Erin M. Benson, PhD, RPA

Erin is an Eastern Woodlands archaeologist specializing in community and household archaeology, focusing on the Mississippian period in southwestern Illinois. Erin first joined the Illinois State Archaeological Survey in 2009 working at the East St. Louis Precinct for the New Mississippi River Bridge project. She has since done fieldwork across most of Illinois and parts of the Midwest, as well as on projects further afield. Erin received her PhD from the University of Illinois and has rejoined ISAS at the American Bottom Field Station. Erin’s technical interests and expertise are in ceramic and feature analyses, mapping, GIS, and fieldwork.

Mississippian Period, Cahokia, Community and Household Archaeology, Identity, Relational Archaeology

PhD Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MA Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

BA Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University

Register of Professional Archaeologists

Illinois Archaeological Survey

Midwest Archaeological Conference

Southeastern Archaeological Conference

Society for American Archaeology