Nicholas Jeremy Thomas (born 1960) is an Australian-born

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, Professor of Historical Anthropology, and Director,

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, also known as MAA, at the University of Cambridge houses the university's collections of local antiquities, together with archaeological and ethnographic artefacts from around the world. The museum ...

since 2006, and Fellow of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

since 2007.

Career

Thomas was born in Australia in 1960. In 1984 he travelled to the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

to research his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

thesis on the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

. He has worked in Fiji and New Zealand, various archives and museums in Europe, North America, and in the Pacific region. He was elected as a Corresponding Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

in 1997, and around that time was also the inaugural Director of the

Centre for Cross-Cultural Research The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

(CCR) at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. Thomas was elected to the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 2005, and became a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 2007. He participated in a workshop at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

from November 2016 to examine the provenance of the Gweagal Shield, the shield originating from the

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

Gweagal people of the

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

area, believed to have been taken in April 1770 by

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

's expedition. The workshop concluded that it was not that specific shield, and Thomas' paper on it was published whose paper was included in ''

Australian Historical Studies ''Australian Historical Studies'', formerly known as ''Historical Studies: Australia and New Zealand'' (1940–1967) and ''Historical Studies'' (1967–1987), is one of the oldest historical journals in Australia. It is regarded as the countr ...

'' along with another report from the workshop.

Current positions

he is Professor of Historical Anthropology and Director at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, a member of the Conseil d’orientation scientifique of the Musée du Quai Branly in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

as well as the International Advisory Board of the

Humboldt Forum The Humboldt Forum is a museum dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Berlin Palace on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It is in honour of the Prussian scholars Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt. Considere ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Awards and honours

He was awarded the 2010

Wolfson History Prize The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional works ...

for his book ''Islanders: The Pacific in the Age of Empire''.

Selected publications

* ''Islanders: The Pacific in the Age of Empire'' (2012) * '' Rauru: Tene Waitere, Maori Carving, Colonial History'' (2008), with Mark Adams * ''Hiapo: Past and present in Niuean barkcloth'' (2005), with John Pule, * ''Discoveries: the Voyages of Captain James Cook'' (2003) *''Possessions: Indigenous Art/Colonial Culture'' (1999) * ''Oceanic Art (World of Art)'' (1995), * ''Entangled Objects'' (1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Nicholas Jemery 1960 births Living people British archaeologists Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge British anthropologists Australian anthropologists