RESEARCH


Compliance is intimately related to research and professional development. Our familiarity with contemporary hunter-gatherer research directions on the Columbia Plateau, Puget Sound and the Coast, and the Intermountain West, particularly in the areas of cultural complexity, land-use, mobility and resource intensification, combined with a detailed knowledge of the history of archaeological work in the region, permits us to develop contexts and research designs that go well beyond a generic level.

Our staff has on-going research efforts, most of which stem from compliance projects. Staff members routinely present at national and regional conferences. Importantly, our research goes beyond simple descriptions of sites, methods or material culture, but rather we are interested in placing sites and assemblages in broader explanatory contexts.

We have a strong interest in archaeological field methods and the relationships between methods and knowledge.

Public Presentations and Links

Amanda Taylor was featured in an article in the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber. Read it here.

Paula Johnson was the featured guest on the podcast, EK On the Go. Listen to it here.

Adam Alsobrook was the featured guest on the podcast, EK On the Go. Listen to it here.

WillametteCRA’s excavation of a historic site in Chinatown in downtown Portland was featured in an article by Stuart Tomlinson of the Oregonian. Read about it here.

Adam Alsobrook regularly posts articles about various historic research topics to his website: adamalsobrook.net.

Publications

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Brigid Boyle
2024 Review: Frank L. Wright and the Architects of Steinway Hall: A Study in Collaboration and The Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. In Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 83(1):108-110

Breanne Taylor
2020 Material Culture and the Social Dynamics of Residential Life at a Company Town: Archaeological Investigations at the Fairfax Townsite (45PI918), Pierce County, Washington, USA. Master’s thesis, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C.

E. Guiry, T. C. A. Royle, R. G. Matson, H. Ward, T. Weir, N. Waber, T. J. Brown, B. P. V. Hunt, M. H. H. Price, B. P. Finney, M. Kaeriyama, Y. Qin, D. Y. Yang, and P. Szpak
2020 Differentiating Salmonid Migratory Ecotypes through Stable Isotope Analysis of Collagen: Archaeological and Ecological Applications. PLoS One15(4):e0232180.

Eleni L. Petrou, Daniel P. Drinan, Robert Kopperl, Dana Lepofsky, Dongya Yang, Madonna L. Moss, and Lorenz Hauser
2019 Intraspecific DNA Contamination Distorts Subtle Population Structure in a Marine Fish: Decontamination of Herring Samples Before Restriction-Site Associated Sequencing and Its Effects on Population Genetic Statistics. Molecular Ecology Resources 19(5)1131-1143.

Shelby L. Anderson, Thomas J. Brown, Justin Junge, and Jonathan Duelks
2019 Demographic Fluctuations and the Emergence of Arctic Maritime Adaptations. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 56:101100.

Thomas J. Brown and Kenneth M. Ames
2019 Synthesis and Analysis of the Early and Middle Holocene Radiocarbon Record for the Northern Northwest Coast of North America. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology DOI:10.1080/15564894.2019.1659883.

Thomas J. Brown, Daniel M. Gilmour, Paul S. Solimano, and Kenneth M. Ames
2019 The Radiocarbon Record of the Western Stemmed Tradition on the Southern Columbia Plateau of Western North America. American Antiquity 84(3):471-494.

Michelle North, Stephenie Kramer, and Alexander Stevenson
2019 A Reflection On: “Nevertheless She Persisted: Women’s Contributions to Northwest Anthropology.” Archaeology in Washington 19: 34-45.

Kenneth M. Ames and Thomas J. Brown
2018 Radiocarbon Dating the Fur Trade: Bayesian Analyses of Fur-Trade Era Radiocarbon Dates from the Lower Columbia River. International Journal of Historical Archaeology 23(2):283-312.

Andrew Martindale and Thomas J. Brown
2018 “The Challenges of Creating a Global Radiocarbon Date Archive for Archaeologists.” In Metodos Cronometricos en Historia y Arqueologica, edited by J. A. Barceló and B. Morell, pp. 17-1–17-9. Dextra Editorial, Madrid, Spain.

Kevan Edinborough, Marko Porčic, Andrew Martindale, Thomas J. Brown, Kisha Supernant, and Kenneth M. Ames
2017 A Radiocarbon Test for Demographic Events in Written and Oral History. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114(47):12436-12441.

Bryn Letham, Andrew Martindale, Kisha Supernant, Thomas J. Brown, Jerome S. Cybulski, and Kenneth M. Ames
2017 Assessing the Scale and Pace of Large Shell-Bearing Site Occupation in the Prince Rupert Harbour Area, British Columbia. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 14(2):1-35.

Andrew Martindale, Bryn Letham, Kisha Supernant, Thomas J. Brown, Kevan Edinborough, Jonathan Duelks, and Kenneth M. Ames
2017 Urbanism in Northern Tsimshian archaeology. Hunter-Gatherer Research 3(1):133-164.

Robert Kopperl, Kenneth Ames, Charles Hodges, Amanda Taylor, and Christian Miss
2015 The Bear Creek Site (45KI839), a Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition occupation in the Puget Sound Lowland, King County, Washington. PaleoAmerica 1(1):116-120.

