Ozarks fen habitats. The gene flow increases genetic diversity of populations by moving new variants in, and also supports the idea that these dragonflies could re-colonize extirpated populations. Prior to this study, there was a concern that S. hineana may hybridize with its sister species, S. tenebrosa (Clamp-tipped Emerald). In addition, the larvae are very difficult to tell apart. She used two genes (one maternally and one bi-parentally inherited) to look at all the adults collected for this study and compared the samples with the other three species of Somatochlora, including several S. tenebrosa from Missouri. She didn't find any evidence of current hybridization affecting S. hineana in Missouri. She is now using these markers as a genetic species test to identify a set of larval samples. This research is supported through grant funds from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

June, 2010: Preparations for American Quaternary Association Biennial Meeting

In her capacity as Secretary of the American Quaternary Association, Dr. Bonnie Styles solicited votes for the 2010, Distinguished Career Award, reviews of applications for the Denise Gaudreau Award for Excellence in Quaternary Studies, and coordinated Student Travel Grant applications and reviews.

June, 2010: Middle Holocene Bison Diet and Mobility

Dr. Chris Widga and colleagues from the University Kansas published a study of middle Holocene bison diet and mobility on the Great Plains. During the Holocene bison were key components of the Great Plains landscape. Their study uses serial stable isotope analyses (tooth enamel carbonate) of 29 individuals from five middle Holocene (ca. 7,000-8,500 years ago) archaeological sites to address seasonal variability in movement patterns and grazing behavior of bison populations in the eastern Great Plains.  Stable carbon isotopes (δ¹³C) indicate a bison diet that is similar to the C3/C4 composition of modern tallgrass prairie, while strontium isotope (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) values generally indicate very little seasonal movement (less than 50 km) and relatively limited inter-annual movement (less than 500 km) over the course of 4-5 years.  Analyses of variability in serial stable oxygen isotope samples (δ¹⁸O) further substantiate a model of localized bison herds that adhered to upland areas of the eastern Plains and prairie-forest border.

June, 2010: Archaeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin finished data entry and prepared species composition tables for faunal assemblages from the Late Archaic, Late Woodland, and Oneota components at the Citgo site (Brown County, Wisconsin). The site was investigated by Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc. in advance of the Wisconsin DOT’s proposed construction activities on highway US 41/141 north of the Suamico River on the west side of Green Bay. Erin Brand continued identifying animal remains from the early 19^th-century Squire Farmstead site (11MS2244) in Madison County, Illinois. The site was excavated by the Archaeological Research Center in St. Louis, Inc. Following Dr. Martin’s identification of selected turtle remains, Wesley Andrews sent the entire assemblage of animal remains he recovered during excavations at the Indian Dormitory site at Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, Michigan, to Dr. Martin for identification and analysis.

May, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

Dr. Terrance Martin and Research Associate Claire Fuller Martin published two articles on regionalism in subsistence pursuits at New Philadelphia based on faunal remains and historical records in the journal Historical Archaeology. Dr. Martin transported field equipment for the New Philadelphia Project to the site on May 22 in preparation for the 2010 field season. Dr. Martin met New Philadelphia crew member Tyquin Washington (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) at the airport in Springfield (May 23).  He met Keishaia Griffith (Buffalo State College), Courtney Ng (Rice University), and Sedrie Hart (Kennesaw State University, Georgia) at the airport in Springfield and transported them to the Kinderhook Lodge in preparation for the New Philadelphia field season (May 24). The field season began on May 26.  This second of three seasons of excavation is funded by a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant.  The project is co-directed by Drs. Chris Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Terrance Martin. The crew consists of nine undergraduate students (from seven states) along with two graduate student assistants and three graduate student volunteers.

May, 2010: Art Department

Kent Smith edited the transcript of an extended interview and wrote an essay about Springfield artist Kevin Veara. Veara has been selected by Smith to be part of the four solo exhibition show, Focus Four to which four ISM curators contributed. The exhibition opens June 11 at the ISM Chicago Gallery.

May, 2010: Archaeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin began data entry for the prehistoric (Late Archaic, Late Woodland, and Oneota) faunal assemblage from the Citgo site in Brown County, Wisconsin. The site was excavated (Phase I and II) by Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc. for the Wisconsin DOT.  Dr. Martin finished a manuscript on the 18^th-century faunal assemblage from the Duckhouse site in the French village of Cahokia (St. Clair County, Illinois). It was submitted to Illinois Archaeology, reviewed, and accepted for publication during May. Erin Brand identified animal remains from the early 19^th-century Squire Farmstead site (11MS2244) near Granite City in Madison County, Illinois. The site was excavated by the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, Inc.  Dr. Martin received prehistoric turtle remains for examination from Wesley Andrews, who excavated at the Indian Dormitory Site at Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island, Michigan, under contract with the Mackinac Island Park Commission. Dr. Martin identified animal remains from the Burgess-Williams site on Grand Island in Lake Superior (Hiawatha National Forest) that were obtained in 2009 during excavations directed by Illinois State University graduate student Emma Meyer.

