In the evening on October 26, the AIA-Washington, D.C. Society hosted a lecture on the Kingdom of Dahomey, in the modern Republic of Benin, which stands as one of the most comprehensively researched kingdoms in precolonial West Africa. Co-sponsored by Howard University, it featured Professor J, Cameron Monroe who has led archaeological work across the heartland of the kingdom. His presentation focused on how archaeological research is changing how we view the political power of the…
Kampsville, IL 62053, USA
Geophysics for Archaeological Investigations is an intensive two-week field school for students wanting to learn geophysics survey, analysis, and interpretation of archaeological sites. Fieldwork will focus on ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry at archaeological sites in the Lower Illinois Valley. The geophysics field school is operated in partnership with the Vanderbilt Institute for Spatial Research.
Kampsville, IL, US
High School Field School is your opportunity to be an archaeologist. Join our summer field crew and participate in real archaeological research alongside professional archaeologists. You will learn how to do fieldwork, laboratory work, identify artifacts, and more with professional archaeologists 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…
Center for American Archeology Main Office, Broadway, Kampsville, IL, USA
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…
Center for American Archeology Main Office, Broadway, Kampsville, IL, USA
The CAA’s University Field School is a six-week program for undergraduate and graduate students ready for an immersive, experience in Field Archaeology in the Lower Illinois Valley. We are offer two enrollment options for University Field School. Students may apply for credits through Illinois State University or they may apply directly to the CAA. Details on how to apply for each program are below. The application for ISU enrollment and credits will open in February…
Last month, we announced that AIA Society Members now have full access to the complete digital archives of ARCHAEOLOGY magazine. If you haven't started to explore the archive yet, we encourage you to do so! To kick things off, we asked ARCHAEOLOGY Deputy Editor Eric A. Powell to share his favorite article. The rapid cascade of breakthroughs in the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs in the 1980s and 1990s was the fuel for the fascinating article “Maya Superstates,” written…
Title: Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of ArchaeologyReports to: Executive DirectorDirect report: Editorial AssistantTerm: Three-year term beginning winter/spring 2021Date posted: November 2020 The American Journal of Archaeology (AJA) was founded in 1885 and is the distinguished, peer-reviewed scholarly journal of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). The AJA is published quarterly in print and electronic forms (see www.ajaonline.org). The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the AJA reads initial submissions, decides whether to assign them to peer reviewers, and determines…
Dear members and past Annual Meeting participants, After extensive research and discussion, AIA and SCS staff and officers have decided that the January 2021 Joint Annual Meeting scheduled to take place from January 7-10 in Chicago will now be a virtual event. We know that many of you were looking forward to attending paper sessions and other events, to seeing old friends and colleagues, and to making new connections and we recognize that a virtual…
The AIA's 2019 Site Preservation Grant will fund preservation work taking place at Deir el-Ballas in Egypt. The project is being undertaken by the Ancient Egyptian Heritage and Archaeology Fund and American University in Cairo. A capital for the Theban kings at the end of the Middle Kingdom period, Deir el-Ballas also served as a military base when the Thebans waged a war against the Hyksos. The site includes the remains of two palaces, a…
For the third year in a row the Madison Biblical Archaeology Society sponsored a major lecture to celebrate International Archaeology Day. Jordan Ryan, a Wheaton College professor of New Testament, reported that the Gospel accounts of the Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John provide information about early synagogues that is unknown from other sources. And while the beginnings of the synagogue are still pretty much shrouded in mystery, there are some hints in the Old…
The AIA is deeply saddened by the passing of Larissa Bonfante and we extend our condolences to her family, her many colleagues, students, and friends in the world of archaeology. Larissa Bonfante (1931-2019) Larissa Bonfante, emerita professor in Classics at New York University, passed away in New York on August 23, 2019. She was a great friend of students, scholars and cats, and a respected classicist, archaeologist, Etruscologist and art historian. She was born in…
