​​Oregon’s history contains many more significant dates than space permits, but this list may prove helpful to those embarking on a study of the state.

Oregon Prehistory

(BP: Before Present)​​​

​Time Immemorial

Many tribal oral histories describe living in Oregon since time immemorial 

18,000 BP

Evidence of human occupation at Rimrock Draw Rockshelter near Burns

15,000-13,000 BP

The Missoula Floods bring a series of massive geologic change, including through the Columbia River Gorge and Willamette Valley. These events are part of the oral history of the Umatilla and Kalapuya tribes, and scientifically documented

14,400-12,000 BP

Evidence of human occupation at Paisley Caves in south-central Oregon

12,000-10,000 BP

Evidence of human occupation at Indian Sands site near Brookings

10,500 BP

A house and summer encampents near Newberry Crater in Central Oregon were constructed and used by Indigenous people 9500 BP—Evidence of human occupation in the Cascade uplands surrounding Odell Lake

9000 BP

Dozens of sagebrush bark sandals from Fort Rock cave were worn by Indigenous residents, likely during the winter. They were rediscovered by archeologists in 1938 and are some of the oldest known surviving shoes

7700 BP

Mount Mazama erupts, creating Crater Lake. Indigenous oral history and archeological evidence suggests ancestors of the Klamath Tribe were eyewitnesses to these events

1543​​-1850​​