May, 2010: Paleoecological Research

In May, Dr. Eric Grimm worked with collaborators at Penn State University on the next grant proposal for the Neotoma Database project. He worked with Dr. Joe Donovan at West Virginia University on a paper they are preparing summarizing evidence for climatic change in the northern Great Plains.

May, 2010: Environment-species Richness Relationships

Dr. Hong Qian published results of a major study of global and regional environment-richness relationships for mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians using identical sample units and the  same set of climate (temperature, precipitation, annual actual evapotranspiration), productivity (normalized difference vegetation index), and topographic (elevation range) variables.  His results strongly support concomitant availability of energy and water at the principal constraint on global richness for all vertebrate groups, except reptiles, which are largely constrained by temperature.  However, environment-richness models for all taxonomic groups varied widely when applied to single (continental scale) biogeographic realms. He concludes that temperature and water availability are key variables for modeling broad-scale vertebrate richness, but there remains significant room for taxon-specific modeling approaches and for the inclusion of non-climatic factors related to evolutionary history and faunal assembly in different regions. The study was published in the journal Ecological Research.

April, 2010: Museum Research Presented at Society for American Archaeology Meeting

Nine symposia/sessions at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting in St. Louis in April featured research by Museum scholars.  Drs. Bonnie Styles and Michael Wiant presented papers on zooarchaeology and deep site archaeology, respectively, in a special session examining the research contributions of Center for American Archeology in the Illinois River valley.  Tom Styles presented a paper on geoarchaeology in this session co-authored with Research Associate Dr. Edwin Hajic.  Mary Pirkl of the Center for American Archaeology presented a paper (co-authored with Carey Tisdal and Beth Shea) on the Museum Tech Academy field sessions in Kampsville in a companion session on current research and education by the Center for American Archeology.  Dr. Terrance Martin presented a paper on French Colonial faunal remains in a symposium on Historical archaeology of the middle and upper Mississippi River valley. Dr. Chris Widga presented a paper on his isotopic research in a session on current research on isotopic analyses in archaeology and zooarchaeology.  Research Associate Dr. Stacey Lengyel presented a poster summarizing archaeomagnetic research in a session on southeastern archaeology. A paper co-authored by Dr. Michael Conner on ceramics from a site in the lower Illinois River valley was presented in a session on archaeology for a pipeline corridor in Illinois and Missouri. Dr. Eric Grimm summarized climate and vegetation data for the Upper Midwest in a session on human responses to the Younger Dryas in the Northern Hemisphere.   Dr. Hajic also presented a geoarchaeology poster in a session on landscapes in the Great Lakes and Midwest and was a second author on a paper on geoarchaeology of the central Mississippi River valley in a session featuring new perspectives on Kimmswick and Modoc and the Pleistocene to Holocene transition. Dr. Michael Wiant also served as a discussant for a session on Ohio Hopewell earthworks. Titles for each presentation are provided in the Professional Presentations section of this activity report.

April, 2010: Director Participates in Workshop for National Archaeological Database

Dr. Bonnie Styles is an advisor to a major National Science Foundation Grant project to establish the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR).  The grant project is being directed by researchers at Arizona State University. Dr. Styles attended a workshop on the project in St. Louis (April 14) in conjunction with the Society for American Archaeology meetings. Workshop participants reviewed archaeozoological datasets that have been entered into the database, coding schemes for recording archaeological context, and research applications to demonstrate the utility of the database. Data from archaeological sites in the lower Illinois River valley assembled by Dr. Styles already reside in the tDAR database.

April, 2010: Archaeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin, Chris Richmond, and Erin Brand completed a technical report on animal remains from Site 23CH348, a late Middle Woodland habitation site in the lower Chariton River valley in north central Missouri. The site was excavated by American Resources Group, Ltd. for the Keystone Pipeline Project. Dr. Martin and Chris Widga have agreed to collaborate with Dr. Susan Mulholland (Duluth Archaeological Center) on the archaeozoological analysis of animal remains that will be recovered during the excavation the multiple component (Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, Plains Village, and 19^th-century) Christina-Pelican Lake site (21DL46/21GR41) on the border of Douglas and Grant Counties in west-central Minnesota. The overall project is administered by the Minnesota DNR and Ducks Unlimited, Inc. and will occur this summer.