One of our 2025 Julie Herzig Desnick Endowment for Archaeological Field Survey Grant recipients, Kevin Ennis, provides us with an update: Project Overview The Khora of Archaic Morgantina Project (KAMP) is investigating the social and economic lives of rural communities and their relationships to the urban center of Morgantina during the colonization of Archaic (600-480 BCE) Sicily. In our inaugural 2025 season, KAMP conducted a magnetometry campaign exploring several sites beyond Morgantina’s urban core, including…
Every year, thousands of irreplaceable archaeological sites around the world are destroyed by development, looting, vandalism, warfare, environmental changes, and irresponsible tourism. The recipient of this year’s Site Preservation Grant is: The Kanjera Archaeological Site Preservation Project The Site Preservation Grant provides $15,000 to fund innovative conservation projects that uphold the AIA’s mission to preserve and protect the world’s archaeological heritage for future generations. The recipient of the Nancy Wilkie Emergency Funds for Heritage Preservation…
One of our 2024 Richard C. MacDonald Iliad Grant winners, Alvise Matessi, provides us with an update: In 2024, the AIA awarded a Richard C. MacDonald Iliad Endowment for Archaeological Research grant to the Locating Tarhuntassa (LoTar) project, directed by Alvise Matessi (University of Verona), Michele Rüzgar Massa (Bilkent University), and Mustafa Gubaz Kibaroğlu. The project seeks to identify Tarhuntassa, the long-lost second capital of the Hittite Empire. While earlier scholarship focused primarily on geographical…
Download as PDF AIA Turns 140 in 2019 In 1879, Harvard University professor Charles Eliot Norton and his colleagues and friends founded the Archaeological Institute of America in Boston to promote and conduct archaeological and artistic investigation and research. One hundred eight people attended the first AIA meeting. Since then, it has grown to become the largest archaeological organization in North America, with more than 220,000 members. Today, in keeping with Norton’s vision, the AIA…
To celebrate our 2026 Research Grant recipients, we connected with this year’s awardees to learn more about their projects and the unique paths that led them into the field of archaeology. We’re thrilled to introduce Dominique Langis-Barsetti, one of three recipients of the prestigious 2026 Kathleen and David Boochever Endowment for Fieldwork and Scientific Analyses Grant! Dominique Langis-Barsetti (Université Laval) Tell us about your project: The project "Exploring gilding and polychromy in central Anatolian Iron…
Congratulations to the individuals, projects, and publications that received AIA Awards. They will be formally recognized at the 2025 AIA Awards Ceremony, which will take place during the 126th Annual Meeting. We have contacted this year's winners to gather insights about their projects, experiences, and what inspired them to pursue a career in archaeology. Abidemi Babalola (The British Museum) Award: Conservation and Heritage Management Award What drew you to archaeology? I have only passively heard…
Congratulations to the individuals, projects, and publications that received AIA Awards. They will be formally recognized at the 2025 AIA Awards Ceremony, which will take place during the 126th Annual Meeting. We have contacted this year's winners to gather insights about their projects, experiences, and what inspired them to pursue a career in archaeology. Robert Stephan (University of Arizona) Award: Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award What drew you to archaeology? My first introduction to archaeology,…
Congratulations to the individuals, projects, and publications that received AIA Awards. They will be formally recognized at the 2025 AIA Awards Ceremony, which will take place during the 126th Annual Meeting. We have contacted this year's winners to gather insights about their projects, experiences, and what inspired them to pursue a career in archaeology. Bob Brier (Long Island University) Award: Felicia A. Holton Book Award Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World By Dr.…
A few weeks ago my wife Barbara and I led an AIA tour of Iran. Our itinerary took us across a large sweep of this fascinating land from the mountains in the northwest to the deserts of the southeast. The tour was carefully designed to include major archaeological sites and glorious examples of Islamic architecture. In Tehran we visited archaeological museums and palaces. At Bisotun in the Zagros Mountains on the Royal Road from Hamadan…
