The Excavated Hypothesis

Every lost scientific text, every forgotten family record, every buried piece of wisdom - we uncover it, restore it, and return it to the world.

What We Do

The mission of The Excavated Hypothesis is to restore the knowledge that time buried by rescuing lost scientific texts, forgotten genealogical records, and unfunded research. Then we make it available at no or low cost, so no legacy stays hidden forever.
Every project shares one goal: take buried knowledge, restore it, and put it back into the hands of people who need it.Click an image below to learn more about our upcoming projects.

Our Mission & Vision

The mission of The Excavated Hypothesis is to bring scientific and genealogical knowledge to the world at no or low cost.Our vision is a world where every legacy is found, every text is accessible, and no question goes unfunded.

Board of Directors

Coming soon!

The Founder

Dr. Nicole Mendoza is a career educator and researcher who has always been passionate about knonwledge.After fighting paywalls, dead links, and buried data in her personal geneaology journey, she decided that discovering the truth about one's lineage shouldn't be so inaccessible. Leaning on her prior experience as a Program Director for two California-based nonprofits, Dr. Mendoza founded The Excavated Hypothesis to uncover, restore, preserve, and decode knowledge for everyone, under the belief we all deserve the right to know the truth about our past.Dr. Mendoza holds an Ed.D. Organizational Change & Leadership from USC, a M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Xavier University, and a M.A. in Education from Concordia University. Her ressearch interests span a variety of topics in population genetics, quantum physics, historical demography, and esoteric spirituality.

Contact Us

For media, funding, or partnership inquiries, please contact us.

[email protected]

The Unredacted Archive - COMING WINTER 2026

The Unredacted Archive is a permanent, searchable digital home for rare scientific texts and genealogical records that have never been digitized or have been locked behind paywalls and private collections. We start with genetics, epidemiology, and colonial-era historical records of special interest to BIPOC communities.

Independent Research Grants - COMING SOON

The Excavated Hypothesis offers grants and direct support for researchers asking questions that traditional funding sources shy away from. We prioritize investigations that challenge accepted assumptions, uncover suppressed data, or require building tools from scratch.

DNA & Geneaology Services - Coming Soon!

Discovering family stories shouldn't break the bank. We offer low-cost or sliding-scale assistance for families who have been told their records don't exist. We use historical population models and primary documents to restore what commercial DNA services miss.

True Ancients Ancient DNA Calculator - Coming Soon!

The Excavated Press - COMING SPRING 2027

The Excavated Press is publishing arm for monographs, annotated primary sources, and independent research that refuse to hide uncomfortable findings behind subscription fees.

Community Transcription Corps - COMING SOON!

The Community Transcription Corps is our volunteer-led effort to locate and digitize fragile texts, tag genealogical ledgers, and cross-reference historical constraints so that no piece of data is ever "lost" again.We offer training in basic ressearch skills, soure evaluation, metadata tagging, handwriting transcription, and more.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The Excavated Hypothesis is currently in need of volunteers for a variety of roles. If you are passionate about making knowledge more accessible, we would love to hear from you.Currently, all positions are unpaid, volunteer roles.

Board Member

About Us
The Excavated Hypothesis is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring hidden scientific and genealogical knowledge and making it accessible at no or low cost. We rescue lost texts, fund independent research, and publish findings that commercial and academic systems often ignore.Role Overview
Board members provide governance, strategic oversight, and fiduciary responsibility. We are seeking individuals who believe that knowledge should not stay buried and who are willing to actively support the organization's growth, fundraising, and long-term sustainability.Key Responsibilities+ Attend quarterly board meetings (virtual, ~1 hour each)
+ Review and approve annual budget and major decisions
+ Help recruit additional board members and key volunteers
+ Leverage personal networks for fundraising, partnerships, or media outreach
+ Serve on at least one committee (e.g., finance, development, governance)Ideal Candidate+ Believes in open access to scientific texts and genealogical records
+ Has experience in one or more of the following: nonprofit governance, fundraising, law, finance, academia, library science, archives, or technology
+ Willing to make a personal annual contribution (amount flexible) or actively bring in donations
+ Able to serve a two-year termTime Commitment
+ Approximately 3–5 hours per month, plus board meetings.

Primary Source Hunter

About the Role
The Excavated Hypothesis is building a global network of volunteers to uncover untold stories hidden in archives, libraries, and historical centers. As a Primary Source Hunter, you are the boots on the ground. You live near or have regular access to a specific repository and are willing to visit in person to locate, scan, and submit primary source documents that our research team has identified—or that you discover yourself.What You'll Do+ Receive targeted research requests (e.g., "Find any colonial-era correspondence mentioning X tribe")
+ Visit a local library, university special collections, historical society, or government archive
Locate requested documents using finding aids, catalog searches, or archivist assistance
+ Capture high-quality scans or photographs of the documents
+ Submit digital files to our research team with basic metadata (source, date, location)Time Commitment
Flexible, project-based. Most hunts take 2–4 hours per request, including travel and scanning. You choose which requests fit your schedule and location.Ideal Candidate+ Lives near or can easily access a library, archive, or historical center with relevant holdings
+ Comfortable handling fragile documents (training provided on basic archival best practices)
+ Has access to a scanner or smartphone capable of high-resolution images
+ Cares about preserving indigenous stories that have been ignored or buried
What You Gain+ Credit on our website and in publications (if desired)
+ The satisfaction of recovering a story that might otherwise disappear forever