John Douglas is an anthropological archaeologist specializing in the native people and prehistory of northwest Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. Douglas is a pioneer in the archaeology of northeast Sonora and southeast Arizona, focusing on late prehistoric social complexity and the influence of Paquimé in northwest Chihuahua. His research explores the development of hierarchical societies, particularly the interactions and exchange systems between societies of varying scales in the region.
 
Currently, Douglas is reexamining archaeological and Spanish documentary evidence for Indigenous peoples in present-day northwest Chihuahua during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This research, initiated during a 2021 sabbatical, investigates the origins of the "Suma" in the Casas Grandes Valley, seeking to reframe the narrative surrounding the Indigenous people of the region.
 
His extensive fieldwork outside of northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest includes co-teaching the UM archaeological field school at Cahal Pech (2011-2019), focused on Maya society of the upper Belize Valley near the end of the Classic Period. Other key projects involved research into ancient cultures of the lower Amazon Basin, Brazil, and historic Virginia City, Montana. His methodological interests includes artifact analysis.

Douglas teaches method and theory courses, as well as regional archaeology courses for North America and Mesoamerica, and advises graduate students on a wide range of anthropological topics.