Professor appointed research associate of Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Thomas Wake, assistant adjunct professor of anthropology who is on the faculty of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, has been appointed a research associate of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

The organization was founded with the purpose of increasing and sharing knowledge about tropical ecosystems and their relevance to human welfare. The status of associate is awarded to individuals who have a record of research activity in the institution and who are considered to merit a formal scholarly affiliation. As a research associate, Wake will continue archaeological research with students, researchers and colleagues of the institution in Panama. 

Wake’s interests include archaeological and zooarchaeological research along the eastern Pacific Rim, food and ethnicity, the Caribbean Panama, human paleoecology and comparative osteology.