Christopher M. Stevenson

Christopher M. Stevenson is a Professor and Anthropology Coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth University's College of Humanities and Sciences, specializing in Pacific archaeology and obsidian hydration dating. He has conducted extensive fieldwork on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) since the 1980s, focusing on prehistoric settlement patterns, rock gardens, and material culture analysis.

• Ph.D. in Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University (1984)
• M.A. in Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University (1979)
• B.A. in Anthropology, Marquette University (1976)

His research interests span obsidian hydration dating methodology, prehistoric agricultural systems, copper artifact geochemistry, and cultural-environmental dynamics in Polynesia and North America. Recent publications demonstrate expertise in infrared spectroscopy applications and computational models for dating ancient materials.

Scientific awards include collaborative research funding for Pacific archaeology projects. He has supervised field studies on Rapa Nui's rock gardens and led investigations into Virginia's colonial-era copper trade networks.

Stevenson's lab focuses on geochemical sourcing using portable X-ray fluorescence and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), particularly for obsidian and jasper artifacts across Polynesian and North American contexts.