Dr. Nelson is an adjunct/courtesy assistant professor at UO. Greg C. Nelson studies dental anthropology, skeletal biology, and bioarchaeology.  Currently his research centers on prehistoric skeletal series from New Mexico and Palau. The New Mexico research involves material from the Pueblo III Gallina phase dating from 1100 to 1275 AD. Currently excavating the site of Cañada Simon I (with Tony Largaespada) his research focuses on questions surrounding Gallina origins and fate as well as their adaptation to fluctuating environments. Chelechol ra Orrak in the Republic of Palau is a cemetery site dating to approximately 3000 BP, one of the earliest in Oceania. Collaborating with Scott Fitzpatrick of North Carolina State University the research focuses on trying to determine the affinities of the earliest inhabitants of the archipelago and their relationship to other early peoples of Oceania. Other areas of major interest are paleoanthropology, evolutionary biology, and evolutionary theory.