The 2012 field season marks the start of my third summer here in the lower Illinois River valley. As a native of Illinois, returning to Kampsville every year feels very natural. I grew up in a small town called Ottawa, which is situated along the northern extent of the Illinois River. While Ottawa is a metropolis compared to Kampsville, the winding bluff base roads and muggy weather make me feel right at home.
I came to Kampsville as a field archaeology student in 2010 and have been a member of the field school staff since last summer. I have always held an interest in archaeology, but it wasn’t until my experiences with the Kampsville field program that I knew archaeology was the place for me. The rigorous physical and mental demands of Midwestern fieldwork have so far been very fulfilling.
When I’m not in the field, I am studying archaeology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where I will be a Junior in the coming fall. I am currently working on an analysis of the Mound House faunal collection in hopes of establishing, among other things, a sense of seasonality, which will augment our understanding of floodplain mound sites.
I look forward to sharing our field season with you!
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