Rhys Maengwyn Jones (26 February 1941 – 19 September 2001) was a Welsh-

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...

Biography

Jones was born in

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog () is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,0 ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

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 The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where he later completed his PhD on Tasmanian Aboriginal archaeology. In 1969 he moved on to the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

where he spent the rest of his career. He was an Honorary Professor of the

University of Wales, Newport The University of Wales, Newport (), was a public university based in Newport, Wales, Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was founded as a mechanics' institute in 1841 ...

, and a Fellow of the

University of Wales, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest Academic degree, degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers sinc ...

. For one year, he was Australian Visiting Professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He was married to fellow archaeologist Betty Meehan, with whom he travelled to

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

in the 1970s to live alongside and observe the Anbarra people. He was a key figure in dating the arrival of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, first with

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

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. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours Jones was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

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".

Legacy

The

Australian Archaeological Association The Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) is an archaeological organisation in Australia. Membership is open to anyone interested in furthering archaeology in Australia. Sometimes referred to by the nickname ''Triple A'', the association wa ...

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 Isabel McBryde (born 16 July 1934) is an Australian archaeologist and emeritus professor at the Australian National University (ANU) and School Fellow, in the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts. McBryde is credited with training "at lea ...

Harry Lourandos Harry Lourandos (born 1945) is an Australian archaeologist, adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology, Archaeology and Sociology, School of Arts and Social Sciences at James Cook University, Cairns. He is a leading proponent of the the ...

, Mike Smith,

Sharon Sullivan Sharon Sullivan is an Australian archaeologist, advocate of Indigenous Australian rights, and author of five books on heritage management. She is best known for her work in establishing protocols and programs for cultural heritage management i ...

and Anne Clarke (archaeologist).

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading