Jacob Bongers is an anthropological archaeologist with a PhD in archaeology from the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. He employs multidisciplinary methodologies built around archaeological science and digital archaeology to investigate how Indigenous communities confront social and environmental change. His doctoral research examined how groups configured ritualized behaviors to deal with imperial conquest in southern Peru. His current research explores how Indigenous communities in highland and coastal Peru mitigate climatic hazards and conflict in everyday life. He specializes in archaeological survey, geospatial mapping, GIS analysis, photogrammetry, and aerial photography. Bongers has conducted archaeological fieldwork in Portugal, Chile, Ethiopia, Oman, and Peru.  

As a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow and a Ford Predoctoral Fellow, Jacob participated in programs that seek to diversify university faculties. As a researcher, he enjoys mentoring students, passing along transferrable skills in digital archaeology and including them in fieldwork and laboratory activities.