April, 2010: Curator Presents at Museums and the Web Conference

In April, Dr. Erich Schroeder participated in the Museums and the Web 2010 conference in Denver, Colorado. He did a demonstration of the Audio-Visual Barn Web site that was developed for the Oral History of Illinois Agriculture project (April 16), and his paper on this topic was published in the conference proceedings. He also attended a special session on planning social media for museums and other sessions on Web applications.

April, 2010: Dragonfly Recovery Team Meeting

Dr. Tim Cashatt and Dr. Meredith Mahoney attended a meeting of the Hine's Emerald Dragonfly Recovery Team in April. Dr. Mahoney presented the results of her dragonfly genetics research.

April, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

Research on New Philadelphia was published as an entire issue of Historical Archaeology, the journal of the Society for Historical Archaeology ("New Philadelphia: Racism, Community, and the Illinois Frontier," Vol. 44, No. 1, 2010).  Dr. Terrance Martin was a co-editor for this volume along with collaborators Dr. Chris Fennell (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Dr. Paul Shackel (University of Maryland).  Dr. Martin and Research Associate Claire Martin contributed two articles to the volume: one on agriculture and regionalism and one on subsistence and regional origin. Drs. Fennell, Anna Agbe-Davies, and Martin reviewed 72 student applications for nine archaeological field school positions funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. Nine finalists and three alternates were selected. The 2010 field and laboratory season will occur from May 25 through July 30.

April, 2010: Exotic Plant Species Research

Dr. Hong Qian conducted research on exotic plant species in North America and eastern Asia under the auspices of a grant from the National Science Foundation. He collected data from six herbaria (two in Taiwan, one in Hong Kong, and three in mainland China) and libraries in universities (e.g., Taiwan National University, Hong Kong University), botanical gardens (e.g., Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Lijiang Botanical Garden, South China Botanical Garden), and botanical/ecological institutes (e.g., Kunming Institute of Botany, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences). In addition, he made field-observations at several sites, which have been heavily invaded by exotic plants, and gave three invited presentations about plant geography and exotic species in eastern Asia and North America: one at Academia Sinica (Taipei, Taiwan), one at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China), and the other at Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing, China). About 50-60 people attended each of the presentations.

March, 2010: New Philadelphia Project

Dr. Terrance Martin, Dr. Chris Fennell (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Research Associate Claire Martin, and Pat Syrcle (Mayor of Barry; member of the New Philadelphia Association Board) met with Ian Shanklin and Ruth Heikkinen (Midwest Region Planning Division, Omaha; National Park Service) who made a reconnaissance visit to the New Philadelphia site in advance of a possible Congressionally-mandated Special Resource Study to consider the merits of New Philadelphia to become a property managed by the National Park Service (March 9).  Kay Iftner (Pike County Chamber of Commerce) requested items pertaining to the New Philadelphia site for an exhibition area at their office in Pittsfield. Doug Carr provided photographs of some of the artifacts. Dr. Chris Fennell received a total of 72 applications for field school positions that will be funded by a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU) grant for the 2010 field season beginning May 25. Drs. Fennell, Agbe-Davies, and Martin began reviewing applications in order to select finalists and alternates for the nine students who will receive stipends for the eight weeks of the project.

March, 2010: Archeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin completed an ISM Landscape History Program technical report on the archaeological faunal assemblage (over 6,500 specimens) from the Duckhouse site at Cahokia (St. Clair County, Illinois) that was excavated in 2006 and 2007 by Robert Mazrim for The French Colonial Heritage Project at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Dr. Martin inspected and reported on a small collection of animal remains that were obtained from Site 11MS17, a Late Woodland or Mississippian habitation site in the northern portion of the American Bottom of Madison County, Illinois. The site was excavated by American Resources Group, Ltd. for the Keystone Pipeline Project. Chris Richmond, Erin Brand, and Dr. Martin continued identifications on late Middle Woodland animal remains from Site 23CH348, a Randolph phase habitation site in the lower Chariton River valley of north central Missouri. The site was excavated by American Resources Group, Ltd. for the Keystone Pipeline Project.  Dr. Martin identified animal remains from the Citgo site (47BR460), a multiple component Late Archaic, Late Woodland, and Oneota habitation site in Brown County, Wisconsin (near Green Bay) for Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group.  Erin Brand began identifying animal remains from the 19^th-century Squire III site (11MS2244) near Granite City for the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis.