Bryn Letham, Andrew Martindale, Duncan McLaren, Thomas J. Brown, Kenneth M. Ames, David J.W. Archer, and Susan Marsden
2015 Holocene Settlement History of the Dundas Island Archipelago, Northern British Columbia. B.C. Studies 187:51-85.

Daniel M. Gilmour, and Paul S. Solimano
2014 Modeling Precontact Land-Use in The Dalles: Site Types, Assemblage Structure, and Data Adequacy. Journal of Northwest Anthropology 48(2):123-158.

David V. Ellis
2013 Cultural Geography of the Lower Columbia. In Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia, edited by R. T. Boyd, K. M. Ames, and T. A. Johnson, pp.42-62. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London.

Robert Kopperl
2012 Chronology of the Ocean Bay Tradition on Kodiak Island, Alaska: Stratigraphic and Radiocarbon Analysis of the Rice Ridge Site (KOD-363). Alaska Journal of Anthropology 10(1-2):17-35.

Robert Kopperl
2011 Fish Bone Analysis. In Is It a House? Archaeological Excavations at English Camp, San Juan Island, Washington, edited by Amanda Taylor and Julie K. Stein. Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Research Report 9. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Amanda K. Taylor and Julie K. Stein
2011 Is it a House? Archaeological Excavations at English Camp, San Juan Island, Washington. Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Research Report 9. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Megan A. Partlow and Robert Kopperl
2011 Processing the Patterns: Elusive Archaeofaunal Signatures of Cod Storage on the North Pacific Coast. In The Archaeology of North Pacific Fisheries, edited by Madonna Moss and Aubrey Cannon, pp.195-218. University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks.

Amanda K. Taylor, Julie K. Stein, and Stephanie A. E. Jolivette
2011 Big Sites, Small Sites, and Coastal Settlement Patterns in the San Juan Islands, Washington, USA. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 6(2): 287-313.

Robert Kopperl
2010 What Archaeology Tells Us About a Traditional Foods Diet. In Feeding the People, Feeding the Spirit: Revitalizing Northwest Coastal Indian Food Culture, edited by Elise Krohn and Valerie Segrest, pp. 4-5. Gorham Printing, Centralia, Washington.

Boyd Dixon, Tina Mangieri, Ephraim McDowell, Kanani Paraso, and Tim Reith
2006 Prehistoric Chamorro Household Activities and Refuse Disposal Patterns on the Micronesian Island of Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Micronesica 39(1):55–71.

Amy F. Steffian, Patrick G. Saltonstall, and Robert Kopperl
2006 Expanding the Kachemak: Surplus Production and the Development of Multi-Season Storage in Alaska’s Kodiak Archipelago. Arctic Anthropology 43(2):93-129.

David V. Ellis
2006 Of a More Temporary Cast: Household Production at the Broken Tops Site. In Household Archaeology on the Northwest Coast, edited by E. A. Sobel, D. A. Trieu Gahr, and K. Ames, pp.120-139. International Monographs in Prehistory, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

James M. Bayman, Jadelyn J. Moniz Nakamura, Timothy M. Rieth, and C. Kanani Paraso
2004 Stone Adze Production and Resource Extraction at Pohakuloa, Hawai’i Island. Hawaiian Archaeology 9:83-104.

Robert Kopperl
2003 Cultural Complexity and Resource Intensification on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle.

Charlotte Beck, Amanda K. Taylor, George T. Jones, Cynthia M. Fadem, Caitlyn R. Cook, and Sara A. Milward
2002 Rocks Are Heavy: Transport Costs and Paleoarchaic Quarry Behavior in the Great Basin. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 21:481-507.

Robert Kopperl and Virginia Butler
2002 Fish Bone Analysis. In Vashon Island Archaeological Project: The excavation and analysis of the Burton Acres Shell Midden (45KI437), pp. 105-117, edited by Julie K. Stein and Laura S. Phillips. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Robert Kopperl
2001 Herring Use in Southern Puget Sound: Analysis of Fish Remains at 45-KI-437. Northwest Anthropological Research Notes 35(1): 1-20.

Bold font in black indicates former WillametteCRA employees.

Conference Presentation

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Dave Ellis
Presented at the 2022 Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial Archaeology
“The Greater Portland Plan”: The Industrial Development of the Lower Willamette River

Todd Ogle and Amanda Taylor
Presented at the 2020 UROC for Change Conference
Session 4: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from a Consultant’s Perspective

Thomas J. Brown, Jonathan Duelks, and Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2019 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Structures and Households: Exploration of the Relationship Between Social Units and Use of Structures on the Plateau

Robert Kopperl
Presented at the 2019 Cultural Resources Protection Summit, Suquamish, Washington
Fun Fishbone Facts from Salish Sea Middens

Robert Kopperl, Eleni Petrou, Lorenz Hauser, Dana Lepofsky, and Dongya Yang
Presented at the 2019 Society of American Archaeology Conference
Ancient Herring DNA from the Burton Acres Shell Midden (45KI437) and Pacific Herring Population Dynamics in the South Salish Sea

