Welcome
The Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory (OAL) is one of several research labs which together comprise the Archaeological Research Facility, an organized research unit of the University of California at Berkeley. The OAL is under the direction of Patrick V. Kirch, Class of 1954 Professor of Anthropology.

Mission
The Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory (OAL) was established in 1989, as a part of the Archaeological Research Facility (ARF), an Organized Research Unit of the University of California at Berkeley. The mission of the OAL is to carry out original and innovative research into the archaeology, prehistory, and historical anthropology of the Pacific Islands and their indigenous peoples and cultures. The OAL's geographic scope includes Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Past, current or on-going research projects have focused on the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia (Mo'orea and Mangareva), Cook Islands (Mangaia), Western Polynesia (Futuna, Tonga, and Samoa), Solomon Islands (Tikopia, Anuta, Vanikoro), and Papua New Guinea (Mussau Islands).