Email:

thomasdSPAMFILTER@amnh.org

Phone:

212-769-5890

Fax:

212-769-5334

Curriculum Vitae (short version)

Education

• University of California, Davis, Ph.D., 1971
• University of California, Davis, Ph.C., 1970
• University of California, Davis, M.A., 1968
• University of California, Davis, B.A., 1967

Research Interests

Dr. Thomas recently completed 30 years of archaeological research on St. Catherine's Island, off the Atlantic Coast of Georgia. Using remote sensing technology, his team discovered the long-lost site of the Franciscan mission St. Catalina de Guale (1566-1680) and conducted major excavations there for a dozen years. With fieldwork completed, the team is preparing publications about its discoveries. Recently, Dr. Thomas and his team have been excavating the ruins of the Spanish Mission (1620-80) located about 20 miles south of Santa Fe. The archaeologists are using a sophisticated array of remote sensing technologies to map the subsurface structure of the site, and then excavating significant architectural features in the church and convent area. This project includes a unique intern program involving high-school-age members of the local descendant (Hispanic and Pueblo Indian) communities. Dr. Thomas's scholarly research focuses on redefining the relationship between Native American and anthropological communities. His book, Skull Wars, traces the development of the current tensions in these relationships over the past two centuries, while seeking ways to build bridges between the groups' diverse perspectives. He has organized and directed more than 100 archaeological excavations, including the discovery of the Gatecliff Shelter in Nevada, the deepest archaeological rock shelter in the Americas.

• Publications

  2013. Archaeology. 6th Edition, 468 pp. New York: Wadsworth Cengage Learning [by Robert L. Kelly and David H. Thomas].

  2013. The Archaeology of Monitor Valley: 4. Alta Toquima and the Mt. Jefferson Tablelands Complex. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History [by David H. Thomas and Lorann S. A. Pendleton; in prep].

  2012. Seasonality and Mobility on the Georgia Bight: Why Should We Care? In Seasonality and Mobility on the Georgia Bight, edited by Elizabeth J. Reitz, Irvy R. Quitmyer and David H. Thomas, pp. 19-36. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 97.

  2011. Why this Archaeologist Cares about Geoarchaeology: Some Pasts and Futures of St. Catherines Island. In The Geoarchaeology of St. Catherines Island (Georgia), edited by Gale A. Bishop, Harold B. Rollins, and David H. Thomas. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 94:25-66.

  2011. Rick West's Vision for the National Museum of the American Indian: An 18-year Odyssey. In Past, Present, and Future Challenges of the National Museum of the American Indian, edited by David H. Thomas. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. and New York, pp. 13-23.

  2008. Native American Landscapes of St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 88 (1-3): 1-1136.

  2001. Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity, revised edition. New York: Basic Books. 350 pp.

  1989-1991. Columbian Consequences, 3 volumes. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

  1983-1988. The Archaeology of Monitor Valley, vol. 1-3. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History.

  Complete List of David Thomas' Publications

• Teaching Experience

  Faculty Appointments

  • Adjunct Professor, Columbia University, 1991-present
  • Adjunct Member, Doctoral Faculty, The Graduate School and University Center, CUNY, 1991-present
  • Adjunct Professor, NYU, 1986-1987
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1979-present
  • Research Associate, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, 1976-1985
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, CCNY, 1971-1972; Chairman of the Department, spring, 1972; Adjunct Assistant Professor, 1972-1975
  • Adjunct Research Professor, Desert Research Institute, Reno, 1980-1982
  • Visiting Professor, University of Tennessee, 1978
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor, NYU, 1973-1975
  • Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, summers of 1970, 1971; spring, 1971
  • Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, summer, 1969