Dr. Thomas recently completed 30 years of archaeological research on St. Catherine's Island, off the Atlantic Coast of Georgia. Using remote sensing technology, his team discovered the long-lost site of the Franciscan mission St. Catalina de Guale (1566-1680) and conducted major excavations there for a dozen years. With fieldwork completed, the team is preparing publications about its discoveries. Recently, Dr. Thomas and his team have been excavating the ruins of the Spanish Mission (1620-80) located about 20 miles south of Santa Fe. The archaeologists are using a sophisticated array of remote sensing technologies to map the subsurface structure of the site, and then excavating significant architectural features in the church and convent area. This project includes a unique intern program involving high-school-age members of the local descendant (Hispanic and Pueblo Indian) communities. Dr. Thomas's scholarly research focuses on redefining the relationship between Native American and anthropological communities. His book, Skull Wars, traces the development of the current tensions in these relationships over the past two centuries, while seeking ways to build bridges between the groups' diverse perspectives. He has organized and directed more than 100 archaeological excavations, including the discovery of the Gatecliff Shelter in Nevada, the deepest archaeological rock shelter in the Americas.