The archaeology program at the University of Illinois is building a strong specialization in historical archaeology, historical perspectives in archaeology and anthropology, and heritage studies. Started by the pre-eminent Julian H. Steward, Donald Lathrap, and Charles Bareis, the archaeology program at the University of Illinois has traditionally emphasized strong graduate training in archaeological methodologies, comparative approaches, theory and fieldwork. Our program offers Ph.D. and M.A. degrees, including an M.A. track concentrating on Cultural Heritage and Landscape studies, offered in conjunction with the Department of Landscape Architecture.

Archaeology faculty regularly offer an array of methods courses (archaeometry, lithic analysis, ceramic analysis, surveying techniques, GIS, quantitative analysis), regional survey courses (Africa, Central Andes, Europe, prehistoric and historic period North America), topical courses (cultural heritage management, museum studies, historic archaeology, landscape archaeology) and theory courses (history of archaeology, archaeological theory, chiefdoms, social construction of space, archaeology and racialization).

Department archaeologists and affiliated faculty in Landscape Architecture maintain active research programs in historic, contact, and prehistoric sites located in the United States, India, Peru, east-central Africa, and eastern Europe. Graduate students are currently undertaking doctoral research throughout the world. More than a dozen other archaeologists are affiliated as adjunct faculty or as faculty and staff with other departments and programs at the University of Illinois. The Departments of Anthropology and Landscape Architecture also host the Cultural Heritage and Museum Practices (CHAMP) program, an interdisciplinary collaborative for the critical study of cultural heritage and museums in a global context.

Historical Archaeology Resource Lists

For more information on our program, please contact: Chris Fennell Department of Anthropology 109 Davenport Hall 607 S. Mathews St. University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois 61801 phone: (217) 244-7309 email: cfennell@uiuc.edu

Our Department also engages in public outreach efforts, participates in the annual Illinois Archaeology Awareness program, and hosts a number of internet resources concerning public history and civic engagement in archaeology. In collaboration with the African American Studies and Research Program, we also host the African Diaspora Archaeology Network and Newsletter. We invite you to contact the Anthropology office or any our faculty for more information on Historical Archaeology and Cultural Heritage studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Students interested in applying for admission to our graduate program can also consult our online guidelines and forms.

Faculty in Historical Archaeology:
Helaine Silverman. Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1986; Professor. Historical, prehistoric and contact periods in the Central Andes, social construction of space and landscape archaeology, complex societies, urbanism, death studies, ethnoarchaeology, museums and representations, cultural heritage management, public archaeology, and the politics of the past.

Christopher Fennell. Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2003; J.D. Georgetown University, 1989; Assistant Professor. Historical, prehistoric and contact periods in North America, African diaspora archaeology, cultural heritage management, regional systems analysis, stylistic and symbolic analysis of material culture, race and ethnicity theories, and consumption patterns.

Thomas Emerson. Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1995; Adjunct Professor, Director, Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program. Historical and prehistoric archaeology, Mississippian societies, eastern North America, French colonial period, cultural heritage management, hierarchical societies, ethnicity, symbolism.

CHAMP Program Resources

Landscape Archaeology Resources

New Philadelphia Archaeology Project

Archaeological Surveying Resources

Other related faculty:
Stanley H. Ambrose. Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley, 1984; Professor. African archeology, lithic technology, stable isotope analysis of diet, hominid evolution, evolutionary ecology, East Africa.

R. Barry Lewis. Ph.D., University of Illinois, 1979; Professor Emeritus. Historical, prehistoric and contact periods in North America and south Asia, anthropological and archaeological research design, qualitative and quantitative methods, southeastern United States, south India.

Lisa Lucero. Ph.D., U.C.L.A., 1994; Associate Professor. Historical, prehistoric and contact periods, complex societies, political systems, ritual and politics, water management, Maya and Mesoamerican cultures.

Timothy Pauketat. Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1991; Professor. Prehistoric, contact, and historical periods in North America, regional systems, practice theory, cultural heritage management, social inequality, political ideology, ceramics, and household archaeology.

Matti Bunzl. Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1998; Associate Professor. Anthropology of Jews and Judaism, gender and sexuality, modernity; nationalism, ethnicity, history of anthropology, anthropological theory, historical ethnography, history and anthropology, Central Europe, North America.

Rebecca Ginsburg. Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2001; J.D. University of Michigan, 1987; Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture. African archaeology, plantation archaeology, architectural history, material culture, cultural landscape studies.

Stephen Leigh. Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1992; Professor and Head, Department of Anthropology. Physical anthropology, ontogeny, paleoanthropology, human evolution, primate adaptation and evolution, morphometrics.

Andrew Orta. Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1996; Associate Professor. Sociocultural anthropology, memory and history, history and anthropology, colonial/postcolonial studies, missionization, ethnicity and nationalism, personhood, Latin America, Andes.

D. Fairchild Ruggles. Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture. Landscape architecture, social construction of space, Islamic cultural landscapes and architecture, Spain, India, regimes of vision.

African Diaspora Archaeology Courses

African Diaspora Archaeology Resources

Mahir Saul. Ph.D., University of Indiana, 1982; Associate Professor. Historical and economic anthropology, colonialism, African film, Islam, Catholicism and African religions, agriculture and ecology, Africa, Middle East.

Amita Sinha. Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley; Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture. Landscape architecture, historical India, ethnography as an environmental design research method, anthropology of place, geography of religion, urban design and planning.

James Wescoat. Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1983; Professor and Head, Department of Landscape Architecture. Water in environmental design in the United States and South Asia, waterworks and garden heritage conservation in India and Pakistan, theory and practice in landscape architecture, cultural heritage management.