March, 2010: Emiquon Science Symposium

On March 4, Dr. Bonnie Styles and Kent Smith attended the Emiquon Science Symposium at Dickson Mounds Museum.  Scientists from The Nature Conservancy, University of Illinois at Springfield, and the Natural History Survey, as well as students presented the results of numerous research projects documenting the transformation of the landscape with the restoration of Thompson and Flagg Lakes and prairie and forest vegetation.

February, 2010: Formation of Illinois State Archaeological Survey

The Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program has been administratively moved from the Department of Anthropology to the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and re-named as the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Dr. Bonnie Styles has been asked to serve on the Advisory Board for the Institute to provide expertise on issues related to the administration and management of archaeological research and collections programs.  The State Museum has long-standing relationships with the Scientific Surveys, which reside in the Institute, and with the former Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program.

February, 2010: Dragonfly Database Provided to Researcher

In February, Dr. Tim Cashatt provided an electronic copy of the Museum's dragonfly database to Dr. Christopher Hassall, a postdoctoral fellow at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, for incorporation into his studies of dragonflies.

February, 2010: Zooarchaeological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin continued work on an ISM Landscape History Program Technical Report and article for Illinois Archaeology on the faunal assemblage (over 6,500 specimens) from the Duckhouse site at Cahokia (St. Clair County, Illinois) that was excavated in 2006 and 2007 by Robert Mazrim for The French Colonial Heritage Project at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Research Associates Chris Richmond and Erin Brand and Dr. Martin began identifications of late Middle Woodland animal remains from Site 23CH348, a Randolph phase habitation site in the lower Chariton River valley of north central Missouri. The site was excavated by American Resources Group, Ltd. for the Keystone Pipeline Project.

February, 2010: Museum Curator Presents Climate Research

In February, Dr. Eric Grimm gave two presentations on late Glacial climates and ecosystems of the Upper Midwest, one for the Department of Biological Sciences at Eastern Tennessee University (35 attended) and one for the Quaternary Paleoecology Seminar Series at the University of Minnesota (25 attended).  Rapid changes in climate, flora, and fauna at the end of the most recent Ice Age provide important data for modeling biotic responses to contemporary climate change.

February, 2010: Illinois Archaeological Survey Board Convenes in RCC

The Board of the Illinois Archaeological Survey convened in the Illinois State Museum Research and Collections Center on February 5. Dr. Terrance Martin participated in this meeting.

February, 2010: Verbal Approval for NSF Grant

In February, Dr. Eric Grimm received verbal approval that the National Science Foundation grant proposal for the next phase of the Neotoma paleoecology database project has been funded.  Budget negotiations will be conducted later.    Penn State University and the Illinois State Museum are the lead institutions for this project, which includes 10 principal investigators and 15 collaborators. The Neotoma database includes the North American Pollen Database, FAUNMAP (mammals from archaeological and paleontological sites), beetles, and other proxies for climate and provides data critical to long-term studies of changes in climate and biota.

January, 2010: Collaborative Research with SIU-E

The National Science Foundation notified Dr. Julie Zimmerman Holt (Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville) of the award of funds for her proposed project MRI-R²: Acquisition of Raman and Infrared Microscopes for Interdisciplinary Research. This equipment will be used to examine ceramics from Illinois prehistoric sites to test hypotheses concerning migration and trade in pre-European contact Illinois. The ISM will be a collaborator in this project by making Museum specimens available for non-destructive microscopic analysis from sites in the American Bottom, the Illinois River Valley, and Missouri.

January, 2010: Paleoclimate and Sea Level Rise

Dr. Eric Grimm presented a paper on the "Paleoecology of Florida" at Keeping our Heads Above Water: Surviving the Challenges of Sea Level Rise in Florida. A Workshop at the Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid, Florida on January 18, 2010. About 50 scientists and planners attended his presentation.

January, 2010: Biotic Homogenization and Habitat Type

Recent analyses of a large dataset of native and alien plants in North America by Dr. Hong Qian and Qinfeng Guo of the USDA-Southern Research Station in Asheville, North Carolina, show that biotic homogenization is clearly related to habitat type (e.g., wetlands versus uplands), species invasiveness and life history traits such as life cycle (e.g., annual/biennial and herbaceous versus woody species).  The research was published in the journal Diversity and Distributions.

January, 2010: Mammoth Teeth Sampled for DNA Research

Jacob Enk, a graduate student at McMaster University, sampled mammoth teeth in the Museum's collection for DNA. Drs. Jeffrey Saunders and Chris Widga worked with him on the selection of samples. Drs. Bonnie Styles, Jeffrey Saunders, and Chris Widga met on the research project on January 8, and then Dr. Styles gave him a tour of the Changes exhibition.

