Iowa Archeological Society

The Iowa Archeological Society (IAS) is an organization of amateur, professional, and academic archaeologists. The IAS promotes education about Iowa’s past, conducts excavations, and encourages ethical collection and recording of archaeological sites. It prints two respected publications, the Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society and the IAS Newsletter. Founded in 1951, the IAS was the brainchild of Charles R. Keyes, the founder of systematic archaeological research in Iowa. Keyes was the director of the Iowa State Archaeological Survey from 1921 to 1951. He, along with Ellison Orr, created the first extensive lists of sites in Iowa and led numerous excavations. Both Keyes and Orr died in 1951, the first year of the IAS.