Research by Stone, a master’s student in the School of Language, Culture, and Society, focuses on paleoclimate reconstruction in Baja California
Sam Stone
By Taylor Pedersen, CLA Student Writer - April 23, 2025
Sam Stone’s fascination with the past runs deep—both literally and figuratively. Raised in Southern California, but spending her high school years in Portland, Stone’s upbringing was steeped in a love of history. Her father, a history major who briefly pursued a master’s in archaeology, nurtured this interest by taking her and her siblings to museums and excavation sites. Although she didn’t initially realize it, this early exposure paved a path for her into the world of archaeology.
“I didn’t have the intention of pursuing archaeology until I got to college,” Stone, ‘21, admitted. “But that love for the past was already there.”
A key turning point came when Stone enrolled in an anthropology class as an undergraduate. It was at that moment she found her academic home. She dove into anthropology and soon found herself as a field school student in Professor Loren Davis' field school at Cooper’s Ferry, a site in Idaho that boasts the oldest stone tools in North America.
“That field school was incredible. Cooper’s Ferry is one of the most important archaeological sites in North America,” said Stone, who spent her summer between sophomore and junior year digging at the site. “The year I was there, we worked in the oldest cultural deposits, about 16,000 years old. Handling artifacts that hadn’t seen the light of day in thousands of years…that was something truly special.”
Stone's fieldwork was formative, and as she neared the end of her undergraduate career, she realized that if she wanted to continue working in the field, she would need a master’s degree. She found herself in the School of Language, Culture, and Society’s (SLCS) archaeology program, where she could continue to work under the guidance of Professor Davis, a mentor who had shaped her academic journey.
Continuing in SLCS at the College of Liberal Arts was an easy choice for Stone, especially given the research opportunities the program offered. She had already worked on Cedros Island off the Baja California coast, and she was eager to return. At OSU, she was able to combine her interest in archaeology with her fascination for climate science, embarking on research in paleoclimate reconstruction.
“Cedros Island is so significant,” Stone explained. “It has some of the oldest deep-sea fishing technology in the Western Hemisphere, with evidence of nearly 13,000 years of continuous occupation. The preservation of archaeological materials is amazing because the island is so dry. It’s like a window into the past.”
Stone’s current research is helping to unlock the climate mysteries of the past. She’s working with marine shell fossils found on Cedros Island to reconstruct sea surface temperatures from the Pleistocene to Holocene (approximately 11,700 years ago—a task that involves stable isotope analysis. “We use oxygen-18, a heavier isotope, to reconstruct past sea surface temperatures,” Stone explained. “As oxygen-16 evaporates, seawater becomes enriched in oxygen-18. Marine shells record this ratio, which reflects past ocean temperatures and ice volume.” Her work also includes examining the carbon isotope carbon-13, which relates to upwelling—when cold, nutrient-dense water rises to the surface, feeding coastal food webs. These findings offer insights not only into the local environment of ancient populations but also into the broader dynamics of climate change and coastal ecosystems.
“I’m not a climate scientist,” Stone laughed, “but as an archaeologist, I need to understand enough about interdisciplinary methods like this to apply them to my field. It’s amazing how much knowledge you can gain from collaborating with experts in other areas.”
Collaboration is key in archaeology, where interdisciplinary teamwork is critical to understanding the past. “There are so many ways of knowing about the past,” she said. “If you’re a good archaeologist, you either need to be a jack of all trades or work with others who can fill in the gaps.”
Stone’s research holds great significance not only for understanding ancient environments but also for understanding early human migration patterns. She points to Cedros Island as a crucial site for exploring the northern Pacific coastal route migration model. This hypothesis suggests that early humans may have migrated to the Americas using watercraft along the Pacific coastline, a possibility strengthened by Cedros' evidence of advanced maritime skills and fishing technology.
Looking ahead, Stone plans to continue her work in field archaeology, excited by the potential to further explore the complex relationships between ancient humans and their environments. However, she also notes the challenges and realities of the field.
For students aspiring to follow in her footsteps, Stone has one key piece of advice: “Take a field school as early as possible. You’ll learn so much about whether this is the right path for you. If you’re not into fieldwork, then archaeology might not be the career for you. It’s essential to know that early on.”
As for Stone, she’s eager to continue her journey, bridging the worlds of archaeology and climate science to better understand the past—and the lessons it holds for the future.