Tag: Illinois
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Video for ESCONI May 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “An Ordovician Konzentrat Lagerstätte: The Dixon Mifflin Residuum Fauna”
The program then concentrates on the Mifflin Member of the Platteville Formation and the exceptional preservation of the Dixon Lagerstätte. To appreciate the remarkable preservation of the Dixon material a standard fauna is needed for comparison. Fortunately, a Mifflin dolostone super-site is (was) located only 10 miles southeast of Dixon: the Lee Center Quarry. The…
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Video for ESCONI May 2026 General Meeting – “Seeing Beneath the Ground: Geophysics and Archaeological Explorations in Illinois”
Thomas Loebel from the Illinois State Archaeological Survey will present “Seeing Beneath the Ground: Geophysics and Archaeological Explorations in Illinois”. Thomas will explain how archaeologists find sites, specifically how they use geophysics or remote sensing to locate sites for testing and preservation purposes.
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ESCONI May 2026 Paleontology Study Group Meeting Saturday, May 16th, 2026 at 7:30 PM via Zoom – “An Ordovician Konzentrat Lagerstätte: The Dixon Mifflin Residuum Fauna”
John will begin the program by introducing what a Konzentrat-Lagerstätten consists of and a brief introduction of the Platteville Formation. The depositional environment of the Mohawkian Sea, home of the Platteville fauna sets the stage for the faunal comparison.
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ESCONI May 2026 General Meeting Friday, May 8th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Seeing Beneath the Ground: Geophysics and Archaeological Explorations in Illinois”
The ESCONI General Meeting for May 2026 will be held on May 8th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom. Thomas Loebel from the Illinois State Archaeological Survey will present “Seeing Beneath the Ground: Geophysics and Archaeological Explorations in Illinois”. Thomas will explain how archaeologists find sites, specifically how they use geophysics or remote sensing to…
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Video for ESCONI February 2026 General Meeting – “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.”
Illinois has a rich and varied archaeological record that spans some 13,000 years. In this hybrid presentation, we will first explore this record in lecture format, then interact with hands-on stations that include different archaeological materials from the Land of Lincoln. After experiencing “Diggin’ Illinois”, participants will foster a better appreciation for our state’s culture…
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Fossil Friday #305: A Beautiful Receptaculites/Fisherites!
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #305. Expect this to be a regular feature of the website. We will post fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Bluesky/Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! Taking a little break from Mazon Creek fossils this week…
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ESCONI February 2026 General Meeting – February 13th, 2026 at 8:00 PM – “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.”
Dale Simpson of the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute will present “Diggin’ Illinois: A hands-on introduction to the fascinating archaeological record of Illinois.” The meeting will be held on February 13th, 2026 at 8:00 PM via Zoom. Illinois has a rich and varied archaeological record that spans some 13,000 years. In this hybrid presentation,…
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Video for ESCONI November 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting – “Gonioceras: A Most Unusual Cephalopod”
The November 2025 Paleontology Study Group Meeting was held on November 15th, 2025 via Zoom. John Catalani presented “Gonioceras: A Most Unusual Cephalopod”. The diversity of nautiloid shell shapes in the Upper Ordovician of central Laurentia is remarkable. However, one shape is often missing from lists of shell shapes and that is the so-called “flat-fish”…
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Video for ESCONI November 2025 General Meeting – “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”
The November 2025 General Meeting was held on Friday, November 14th, 2025 via Zoom. Melissa Pardi, Curator of Geology at the Illinois State Museum, presented “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”. Did you know that Illinois used to have elephants? During the last ice age, North America was home to a wide variety of large, now…
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Indigenous Americans dragged, carried or floated 5-ton tree more than 100 miles to North America’s largest city north of Mexico 900 years ago
Live Science has a fascinating story about an ancient tree, which was part of Cahokia. Cahokia was the large city north of Mexico 900 years ago, with a population of around 20,000 people. It was built on earthen mounds in the southwestern Illinois, next to the Mississippi River, between East St. Louis and Collinsville. Scientists…
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ESCONI November 2025 General Meeting – November 14th, 2025 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”
The November 2025 General Meeting will be held on Friday, November 14th, 2025 at 8:00 via Zoom. Melissa Pardi, Curator of Geology at the Illinois State Museum, will be presenting “Mammals of Illinois’ Ice Ages”. Did you know that Illinois used to have elephants? During the last ice age, North America was home to a…
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Video for ESCONI September 2025 General Meeting – “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site”
ESCONI General Meeting – Dr. Angela Cooper presented “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.” Dr. Angela Cooper is originally from Mascoutah, IL and grew up learning about the great site of Cahokia Mounds. Her educational and professional career has centered around Illinois archaeology. Dr. Cooper received her MA from University of Tulsa studying the relationships of…
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ESCONI September 2025 General Meeting via Zoom – “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site”
ESCONI General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom – Dr. Angela Cooper will be presenting “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.” Zoom link Dr. Angela Cooper is originally from Mascoutah, IL and grew up learning about the great site of Cahokia Mounds. Her educational and professional career has centered around Illinois archaeology. Dr. Cooper received her…
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ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils – Saturday, September 27th, 2025
Danville Field Trip Rules for Saturday, September 27th, 2025 An ESCONI field trip to the Danville IL Shale Pile for Pennsylvanian fossils is scheduled for Saturday September 27, 2025 starting at 10 AM. This is on private property and there is an attendance limit of 25 people. The gate will be secured once we are…
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Mazon Creek, Field Museum, and ESCONI in the News!
