Brandi MacDonald

Dr. Brandi MacDonald is an Assistant Research Professor in the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR). She specializes in archaeological science, focusing on multi-method analytical approaches to study pigments, rock art, ceramics, obsidian, and glass. Her current research investigates rock art and mineral pigment use in the Pacific Northwest, lower Canadian Shield, and obsidian resource use in Northwestern Patagonia. She coordinates the MURR Archaeometry Laboratory's Pre-Doctoral Internship Program.

Dr. MacDonald holds a Ph.D. from McMaster University (2015, Canada). Her research integrates geochemical, petrographic, and spectroscopic techniques to address questions about material procurement, technological choices, and human mobility in prehistoric and historic contexts. Key themes include pigment provenance studies, lithic raw material circulation, and cultural connections across diverse regions.

Her research spans global case studies from Patagonia to the Yucatán Peninsula, involving projects like ochre mining in submerged caves (Mexico), obsidian sourcing in Argentina/Chile, and pigment analysis in African archaeological sites. She emphasizes collaborative, community-engaged approaches in fieldwork and lab-based analysis.

Publications highlight methodological advancements in geochemical analysis, including neutron activation analysis (NAA), laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), and portable XRF applications. These techniques enable tracing material origins and reconstructing ancient production networks.