[OR_Archaeology] Video "Why do we do archaeology?"

[Susan White]

Hey y'all;

I've cut & pasted an e-mail from our SHPO listserv about a video produced by an archaeological firm in Illinois that is quite remarkable. I hope you take a few moments to watch (but close your eyes when the bulldozer appears) the digital reproductions and their placement are quite wonderful. 

Planting seeds for the future, Susan

********************************************************************
Video about East St. Louis area project answers the question, "Why do we do archaeology?"

        SPRINGFIELD - A new video about an archaeological investigation performed before the construction of an East St. Louis, Illinois elementary school answers the question, "Why do we need archaeology?"  The video is available on the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency's website at http://www.illinoishistory.gov/PS/archaeology.htm 

The 78th Street Archeological Site, Native American occupations located at the foundation of the Katie Harper Wright Elementary School explores the need for archaeology by featuring an Illinois project conducted at the construction site of an elementary school in East St. Louis.  The short, narrated video shows the discovery and investigation of a 1,000-year-old Native American village and graphically demonstrates why archaeological investigations are performed and what we can learn from these investigations into America's past.  The video explains the importance of archeology in easy to understand language that is accessible to school children and adults alike. 3-D interpretive renderings help visualize Native American life up to 1,000 years ago.

The 78th Street archaeology site includes Mississippian (1000 - 1150 A.D) and  Oneota (1300 - 1400 A.D.) occupation, with the Oneota artifacts and evidence representing one of the largest such sites discovered to date in this archaeologically rich area of the country.  The site was first identified in 1989 during a required State of Illinois review process as part of a planned residential development.

The archaeological investigation was conducted by Prairie Archaeology & Research, Ltd. of Springfield, Illinois in 2005, the firm that also produced the video.