UMMAA curator Rob Beck and his colleagues, Casey Barrier (Bryn Mawr College), Ed Henry (Colorado State University), and Tim Horsley (Horsley Archaeological Prospection), are three years into a five-year NSF-funded project: a geophysical survey of the prehistoric city of Cahokia. Their project is massive, and it is also non-traditional: they are using non-invasive technology instead of excavation to map the center of the ancient urban area. But that's not the only reason the Cahokia project is drawing attention. They are taking a collaborative approach with tribal nations that have strong historical and contemporary ties to the land, involving the tribes as "consultants and collaborators, sharing biannual reports with them and incorporating their knowledge in academic papers," writes Stephanie Wong in "Notes from Underground," an article in the Spring 2025 issue of LSA Magazine.
Read the article here. Congratulations, Rob and team!