January, 2010: Archaeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin is preparing a technical report and article for Illinois Archaeology on the faunal assemblage (over 6,500 specimens) from the Duckhouse site at Cahokia (St. Clair County, Illinois). Excavated in 2006 and 2007 by Robert Mazrim of The French Colonial Heritage Project, established by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Sangamo Archaeological Center, the site is associated with the household of Joseph Languedoc, a merchant of Canadian birth who represents the initial French occupation on the lot. The relatively small time frame for this site from the 1760s through ca. 1800 provides an important glimpse at domestic subsistence practices in the village during the transition period from French to English to American economic and political influences.  Using the zooarchaeology reference collections at the ISM RCC, Gregory Young (Wayne State University, graduate student) continued identifying 19^th-century animal remains from the site of Corktown in downtown Detroit with assistance from Dr. Martin (January 4-9). Dr. Martin examined cut marks on three white-tailed deer bones from 11MC122, and Doug Carr took detailed photographs, for an Illinois Archaeology article on the early historic Native American site by David Nolan (ITARP).

January, 2010: International Quaternary Association

Dr. Eric Grimm participated in a meeting of the  United States National Committee for the International Quaternary Association in Washington D.C. in January.

December, 2009: Meeting on White Nose Syndrome in Bats

Drs. Bonnie Styles and Meredith Mahoney participated in a meeting on White Nose Syndrome in Bats at the Department of Natural Resources on December 15. The group discussed strategies to delay arrival of the syndrome in Illinois and plans for dealing with it once it arrives.

December, 2009: Zooarchaeological Research

Analyses of faunal remains from archaeological sites continued under the direction of Dr. Terrance Martin. Erin Brand continues to identify animal remains from various 19^th-century features for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Archaeological Mitigation, Springfield, Illinois (Fever River Research).  Dr. Martin completed technical reports on early 19^th-century faunal assemblages from the Tilley site (23PU278) and the Robinson site (23PU757) from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Dr. Martin examined a small sample of animal remains from 47WL6 in Wisconsin for Dr. Katie Egan-Bruhy (Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group). Dr. Martin began identifications on historical animal remains from the Blanchette House site, St. Charles County, Missouri, for SCI Engineering.

December, 2009: Curator Participates in International Meetings

On December 2, Dr. Eric Grimm participated in the International Multiproxy Paleofire Database Meeting (Savannah, Georgia). On December 3, he participated in the United States National Committee Chairs Meeting at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. Dr. Grimm is the Vice-Chair of the International Quaternary Association's United States National Committee.

November, 2009: Paleobiologist Presents at International Meeting

Dr. Eric Grimm was an invited participant at an international meeting (Human Expansions and Global Change in the Pleistocene: Methods and Problems) in Frankfurt, Germany to consider human expansion out of Africa. Dr. Grimm presented the NEOTOMA database at the workshop. The research team hopes to use the database for their assessments of climate change.

November, 2009: Museum Paleocologist Serves on NSF Panel

In November, Dr. Eric Grimm served on the National Science Foundation's Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology Panel. He assisted NSF staff with the review of proposals and made recommendations for funding.

November, 2009: Archeozoological Research

A number of studies of faunal remains from archaeological sites continued under the overall direction of Dr. Terrance Martin.   Research Associate Erin Brand continued to identify animal remains from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum from various 19^th-century features excavated by Fever River Research. Dr. Martin continued reviewing literature on Anishinabek and Menominee beliefs pertaining to lake sturgeon for a paper being written for a special issue of The Michigan Archaeologist.  He completed a technical report on animal remains from site 11ST540, a Middle to Late Archaic habitation site in Scott County, Illinois (lower Illinois River valley) that was mitigated by Commonwealth Cultural Resource Group, Inc. (Jackson, Michigan) for the REX-East Pipeline Project. He worked with Steve Dasovich and Don Booth (SCI Engineering, Inc.) on a preliminary inspection of a sample of animal remains from the Renner/Brenner site (23P1), Platte County, Missouri, a Middle Woodland Kansas City Hopewell component (November 16). Dr. Martin continued preparing two whooping crane (Grus americana) skeletons obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for addition to the Museum’s skeletal comparative collection.

October, 2009: Study of Rapid Landscape Change in the Sangamon Basin Proposed

In October, Dr. Chris Widga reviewed numerous reports and collections of wood and freshwater mussel shells from archaeological and paleontological sites for a research project that he is developing.  Dr. Widga, Research Associate Dr. Stacey Lengyel, and Dr. Dennis Campbell (Lincoln College) completed and submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation that will support the study of rapid landscape change in the Sangamon Basin through dendrochronology based on wood samples and growth ring analysis of freshwater mussels from the basin.  The project would establish a tree ring laboratory in the Research and Collections Center and generate environmental data valuable to contemporary land managers.

