A series of free lectures entitled “The First Oregonians: New Insight from the Field” at the University Museum of Natural and Cultural History will discuss new archeological findings relating to the first peoples of Oregon.
The lectures will cover archeological findings that span all of Oregon, from the coast to the high desert. Recent excavations have uncovered artifacts and information that shed light on how early Oregonians lived, when they arrived, and what their lives were like.
The series will take place over three weeks, with one lecture every Friday at 5:30 p.m., starting Oct. 10. The first of the three lectures is called “New Insights on the Peopling of the Americas,” and it will be given by Jon Erlandson, executive director of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History and professor of anthropology. The lecture will take place in the Many Nations Longhouse.

Erlandson has been conducting the bulk of his research on how early groups arrived in North America from Asia. His lecture will concentrate on the maritime and coastal migration theories, which revolves around the idea that early North Americans arrived on the continent via boat and were seafaring people. Much of his evidence focuses on the California Channel islands.
“I’ll also be discussing a very controversial new theory about a comet that may have hit North America 13,000 years ago,” Erlandson said. The comet may have also caused the extinction of certain large mammals on the continent.
The subsequent two lectures will be held in 175 Knight Law Center. The Oct. 17 lecture will be “Ancient Times to Allotment Times: Archeology and Oral History of the Klamath Tribes.” Thomas Connolly, director of research for the Museum of Natural History, will present the talk.
The Klamath Tribes are three united peoples: the Klamath, the Modoc and the Yahooskin, located in Southern Oregon. Connolly has been conducting research on an archeological site that contains artifacts spanning in time from ancient history until 8,000 years ago.
Connolly collaborated on the project with members of the Klamath community. “This is a good example of collaboration with local peoples, of community archeology,” Erlandson said.
“Clovis Sites in Oregon: Findings from Two UO Field School Investigations in Harney County” will be the lecture on Oct. 24 by Patrick O’Grady, staff archeologist for the museum.
Clovis people were those living about 13,000 years ago, Erlandson said. O’Grady’s project uncovered new, rare artifacts – stone points that were most likely dart heads. Similar items have previously been found around the state but only in isolated locations. This is one of the few sites to contain a significant number of points, indicating the Clovis occupied it, rather than migrating through.
O’Grady conducted his research through the University Archeology Field School. His studies took him to Harney County, which is east of Eugene and part of the northern Great Basin.
The lectures will range from the very broad to the very specific, from migration patterns to individual artifacts.
All three “highlight current museum research,” Erlandson said. The series is a part of Oregon Archeology Month, which includes a month-long celebration of research and discoveries in the discipline.
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