Archaeological Research Grants

The Archaeological Society of Central Oregon offers research grants for projects in the field of Archaeology, Anthropology, Ethnology, History, or related areas, with a focus on central Oregon.

2024 Application Deadline is April 15, 2024

Download Grant Application Guidelines

2023 ASCO Research Grant Awards

Richie Rosencrance, University of Nevada, Reno

Reinvestigation of Cougar Mountain Cave, Lake County, Oregon

Cougar Mountain Cave (CMC), located in the Fort Rock Basin of central Oregon, has one of the largest and most continuous organic artifact records in the region. Richie and his team of researchers from UNR & UofO, are focusing on radiocarbon dating of organic artifacts to investigate the chronology of the site, the raw materials and techniques used in the organic items, the sequence of diagnostic lithics, and more.

ASCO’s Grant of $3,165.17 will fund 13 radiocarbon dates and 11 taxa identifications on wooden artifacts.

Pat O'Grady

On behalf of a generous ASCO member, we were able to present a grant of $3,000 to Pat O’Grady for two studies to enhance our understanding of the paleoenvironement of the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter site.

• Archaeobotanical analysis, by Dr. Margaret Helzer, of charcoal recovered in the oldest deposits will tell us about the vegetation at the earliest period of human use.
• Diatom analysis, by Dr. Barbara Winsborough, will aid in our understanding of the site in relation to the stream channel and associated hydrologic features.

Thank you members for your donations!!

Research Updates

Richie Rosencrance, MA, RPA, University of Nevada, Reno

Update on ASCO Funding for Cougar Mountain Cave Research

Thanks to generous support from the Archaeological Society of Central Oregon’s (ASCO) research grant program we have made significant strides in our ongoing research at Cougar Mountain Cave (35LK55), Oregon. We used funds provided by ASCO to obtain radiocarbon dates and wood taxa identifications on artifacts part of the site’s legacy collection housed at the Favell Museum in Klamath Falls. With ASCO’s support, and support from a variety of other funders, Cougar Mountain Cave is now the third most dated archaeological site in all of the Americas with 211 individual radiocarbon dates. This allows us, for the first time, to understand the timing and tempo of human occupations of the site over the last 12,500 years. Moreover, Cougar Mountain Cave no longer lives in infamy of “what could have been,” as the new chronology allows us and other researchers to compare and contrast the chronology and cultural material of Cougar Mountain Cave to regional archaeological sites such as Paisley Caves and Connley Caves.  

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