October, 2009: American Quaternary Association Council Meeting

Dr. Bonnie Styles, Secretary of the American Quaternary Association (AMQUA), attended a meeting of the AMQUA Council at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA) in Portland, Oregon.  As AMQUA Secretary, Dr. Styles prepared the agenda and minutes for the meeting.  The Council meeting focused on planning for the upcoming biennial meeting, which will examine the Pleistocene to Holocene transition. Dr. Styles installed and staffed the AMQUA Booth in the GSA exhibition hall, attended the business meetings for the Geoarchaeology Division and Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division, and attended sessions on rapid landscape change, global warming, and the role of extraterrestrial impacts in climate change.

October, 2009: Aboriginal Fishing Practices Summarized at Archaeological Conference

Dr. Terrance Martin gave a paper on “Aboriginal Fishing in Southwestern Michigan: A Unique Regional Fishery?” at the 36^th Annual Symposium of the Ontario Archaeological Society at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario on October 17 (50 attended).

October, 2009: Experiences with Student Research Presented at Historic Archaeology Conference

Dr. Terrance Martin participated in a panel discussion featuring faculty perspectives and experiences with student research at the annual meeting of the Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference at the University of Notre Dame (70 adults and college students attended.).

October, 2009: Ongoing Archaeozoological Research

Dr. Terrance Martin continued to oversee a number of analyses of faunal remains from archaeological sites. Erin Brand continues to identify animal remains from various 19^th-century features for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Archaeological Mitigation, Springfield, Illinois (Fever River Research). Dr. Martin analyzed a collection of ca. 500 animal remains from the Archibald Lake Mound Group II (47OC309), Oconto County, Wisconsin, for Dr. Kathryn Egan-Bruhy. The Terminal Woodland assemblage includes calcined remains of white-tailed deer and moose.  Findings were included in a paper (“Preliminary Report of the Investigation of Archibald Lake Mounds and Village (47 Oc-309): A Wolf River Tradition Settlement”) by Mark E. Bruhy and Kathryn C. Egan-Bruhy at the Midwest Archaeological Conference in Iowa City on October 16.  Dr. Martin measured quadrates and dentaries of 31 individual walleyes (Sander vitreum) and 9 sauger (S. canadensis) having known standard and total lengths in the ISM modern osteological collection. These data were requested by Dr. Suzanne Needs-Howarth and integrated with osteometric information she compiled for an analysis of archaeological Sander remains, which she presented in a paper (“Fish Resource Selection at the Peace Bridge Site, Located at the Junction of Lake Erie and the Niagara River”) by Suzanne Needs-Howarth and Robert I. MacDonald at the 36^th Annual Symposium of the Ontario Archaeological Society, Waterloo, Ontario on October 17. Needs-Howarth and Dr. Martin hope to continue and expand these collaborations with museum reference specimens in Illinois and Ontario so that more osteometric information can be obtained from archaeological specimens.   Dr. Martin began searching for and reviewing literature on Native American beliefs (especially those of the Anishinabek [Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi] and Menominee) pertaining to lake sturgeon for a paper to be written for a special issue of The Michigan Archaeologist.  Dr. Martin resumed identifications of animal remains from flotation samples acquired from site 11ST540, a Middle to Late Archaic habitation site in Scott County, Illinois (lower Illinois River valley) that was excavated by CCRG, Inc. (Jackson, Michigan) for the REX-East Pipeline Project. Dr. Martin prepared a short research proposal and cost estimate for analysis of animal remains from the Renner/Brenner site, a Kansas City Hopewell assemblage from Platte County, Missouri, which was requested by SCI Engineering, Inc. (St. Charles, MO).  Dr. Martin finished cleaning and preparation of one of three whooping crane (Grus americana) skeletons that were obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for addition to the ISM reference collection.

October, 2009: Oral History of Illinois Agriculture Project Presented at Oral History Conference

Dr. Robert Warren chaired a session entitled “Oral History of Illinois Agriculture: Building the Audiovisual Barn at the 43^rd Annual Meeting of the Oral History Association in Louisville, Kentucky. Project team members Dr. Robert Warren, James Oliver, Dr. Erich Schroeder, and External Evaluator Tom Clark presented papers on the project.

