Dr. Alexander Geurds

Alexander Geurds is Associate Professor and Senior Researcher in the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, UK and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University, the Netherlands. He also holds a position as Assistant Professor Adjunct at the University of Colorado (Boulder, USA) and currently serves as Academic Director of the Netherlands Research School for Archaeology ARCHON. He is the founding editor of the book series ‘The Early Americas: History and Culture’ at Brill Publishers. He recently co-edited The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization (2017) and is currently working on a monograph on prehistoric stone sculpture from central Nicaragua

Primarily working on the prehistory of Middle and South America, his broader research interests focus on monumental sculpture, technology and practice in prehistory, archaeological ethics, the contemporary conditions of archaeological fieldwork, and the history of archaeology in the Americas.

Alexander Geurds has broad experience in conducting archaeological field research, working with museum collections and in historical archives in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru. He has experience in engaging in semi-structured interviews, leading co-creative community consultations, and advising on archaeological exhibits in regional museum in parts of Central America. 

The cross-disciplinary and locally engaged structure of his research, integrating archaeology, history, soil science, and ethnography, has enabled him to generate ground-breaking data on poorly known archaeological regions, and improve understanding of symbolic forms of human-environmental interaction. His research is coupled with a commitment to public engagement at the local level through research impact studies to promote social resilience and cultural awareness in the economically challenged regions of Nicaragua, and assist in forming archaeological expertise across Central America. He is also promoting the indigenous past of the area more widely through his long-standing contributions to National Geographic outreach and educational programs.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society and a National Geographic Society Explorer. His research in parts of Central America is consistently supported by external grants, including three National Geographic grants, the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research (NWO Rubicon, Veni), and the European Research Council Advanced grant (MesoAndLin(g)k).

Links:

University of Oxford Personal Page

Wolfson College, Oxford, Personal Page

University of Leiden Personal Page

ERC Advanced Grant MesoAndLin(g)k  

Personal page (National Geographic Society) 

The Early Americas: History and Culture (Brill Publishers)