Ben Thomas
Ben Thomas is the Director of Programs for the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) in Boston and an Assistant Professor in the Liberal Arts Department at Berklee College of Music. As Director of Programs for the AIA, Ben is responsible for the Institute’s outreach activities including International Archaeology Day and the 118-year old lecture program, the site preservation program, the 109 AIA local societies, all grants and awards, and membership. Ben is a Maya specialist with a specific interest in Ancient Maya settlements and architecture. He received his Ph.D. from Boston University after several years of fieldwork in the jungles and swamps of Belize and Guatemala. Recently, he has been trying to understand how the ancient Maya perceived their landscape and how this perception impacted the development of their communities. At Berklee he introduces students to Mesoamerican art and archaeology and some of the great archaeological discoveries that have been made in the last 300 years.