October, 2009: Museum Research and Curation Efforts Presented at Midwest Archaeological Conference

Drs. Bonnie Styles and Michael Conner represented the Illinois State Museum at the annual Midwest Archaeological Conference in Iowa City. Dr. Styles presented a paper by Drs. Michael Wiant and Terrance Martin (“The State of Illinois Archaeological Collection”) summarizing the development of the Museum’s curation program for archaeological collections in a special session on archaeological curation in the Midwest. Dr. Styles then participated in a panel discussion with the audience on this topic.  Dr. Michael Conner presented a paper on the Mississippian occupation of the Myer-Dickson site, which was excavated for the parking lot at Dickson Mounds Museum. Dr. Jodie O'Gorman (Michigan State University) presented a paper, co-authored with Dr. Conner on their summer excavations at the Morton site in Fulton County, Illinois. A paper co-authored by Dr. Terrance Martin and colleagues on “Deer, Nuts, and Floodplain Sand Ridges: Data Recovery Excavations at 11ST540, a Multi-component Archaic Site in the Lower Illinois River Valley” was also presented.  About 50 individuals attended each of these presentations. Dr. Styles attended a special dinner for former ISM Board Member Dr. James Brown, Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University, in recognition of his receipt of the 2009 Distinguished Career Award.

October, 2009: Archaeology and Paleontology Tools Workshop

During October, Dr. Eric Grimm attended a workshop on "The development of analysis and visualisation tools for database orientated palaeoenvironmental and climatic studies" at Umeå University in Umeå, Sweden. The workshop was financed by the Swedish Research Council, Umeå University Faculty of Arts, and the SEAD Project (Strategic Environmental Archaeology Database), and hosted by the Environmental Archaeology Lab at Umeå University. The workshop brought together a diverse group of expert developers, project representatives, and users with common goals: the creation of efficient, community based, user friendly and inter-linkable tools for the analysis and visualization of environmental archaeology and palaeoecology databases. The NEOTOMA database, funded by the National Science Foundation, is central to this effort. NEOTOMA is merging a number of international databases, including the North American Pollen Database, which Dr. Grimm coordinates at the ISM.

October, 2009: Environmental Gradients and Breeding Bird Diversity

In October, Dr. Hong Qian and colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and East China Normal University (Shanghai, China) published the results of their study of breeding bird diversity in relation to environmental gradients in China.  They analyzed breeding bird richness in 207 localities across China and found that a measure of plant productivity best explained the variance in breeding bird richness. Based on their study, species richness of breeding birds is best predicted by a combination of plant productivity, elevation range, seasonal variation in potential evapotranspiration, and mean annual temperature, with the first two variables explaining the most variance.

October, 2009: Dragonfly Genetics Research Presented at Management Meeting

Dr. Meredith Mahoney summarized her genetics research for the Hine’s Emerald dragonfly at the Regional Meeting of Threatened and Endangered Species Coordinators (including representatives from state agencies and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service), in Camdenton, Missouri on October 7 (30 attended).

October, 2009: New Philadelphia Site

The three-year interdisciplinary archaeological investigation of the New Philadelphia site,  funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, continued under the direction of Dr. Christopher Fennell (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Dr. Anna Agbe-Davies (Assistant Professor of Anthropology, DePaul University), and Dr. Terrance Martin.

October, 2009: Botanist Compares Animal and Plant Diversity and Biogeographic Patterns

In October, Dr. Hong Qian and colleagues from the Smithsonian Institution, North Carolina State University, Hope College (Holland MI), the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks contributed to an editorial on patterns and methods in intercontinental and intracontinental biogeography for a special issue of the Journal of Systematics and Evolution that examines biogeographic patterns and new analytical methods.  Dr. Hong Qian contributed a paper for this volume presenting a global study of beta diversity (species turnover) among mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in this issue.   Beta diversity was lower for birds and mammals (endothermic taxa) than for reptiles and amphibians (ectothermic taxa) in each of six biogeographic realms. Beta diversity was slightly higher at the small scale than at the large scale. Beta diversity was higher at the species rank than at the genus and family ranks.

October, 2009: Research Associate and Former Board Member Present at Conference on Illinois History

Research Associate Claire Fuller Martin presented a paper on population and landownership at New Philadelphia on October 1 at the annual conference on Illinois History in Springfield (sponsored by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum).  About 50 individuals attended the presentation.  Former Museum Board Member Dr. James Ballowe gave the luncheon address on Joy Morton’s contribution to the creation and development of Burnham and Bennett’s Plan of Chicago on October 1.

