Q&A with Professor Alejandra Roche Recinos, instructor of ANTH 331: Archaeology of Reed

Archaeology of Reed is an upper-level class in the anthropology department, currently conducting an archaeological excavation in the meadow near the DoJo building. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Ray Perry (RP): How did this class originate? 

Alejandra Roche Recinos (ARR): I was interested in having a little bit more hands-on experience for students. I had a bunch of students who were interested in actually doing archaeology, and so I thought, why not? Why don’t we start a project and do some excavations? And so over the summer, I started with all the procedures to get a permit and start excavations here on campus. 

RP: What does the class look like? 

ARR: We have classes on what excavations look like, what research design looks like, [and] how to choose what methods you’re going to do. Then we go all into excavation, and we do lab work, like washing artifacts, cataloging, and taking photographs. 

RP: How did you choose the site? 

ARR: I know Reed has undergone a lot of renovations. I wanted a place where we could find something that wasn’t heavy construction, that we could excavate a little bit further. So Zach [Perry, from Facilities] took me to various places and then we chose the meadow. It turned out to be the best place because so far, no one has done anything there. 

RP: Has anything turned up new discoveries about Reed? 

ARR: There's a chimney, or we think more that it's a kiln, that was perhaps used for [the] art department before the art building was built. And we have been finding a lot of tiny ceramics and pieces of clay, so maybe it was a kiln. Other than that, after we started doing research in the area, we found that perhaps there used to be a house that was built around 1917. Eventually, the house was torn down between the 1950s/1960s, and then the vacant lot was sold to Reed in the 1980s. We’re very excited, because [we’ve found] concrete. So [it was] maybe a sidewalk, maybe part of a chimney wall or something. 

RP: What was the process for getting the permit like?

ARR: For any excavation, the state of Oregon [has] a lot of oversight from tribal nations. In order to actually excavate, because there is the event that you might find archaeological remains that are related to tribes here in Oregon, you have to request a permit. You have to have a qualified archaeologist that oversees any excavations. The permit goes through the relevant tribes in the area, and they can ask for conditions, [or] deny the permit. And in the state of Oregon, you cannot keep anything that belongs to any Native American tribe. They have authority over whatever belonging is found. 

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde oversaw our permit. They have been super helpful, very open, very interested in getting students to learn a little more about Oregon history. 

Photo courtesy of Ray Perry 

Alejandra Roche Recinos (rightmost) and ANTH 331 students excavate the dig site.

Photo courtesy of Ray Perry

The fireplace at the site.