For the Iowa geologist, see Charles Rollin Keyes

Charles Rollin Keyes

For the Iowa archaeologist, see Charles Reuben Keyes.Charles Rollin Keyes was a U.S. geologist and in 1918 was a U.S. Senate candidate in Iowa. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he graduated from Iowa State University in 1887. He worked for the United States Geological Survey. He earned a Ph.D. from Johns...

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Charles Reuben Keyes (May 5, 1871 - July 23, 1951) was a pioneering Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 archaeologist, and linguist. He is best remembered as the founder of modern Iowa archaeology

Iowa archaeology

The archaeology of Iowa is the study of the buried remains of human culture within the state of Iowa from the earliest prehistoric through the late historic periods. When the American Indians first arrived in what is now Iowa more than 13,000 years ago, they were hunters and gatherers living in a...

. While his early work dealt with lingusitcs, by the 1920s Keyes focused his research almost exclusively on archaeology. Keyes created the Iowa Archaeological Survey in 1922 and led it with Ellison Orr until their deaths in 1951, recording thousands of sites and conducting hundreds of excavations, and helping to create the modern prehistoric theoretical and temporal framework for Midwestern archaeology. Keyes was one of the proponents and early booster of the creation of Effigy Mounds National Monument

Effigy Mounds National Monument

Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves three prehistoric sites in Allamakee County and Clayton County, Iowa in the midwestern United States.-Mounds:...

. The Iowa Archeological Society emerged in 1951 as Keyes' brainchild.

Works about Keyes

• Ennis, J. Harold (1951) "Charles Reuben Keyes," Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society (1):14–16
• Green, William (1992) "Charles Reuben Keyes and the History of Iowa Archaeology," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science
  Iowa Academy of Science
  The Iowa Academy of Science is the oldest existing scientific association in Iowa, founded in 1875. It was established to promote scientific research, science education, public understanding of science, and recognition of excellence. Its membership consists primarily of professional and academic...
  
  (99):80–85
• Jackson, Marilyn (1984) "Charles Reuben Keyes: Groundbreaker in Iowa Archaeology," The Iowan 33:32–54.
• Knauth, Otto (1982) The Keyes Collection: A Legacy of Indian Artifacts. Des Moines Register
  Des Moines Register
  The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
  
  May 9.
• Perry, Michael J. (2009)"Keyes, Charles Reuben". In The Biographical Dictonary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press.
• Tandarich, John P. and Loren N. Horton (1976) "A Memorial Bibliography of Charles R. Keyes and Ellison J. Orr," Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society (23):45–144.

Selected works by Keyes

• 1902 Some Phrases of Alliteration and Rime in Modern English and German. Proceedings of the American Philological Association XXXIII.
• 1903 The Omission of the Auxiliary Verb in German. Proceedings of the American Philological Association XXXIV.
• 1920 Some Materials for the Study of Iowa Archaeology. Iowa Journal of History and Politics 18(3):357–370.
• 1925 Progress of the Archaeological Survey of Iowa. Iowa Journal of History and Politics 18(3):339–352.
• 1927 Prehistoric Man in Iowa. Palimpsest 8(6):185–229.
• 1928 The Hill-Lewis Archeological Survey. Minnesota History 9:96–108.
• 1928 Prehistoric Red Men. Palimpsest 9(2):33–37.
• 1928 Reports Archaeological Field Work in North America in 1927: Iowa. American Anthropologist 30:507–508.
• 1931 Grooved Axes of the Keokuk Type. The Wisconsin Archeologist 10(4):129–131.
• 1933 Shall Iowa Have National Monuments? Iowa Journal of History and Politics 31(1):31–46.
• 1934 Antiquities of the Upper Iowa. Palimpsest 15(10):321–354.
• 1935 Field Work in North America during 1934: Iowa. American Antiquity 1:65-66.
• 1941 An Outline of Iowa Archaeology. Iowa Academy of Science 48:91–98.
• 1944 Antiquities. The Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences 51:73–74.
• 1945 Ellison Orr: Naturalist, Archaeologist, Citizen. Iowa Bird Life 15(2):25–28.
• 1951 Ellison Orr: 1857-1951. The Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences 58:58–59.
• 1951 Prehistoric Indians of Iowa. Palimpsest 32(8):281–343.