CAA Summer Adult Field School

Location: Center for American Archeology Main Office, Broadway, Kampsville, IL, USA

Season: June 28, 2026 to August 8, 2026

Session Dates: Week 1: June 28-July 4 Week 2: July 5-11 Week 3: July 12-18 Week 4: July 19-25 Week 5: July 26-August 1 Week 6: August 2-8

Deadline Type: Rolling

Website: https://www.caa-archeology.org/programs/adult-field-school-summer/

Program Type:
Field School

RPA Certified:
No

Affiliation:
Center for American Archeology

Project Director:
Jason L. King, PhD

Project Description:

Our Adult Field School is your opportunity to be an archaeologist. Undergraduates, graduate students, and adults of all ages are welcome! Join our field crew and participate in real archaeological research alongside professional archaeologists. With our staff, you will learn how to do fieldwork, laboratory work, identify artifacts, and more as we investigate the German site.

The German Site is a Late Woodland / Jersey Bluff Phase habitation site located on a colluvial slope in the Crawford Creek valley. The site was occupied approximately 800-1200 CE. Remote sensing results indicate several possible structures and associated features. Since 2019, we have identified three house basins and several associated storage and refuse pits. A fourth possible house basin was identified in 2023. Field school students and CAA archaeologists have recovered domestic artifacts, including chert tools, pottery, animal bone, and botanical remains during the 2019-2025 field seasons. In 2026 we will continue to excavations at the site in order to better understand Late Woodland people of the Lower Illinois Valley.

Period(s) of Occupation: Woodland

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: 1 week

Minimum Age: 18

Experience Required: None

Room and Board Arrangements:
Tuition includes room; breakfast, lunch, dinner (Monday-Friday); supplies, and instruction. Participants will stay at one of the CAA’s dormitories. Rooms are at minimum double-occupancy. Dormitories have refrigerators, microwaves, hot plates, and grill. Participants are responsible for making their own transportation arrangements; the CAA can provide shuttle service to and from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport or the Alton, Illinois Amtrak station for an additional cost.

Academic Credit:
Credit for is available for the Adult Field School through Illinois State University. The schedule, requirements, and program are the same as the non-credit option, however this option does include additional costs for the ISU credits. For-credit enrollment will open February 2026