Rhys Jones (archaeologist)

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Rhys Jones
Born
Rhys Maengwyn Jones

(1941-02-26)26 February 1941
Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales
Died19 September 2001(2001-09-19) (aged 60)
Australia
NationalityAustralian
OccupationArchaeologist
Years active1963–2001
Known forTasmanian research

Rhys Maengwyn Jones AO (26 February 1941 – 19 September 2001) was a Welsh-Australian archeologist.[1]

Biography[]

Jones was born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales and educated at Whitchurch Grammar School, Cardiff. He was an undergraduate at Emmanuel College, Cambridge where Graham Clarke, Eric Higgs and Charles McBurney were his instructors in archaeology. He spoke Welsh fluently.

He arrived in Australia in 1963 to take up a teaching position at the University of Sydney, where he later completed his PhD on Tasmanian Aboriginal archaeology. In 1969 he moved on to the Australian National University where he spent the rest of his career. He was an Honorary Professor of the University of Wales, Newport, and a Fellow of the University of Wales, Lampeter. For one year, he was Australian Visiting Professor at Harvard University.

He was married to fellow archaeologist Betty Meehan, with whom he travelled to Arnhem Land in the 1970s to live alongside and observe the Anbarra people.[2]

He was a key figure in dating the arrival of Aboriginal Australians, first with radiocarbon dating and later with luminescence techniques, and, more generally, in the study of the archeology of Indigenous Australians.

He was credited with naming the Aboriginal practice of "cultural burning" as fire-stick farming.[3]

In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours Jones was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for "service to archaeology, particularly in the areas of research and teaching, and as a leader in matters relating to world heritage, conservation and indigenous social justice issues".[4]

Legacy[]

The Australian Archaeological Association established the Rhys Jones Medal in 2002, to honour Jones. Awarded annually, it is the highest award offered by the Australian Archaeological Association. Notable winners have been John Mulvaney, Isabel McBryde, Harry Lourandos, , and Sharon Sullivan.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Rhys Maengwyn Jones". Australian Archaeology Association. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  2. ^ Hiatt, Les (5 October 2001). "Obituary - Rhys Jones". Obituaries Australia. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ Bird, R. Bliege; Bird, D.W.; Codding, B.F.; Parker, C.H.; Jones (30 September 2008). "The "fire stick farming" hypothesis: Australian Aboriginal foraging strategies, biodiversity, and anthropogenic fire mosaics". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 105 (39): 14796–14801. doi:10.1073/pnas.0804757105. PMC 2567447. PMID 18809925.
  4. ^ "Emeritus Professor Rhys Maengwyn JONES". It's an Honour. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  5. ^ "Rhys Jones Medal". Australian Archaeological Association. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

Further reading[]


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