Mazon Creek, Field Museum, and ESCONI was in the news on multiple Chicago channels! FOX 32 CBS News NBC 5 Chicago One of the “world’s best fossil sites” is located just an hour outside of the Windy City, according to Chicago Field Museum researchers. Dr. Arjan Mann, assistant curator of early tetrapods at the Field…
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ESCONI Field Trip to Danville Shale Pile Fossils – Saturday, April 26th, 2025
This field trip is full Danville Field Trip Rules for Saturday, April 26th, 2025 An ESCONI field trip to the Danville IL Shale Pile for Pennsylvanian fossils is scheduled for Saturday April 26, 2025 starting at 10 AM. This is on private property and there is an attendance limit of 25 people. The gate will…
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PBS Terra: What Happened to America’s First Megacity?
PBS Terra is the sister Youtube channel to PBS Eons. In this episode, they discuss Cahokia, the mysterious city in southern Illinois. It rivaled London in size during its height in 1100 CE. Monk's Mound is an earthen pyramid that is larger than the Great Pyramid of Cheops. In its prime, Cahokia was a prosperous…
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Fossils of Illinois: A Step Back Through Time
Paul Mayer, the Collection Manager of Fossil Invertebrates at the Field Museum, has done many presentations for ESCONI over the years. In October 2023, he gave a presentation entitled “Fossils of Illinois: A Step Back Through Time” at the Lizzadro Museum. Video of the presentation is available on Youtube. Join us for a presentation by…
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ESCONI Field Trip to Hamilton, IL for Railroad Creek Geodes on August 10th, 2024
There will be a field trip to Vickers Geodes in Hamilton, IL on August 10, 2024. Hamilton IL is across the Mississippi River from Keokuk Iowa. The address is 511 South 9th St. The geodes at this location range from golf ball to basketball in size! They are in shale and need to be dug…
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Video for ESCONI May 2024 Paleontology Meeting – “The Upper Ordovician Platteville Formation”
The May 2024 Paleontology Study Group meeting was held on Saturday, May 18th, 2024. John Catalani did a presentation about the Upper Ordovician Platteville Formation here in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. He details the name changes how it relates to the surrounding area.
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ESCONI Field Trip to Rockford Gravel Pit – Sunday, June 23rd, 2024
ESCONI Field Trip to Rockford Gravel Pit A field trip to a Rockford gravel pit is scheduled for Sunday, June 23rd, 2024. This is a shared trip with the Rockford club (RRVGMS). There is space for 15 ESCONI members. The trip will be from 9 AM to 12 noon. YOU MUST REGISTER TO GO ON…
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Video for ESCONI February 2024 – General Meeting, Topic: “Photographing Rock Art in Illinois and Missouri: A visual journey into the sacred, the unknown, and the creation of the universe”
The ESCONI February 2024 General Meeting was held on Friday, February 9th, 2024. The topic was “Photographing Rock Art in Illinois and Missouri: A visual journey into the sacred, the unknown, and the creation of the universe”. It was presented by Mike Chervinko. Mike is author of “Prehistoric and Natural Wonders of Southern Illinois”. The…
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Shark Teeth from the Bond Formation in northern Illinois
The journal Kentiana has a paper about fossil shark teeth from the Bond Formation in northern Illinois. The title of the paper is “First records of the chondrichthyans Heslerodus and Ossianodus from the Upper Pennsylvanian LaSalle Limestone (Bond Formation) of northern Illinois”. Kentiana is an open access journal associated with the Center for Paleontology, the Illinois…
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Precious Stone – Last Joliet-Lemont Limestone Quarry Closing
Chicago Magazine has an article about the closing of the last quarry supplying the famous Joliet-Lemont limestone. Located in Joliet, Bromberek Flagstone has been in business since the 1940’s. ESCONI has visited for a few field trips over the years. Now, it’s closing as Larry Bromberek has sold his property. Back in July when this…
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Fossil Friday #175: Calymene from Naperville
This is the “Fossil Friday” post #175. Expect this to be a somewhat regular feature of the website. We will post any fossil pictures you send in to esconi.info@gmail.com. Please include a short description or story. Check the #FossilFriday Twitter hash tag for contributions from around the world! We received another Fossil Friday contribution from…
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Throwback Thursday #166: Spring – Illinois
This is Throwback Thursday #166. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Bill Kelly and his wife Wylma were active in ESCONI for many years. Both of them wrote articles…
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UIUC: A mammoth tribute to Illinois history
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has a new statue… and it’s a mammoth! A statue of a woolly mammoth was installed recently near the Natural History Building. The statue was sculpted by Taylor Studios in Rantoul, Illinois. You can find the press release here. Thanks for the tip, Ben Riegler! The next, and past, big thing:…
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Video for the ESCONI September 2022 General Meeting – “Paleozoic fishes of the Illinois Basin”
The September 2022 General Meeting was held on Friday, September 9th, 2022. The presenter was Dr. Ryan Shell of the Cincinnati Museum Center. The title of his talk was “Paleozoic fishes of the Illinois Basin”. Dr. Shell is a research associate in the department of vertebrate paleontology at the Cincinnati Museum Center and a Paleontological…
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ESCONI September 2022 General Meeting – Friday, September 9th, 2022 at 8:00 PM via Zoom – “Paleozoic fishes of the Illinois Basin”
The September 2022 General Meeting will be held on Friday, September 9th, 2022 at 8:00 PM via Zoom. The presenter is Dr. Ryan Shell of the Cincinnati Museum Center. The title of his talk is “Paleozoic fishes of the Illinois Basin”. Dr. Shell is a research associate in the department of vertebrate paleontology at the Cincinnati…
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Illinois Now Has an Official State Rock. Here’s What It Is
NBC5 Chicago has a story about the new Illinois state symbol. The Tully Monster is the Illinois State Fossil and we have Fluorite as the State Mineral, now Dolostone is the State Rock. Governor Pritzker signed the bill yesterday – June 6th, 2022! We posted back in 2021 that the Pleasantdale Middle School in Burr…
