The Yamhill River Pleistocene Project explores the late Pleistocene and early Holocene of the Yamhill River valley near McMinnville, Oregon. Composed of local volunteers and resources, avocational paleontologists, land owners, and local government working alongside trained professionals and museum staff, our goal is to discover, study, and preserve our prehistoric past. 

The project relies entirely on volunteers and the outstanding contributions in time and equipment from the Yamhill County local community.  The project attempts to combine known fossil and artifact finds into a single comprehensive data base encompassing a continuous stretch of approximately twenty five miles along the North and South Yamhill Rivers near McMinnville.

All materials are collected in so far as possible using current archaeological and paleontological practices after in situ documentation and study. Locations are noted using USGS maps and GPS technology, and digs are excavated under the direct supervision of the on-scene scientist and overall control of the designated “Scientist in Oversight”. Materials collected are stabilized, restored and preserved locally; and always available to both the general community and the scientific world.

The founders of the project are deeply committed to the concept that the collection not be dispersed and is a resource for the people. As such, the collection and all material, publications and information generated will stay in the public domain, for ultimate inclusion into a selected educational institution, museum or interpretive center.