David H. Thomas
David Hurst Thomas has served since 1972 as Curator of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History (New York). A specialist in Native American archaeology, he has taught at Columbia University, among others. In 1970, he discovered Gatecliff Shelter (Nevada), the deepest archaeological rockshelter in the Americas. Thomas also discovered the 16th-/17th-century Franciscan mission Santa Catalina de Guale (Georgia). Since 1998, he has led excavations at Mission San Marcos, near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Thomas has written 30 books, edited 90 additional volumes, and authored numerous scientific papers. His most recent book is the best-selling “Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity” (Basic Books, 2000, 2001). His archaeological research has been featured in The New York Times and National Geographic, and in 2014 Thomas was awarded the Founders’ Lifetime Achievement Award by the Great Basin Anthropological Association.
