Jeffrey Ferguson

Jeffrey Ferguson is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri, specializing in archaeometric approaches to precolonial exchange systems. His research employs geochemical sourcing techniques (XRF, NAA) to reconstruct ancient mobility, trade, and technological practices across the Americas, with particular focus on the US Southwest and Caribbean.

Methodological expertise includes:

• Non-destructive chemical characterization of artifacts
• Ceramic petrography and compositional analysis
• Lithic provenance studies
• Statistical modeling of exchange networks

Current field projects investigate resource procurement strategies in Ancestral Pueblo communities and precolonial pottery production in Jamaica. His laboratory directs the Archaeometry Lab at MURR (University of Missouri Research Reactor), supporting scientific analysis of archaeological materials.