The place we now call Oregon has a rich human history, much of it unrecorded. But there are clues to the events of thousands and thousands of years of humans occupying the state, and sometimes the clues just pop out of the ground. Word from the state: do NOT pick them up.
That's lesson ONE in archaeology for amateurs, and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO, or "shippo") has many more available. We continue our observation of Native American Heritage Month with Oregon State Archaeologist John Pouley. He lays out the laws and suggestions guiding archaeological exploration of Oregon's long-ago past.