Bridging Troubled Waters: Professionals, Avocationals, and Collectors find Common Ground at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey

Professional archaeologists and collectors have had a stormy relationship for decades, ever since the archaeological community "professionalized” in the 1920-30s – excluding early 20th century avocational practitioners – while still relying on a network of collectors to provide information on site locations and finds. In this paper we relate the two decades long interaction between ISAS archaeologists and Illinois collectors to document collections, to produce a public oriented poster of Illinois projectile points, and eventually to publish a well-received book on Illinois point types placed in a historic and environmental context. This was a “labor of love” over the course of years by ISAS region-al archaeologists and countless collectors, for the most part unfunded. The resulting publication has received strong praise from the collector community for its collaborative nature and for the acknowledgement of the value of their materials and knowledge.