Rhys Jones

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Rhys Maengwyn Jones (1941 – September 19, 2001) was a Welsh-Australian archeologist.

Jones was born in Wales. He received his PhD at Cambridge University specialising in the economic and technological interactions of Stone Age people.

He arrived in Australia in 1963 to take up a teaching position at the University of Sydney, and moved on to the Australian National University in 1969 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 a key figure in dating the arrival of Indigenous Australians, first with radiocarbon dating and later with luminescence techniques, and, more generally, in the study of the archeology of Indigenous Australians.

The Australian Archeological Association awards the Rhys Jones Medal annually. It is the highest award offered by the Australian Archaeological Association.