Extra Credit Opportunities for
Archaeology Talks and Exhibits
Five final grade points of extra credit can be earned by visiting and participating in lectures, seminars, and exhibits listed below on this web page. A maximum of 2.5 final grade points can be earned per event. A maximum of 2 events can be used for credit. To receive credit for an event or exhibit listed on this page, you must (1) attend the lecture or visit the exhibit and (2) write a summary and critical discussion of the main issues raised by the speaker, tour leader, seminar facilitator, or the exhibit design and presentation. Each of these papers should be no more than two typed pages, double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font, and proofread. Submit your extra credit paper by email to Lydia Evans by 11:50am on Dec. 10, 2025.
The lectures, talks, and exhibits related to archaeology topics set out below are scheduled to be held on or near campus or within the broader region during this semester. These are listed here for your information, and are not required components of this course. We will update this list as events are announced. If you are aware of an upcoming event that is not listed here, please email the information to Chris Fennell. Thank you!
Extra Credit Opportunity on Interactive Hierakonpolis
An additional five final grade points of extra credit can be earned by engaging with the challenges faced by the archaeologists and conservators working over the years on the Hierakonpolis project in Egypt. To receive these credits, compose a five-page, double-spaced essay following the assignment guidelines. These five extra credit points are separate and independent of the five points of extra credit you can earn by writing essays about an archaeology talk or a museum exhibit.
Talks and Exhibit Events on or Near Campus (or Online)
Archaeological Institute of America Speaker Series
To be announced.
Department of Anthropology Speakers
To be announced.
Spurlock Museum Exhibits
"With approximately 40,000 objects in its artifact collection, the Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign celebrates our shared humanity by collecting, preserving, documenting, exhibiting, and studying objects of cultural heritage." Read more about these exhibitions on the Museum's web site at http://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/. Exhbits of interest include:
Krannert Art Museum
To be announced.
Events and Talks in the Region or Online
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Webinars
Series of recorded talks available online. link.
Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery Archaeology Talks
Series of recorded talks available online. link.
Mesoamerica and Ancient America Talks and Exhibits
Some are available in person and many available online. link.
Illinois Association for Advancement of Archaeology
To be announced.
Illinois Archaeological Survey Conference
To be announced.
Field Museum, Chicago
The "Inside Ancient Egypyt" exhibit is being presented at the Field Museum in Chicago. Read more about this exhibition on the Field Museum's web site at https://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibition/inside-ancient-egypt.
From the exhibit web site: Inside Ancient Egypt is an up-close look at the daily lives of ancient Egyptians—as well as how they thought about death. Enter through a three-story replica of a mastaba, a type of ancient Egyptian tomb, that houses two authentic chamber rooms from the burial site of 5th Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Unis’s son Unis-Ankh. The burial chamber, which dates to 2400 BC, houses one of the largest collections of mummies in the United States: 23 human mummies and more than 30 animal mummies. Inside Ancient Egypt offers clues to ancient Egyptians’ lives on Earth—and to everything we may have in common with them."
The "Africa" exhibit is being presented at the Field Museum in Chicago. Read more about this exhibition on the Field Museum's web site at https://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibition/africa.
From the exhibit web site: "There are 54 countries in Africa—home to more than a billion residents who communicate in as many as 2,000 unique languages. Our Africa exhibition offers a glimpse into the varied cultures and environments across this vast continent. Experience the sights and sounds of life on the African continent, from a bustling city in Senegal to the rainforest of Rwanda, from a camel caravan deep in the Sahara to an industrial workshop in Ethiopia. Collection artifacts, cultural displays, and scientific findings come together to shed light on Africa throughout history."
Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures at the University of Chicago "is a world-renowned showcase for the history, art, and archaeology of the ancient Near East. The museum displays objects recovered by Oriental Institute excavations in permanent galleries devoted to ancient Egypt, Nubia, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, and the ancient site of Megiddo, as well as rotating special exhibits." Exhibits and events to be announced at https://isac.uchicago.edu/.
Illinois State Museum Exhibits
The Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Illinois hosts a number of exhibits concerning archaeology, anthropology, and Illinois' prehistory, including "Changes: Dynamic Illinois Environments." Read more about these exhibitions on the Illinois State Museum's web site at http://www.illinoisstatemuseum.org/content/exhibitions-page.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
"Managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, in Collinsville, Illinois, is located on the Mississippi River floodplain, across from St. Louis, Missouri. This site was first inhabited by Indians of the Late Woodland culture about AD 700. The site grew during the following Mississippian period, after AD 900, and by AD 1050-1150, the Cahokia site was the regional center for the Mississippian culture with many satellite communities, villages and farmsteads around it. After AD 1200, the population began to decline and the site was abandoned by AD 1400. In the late 1600s, the Cahokia Indians (of the Illinois confederacy) came to the area and it is from them that the site derives its name." This state park includes an excellent interpretative and exhibit center. Learn more online at https://cahokiamounds.org/.
Lincoln's New Salem
"Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site" is located in Petersburg, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln lived in New Salem from 1831 to 1837. While the cooper shop is the only original building still standing, numerous buildings including a carding mill, gristmill, tavern, shops, a school, sawmill and cabins have been reconstructed to their 1830s appearance. Signs for an "archaeology walk" show places excavated during archaeological investigations. Learn more online at http://www.lincolnsnewsalem.com.
Museum of the Grand Prairie
"Our mission is to collect, preserve and interpret the natural and cultural history of Champaign County and East Central Illinois." The Museum is located west of Urbana-Champaignm, in Mahomet. Exhibits include "Blacksmithing on the Prairie." Read more about these exhibitions on the Museum of the Grand Prairie's web site at http://www.museumofthegrandprairie.org/exhibits.html.
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Last updated: August 14, 2025
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