The Coastal Archaeology and Ancient Proteomics Laboratory specializes in the study of coastal, estuarine, and riverine archaeological sites from California and Oregon. Our laboratory conducts studies across a diverse range of temporal and spatial scales. The laboratories represent two separate, but interdigitated labs, with the Coastal Lab serving as our primary flotation, sorting, cataloging, and short-term curation space. The Ancient Proteomics Lab is a specialized laboratory for sample preparation and collagen extraction of faunal samples. We partner with Oregon Health & Science University to process samples using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS).

The Zooarchaeology Laboratory houses the North Pacific Zooarchaeology Collection. This collection was developed by Dr. Madonna Moss over more than 45 years. Recent specimen acquisitions through the support of Ruth Greenspan, Heritage Research Associates, and Jan Hodder, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, have assisted in growing the collection. Currently, the North Pacific Zooarchaeology Collection houses more than 1,000 comparatives of birds, fish, mammals, and shellfish, organized by family. Vertebrate fauna are curated in a synoptic collection by family and element. With the generous support of the Moss-Greenspan-Hodder Endowment Fund, the research collection will remain accessible to scholars, and its catalog will be publicly available by mid-2026.