Archaeology
An important field of research at the Gump Station, archeology provides an insight into how human societies have influenced and been influenced by their environment. For example, in a recent article, Patrick V. Kirch, professor of anthropology and director of UC Berkeley's Oceanic Archaeology Laboratory explains how he uses Polynesian islands "as models for how people and the environment dynamically interact over time scales of centuries and millennia," (see full Article).
Recent work in Moorea has focused on the 'Opunohu Valley (Jennifer Kahn and Patrick Kirch) and in Mangareva (Kirch, Conte, and colleagues).