The museum houses Oregon’s most active archaeological research program and is a leader in bringing to light new findings about the region’s cultural past.

Museum archaeologists lead surveys and excavations, principally within Oregon, but also throughout the Pacific Northwest, the Pacific Rim, and Europe. Our work has unearthed fragile millennia-old basketry, traces of ancient settlements buried beneath volcanic ash, 14,000 year-old human coprolites left by the continent’s earliest settlers, the homesteads and cemeteries of Oregon Trail pioneers, and communities of 19th century Chinese miners.

Through field schools, grant-funded studies, and collaborations with corporations and public agencies–including the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Bureau of Land Management, and others, the research division helps to rediscover, protect, and preserve Oregon’s rich cultural heritage. 
 

Current and Recent Projects

Archaeology Field Schools

The museum runs multiple summer field schools in a tradition of active field research since 1937. Read more about our current field schools. 

OR 99: Andersen Dairy Project

In 2022, MNCH archaeologists and researchers excavated a dump site associated with the Andersen Dairy homestead near Bend, Oregon. The research is part of Oregon Department of Transportation's Bend North Corridor Realignment. More than 2400 items were removed and catalogued. Read more about the Andersen Dairy Project. 

OR 34: Van Buren Bridge Project

In 2022, MNCH archaeologists and researchers took on a data recovery project for the Oregon Department of Transportation to study land around the Van Buren Bridge in Corvallis. The research is part of a plan to build a new earthquake-ready bridge in the same location.

Corvallis used some area surrounding the bridge as a community dump site between 1910 and 1913.

The site has potential to provide unique and significant information about the ethnicity, demographics, businesses, household practices, and trash disposal methods of Corvallis during a narrow window of time in the early twentieth century. Read more about the Van Buren Bridge Project. 

Archaeology services 
Archaeology field schools 
Archaeology collections 
More museum research