September, 2009: Museum Hosts Illinois Archaeological Survey Annual Meeting

On September 25-26, the Illinois State Museum hosted the 53^rd Annual Meeting of the Illinois Archaeological Survey (IAS) at the Illinois State Museum. The meeting included an IAS Board Meeting, Business Meeting, and a New Members Reception on September 25 and a Workshop with paper presentations and an Awards dinner on September 26. As an IAS Board member, Dr. Terrance Martin attended the Board Meeting. Dr. Bonnie Styles, Dr. Martin, Dr. Mike Conner, Dee Ann Watt, and Carol Pigati attended the Business Meeting and Reception in the Museum. Dr. Bonnie Styles, Dr. Martin, Dr. Michael Wiant, Dr. Michael Conner, Dee Ann Watt, and Carol Pigati attended the IAS Workshop and Awards Dinner.  Dr. Michael Connor presented a paper on the Morton site research during the Workshop. In recognition of his 47 interviews on WUIS with the presenters of the Museum’s Paul Mickey Science Series Programs, Dr. Martin presented Rich Bradley (WUIS) an IAS Public Service Award at the Awards Dinner. Dr. Michael Wiant presented Scott Fowler and Dean Spindler (Department of Natural Resources) with Public Service Awards for their help with the Illinois State Archaeological Site File GIS database. Dr. Michael Wiant was presented with a Charles J. Bareis Distinguished Service Award by ISM Board Member Dr. Brian Butler.  Dr. Bonnie Styles presented the Career Achievement Award to former ISM Board Member, Dr. James A. Brown.  Dr. Martin organized the meetings, program (solicited presentations, edited and assembled presentation abstracts), and awards presentation.  Carol Pigati and Dee Ann Watt assisted Dr. Martin with meeting preparations; Doug Carr operated the audio-visual equipment and took photographs; and Sue Collins prepared presentation schedule boards.

September, 2009: New Philadelphia Site

The three-year interdisciplinary archaeological investigation of the New Philadelphia site, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program, continued under the co-direction of  Dr. Christopher Fennell (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Dr. Anna Agbe-Davies (Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and Dr. Terrance Martin.  Dr. Harold Hassen (Department of Natural Resources), Dawn Cobb, and Dr. Martin met with Lonnie Wilson (Texas), Sandra McWorter (Chicago and New Philadelphia Association) at the New Philadelphia Site on September 22. They inspected the McWorter Cemetery near New Philadelphia, assessed damage to headstones, and discussed the possibility of nominating the cemetery to the National Register of Historic Places. Gene and Ann Stauffer (St. Charles, Missouri) met with Research Associate Claire Martin to view documentary materials and selected artifacts from the New Philadelphia Project (September 24).

September, 2009: Preparation of NSF Proposal to Study Rapid Landscape Changes

On September 22, Dr. Chris Widga reviewed wood and freshwater mussel shell samples from various Illinois sites (Pabst site, Hood/Melinda/Davis site, Golarte site, Airport site, Clear Lake site, Rockwell Mound site, Warren Banes site, and Noble Wieting site) for a National Science Foundation proposal that he and Research Associates Dr. Stacey Lengyel and Dr. Dennis Campbell (Lincoln College) are developing to establish a dendrochronology laboratory at the Illinois State Museum’s Research and Collections Center and study rapid landscape changes during the Late Quaternary in the Midwestern United States based on dendrochronology and studies of growth increments in freshwater mussels from the Sangamon River Basin.

September, 2009: Planning for 2010 Laboratory Courses with Arizona State University

Dr. Terrance Martin worked on scheduling, publicity, and other details with Dr. Jane Buikstra (Arizona State University) for a two-week zooarchaeology laboratory course that will take place in late summer at the Research and Collections Center in conjunction with Arizona State University’s 2010 Field School at the Center for American Archeology’s field station in Kampsville. The Museum will also offer short courses in dating and isotopic analyses (Dr. Chris Widga and Research Associate Stacey Lengyel) and pollen analysis (Pietra Mueller).

September, 2009: Oral History of Illinois Agriculture

An exhibition on the Oral History of Illinois Agriculture Project was featured in the exhibition hall for the 5^th National Small Farms Conference in Springfield.  The exhibition was shown for two (September 16-17) and was staffed by Dr. Robert Warren.  On September 21, Dr. Bonnie Styles and Karen Witter met Dr. Warren and other project team members to discuss a press conference to launch the Audio-Video Barn Web site.

September, 2009: Pine River, Michigan Faunal Assemblages

Dr. Edward C. Lorenz (Director, Public Affairs Institute, Alma College, Alma, Michigan) contacted Dr. Martin to inquire about natural resource damages to the Pine River in Gratiot and Midland Counties, Michigan (a tributary of the Saginaw Bay), and whether there is archaeological evidence of lake sturgeon in the Pine River watershed. Dr. Mart