Michelle North and Virginia Butler
Presented at the 2019 Northwest Anthropological Conference
The Virginia Lake Stake Feature, Sauvie Island, OR: Updates from Fieldwork and AMS Dating

Breanne Taylor
Presented at the 2019 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Fairfax, Washington: Archaeological Testing and Demographic Analysis of a Multiethnic Community in the Cascade Foothills and the Exploration of Race, Class, Gender and Paternalism at a Company Town

Thomas J. Brown
Presented at the 2018 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Temporal Patterning of Houses of the Northwest Plateau and its Margins: Early Lessons on Database Construction and Data Availability

Shelby Anderson, Thomas J. Brown, Justin Junge, and Jonathan Duelks
Presented at the 2017 Society for American Archaeology Conference
Exploring the Development and Spread of Arctic Maritime Traditions Through Bayesian Radiocarbon Analysis

Thomas J. Brown
Presented at the 2017 Archaeology Day: ‘Materiality and Ancestors’, University of British Columbia
Cultural
 Transmission Theory and Projectile Point Standardization: A Look at Production and Labor Organization at the Meier Site, Oregon

Thomas J. Brown, Kevan Edinborough, Andrew Martindale, and Kenneth M. Ames
Presented at the 2017 Society for American Archaeology Conference
A Radiocarbon Test for Significant Demographic Events in Written and Oral History

Robert Kopperl, Kenneth M. Ames, and Christian J. Miss
Presented at the 2017 Society for American Archaeology Conference
The Bear Creek Site – 45KI839: Paleoarchaic Settlement of the South Salish Sea During the Late Pleistocene-Holocene Transition

Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2017 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Middle and Late Holocene Land-Use Intensification on the North Fork of the Clearwater River: A Framework for Future Work

Gary Wessen and Thomas J. Brown
Presented at the 2017 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Western Washington Shell Midden Chronology: Demographic Information.

Daniel M. Gilmour, Thomas J. Brown, and Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2016 Society for American Archaeology Conference
Radiocarbon Chronology of the Western Stemmed Tradition on the Columbia Plateau

Matt Goodwin, Breanne Taylor, and Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2016 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Interpreting Data at the Bruce’s Eddy Site (10CW1): Solving the Problems of Missing Data from a Decades Old Excavation

Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2016 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Examining Land-Use Intensification in the Portland Basin Through Cooking and Processing Features

Michael Daniels, Kanani Paraso, and Daniel Gilmour
Presented at the 2015 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Archaeological Investigations of a Late Holocene Site (35-MU-234) on the Lower Columbia River Floodplain, City of Fairview, Multnomah County, Oregon

Jonathan Duelks, Nathan Jereb, Kristin Leonard, and Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2015 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Compiling Excavated Archaeological Data at a Large-Scale: Preliminary Results

Daniel M. Gilmour, Thomas J. Brown, Paul Solimano, and Kenneth M. Ames
Presented at the 2015 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Preliminary Results of Western Stemmed Tradition Chronology

Breanne Taylor and Josh Moss
Presented at the 2015 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Field Staples: A Look at the Subsistence Patterns of Archaeological Workers

Matt Goodwin, Josh Moss, and Michael Daniels
Presented at the 2014 Northwest Anthropological Conference
The Spread of Invasive Plant Species and Their Effect on Cultural Resources Along the Middle Columbia River

Renae Campbell, Kanani Paraso, and Michael Daniels
Presented at the 2013 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Japanese Culture Change:  An Archaeological Perspective

Daniel M. Gilmour, Paul Solimano, Andrew Huff, Andy Pfandler, and Stacy Smith
Presented at the 2013 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Contemporary Issues with the Archaeological Record for Canids in the Pacific Northwest

Andy Pfandler, Matt Goodwin, Andrew Huff, Josh Moss, Daniel M. Gilmour, and Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2013 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Projectile Point Distribution in Klickitat County, Washington

David V. Ellis and Craig Skinner
Presented at the 2012 Society for American Archaeology Conference
Obsidian Trade in the Portland Basin

Daniel M. Gilmour and Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2012 Northwest Anthropological Conference
A Proposed Research Framework for the Archaeology of The Dalles

Matt Goodwin
Presented at the 2012 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Interpreting Data at the Briar Site

Paul Solimano, Symposium Organizer
Symposium at the 2012 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Symposium Title: An Open Discussion about Mesh Size and Other Sampling Considerations in Northwest Archaeology

Paul Solimano
Presented at the 2012 Northwest Anthropological Conference
The Universal Use of Fine Mesh Screen: A Manifesto in Opposition

Bold font in black indicates former WillametteCRA employees.

Internship Posters

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James Ramey
Presented at the 2014 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Mammalian Butchery at the Briar Site (35CO35)

Michael Daniels
Presented at the 2012 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Project Point Variation at the Briar Site

Angela Kozlik
Presented at the 2012 Northwest Anthropological Conference
Analysis of Bone and Antler Tools from the Briar Site

Bold font in black indicates former WillametteCRA employees.