Center for Archaeological Investigations

The Center for Archaeological Investigations (CAI) is an applied archaeology research center on the SIUC campus established by Dr. George Gummerman in 1977. Over the last 40 years CAI archaeologists have conducted research and made significant discoveries in areas located across the globe including the southwestern and Midwestern US, the Caribbean, and Micronesia.

But our primary mission has always been and remains working with students. We aid in student retention on the SIUC campus by providing employment opportunities to students at our curation facility as well as hiring them to work on external grant projects. Students who work for us might variously find themselves analyzing artifacts, preparing donated items for curation, surveying Forest Service lands for archaeological sites, or conducting their own research.

We also aid in student retention by providing students who otherwise might be feeling lost in what can sometimes seem to be an impersonal university setting with a “home” (the CAI) where they can meet and interact with other students and professional archaeologists outside of the classroom setting.

Your contribution directly benefits students by enabling the CAI to continue our work in guiding their personal and professional development by training them for employment opportunities after graduation. Our “alumni” currently hold positions with the federal and state governments, private companies, and academic research centers and departments across the country.

Please help us continue our mission of working with students into the future. We greatly appreciate your generosity in doing so.