Ellis Pryce-Jones was a Canadian-American amateur archaeologist and theatre scholar who was born in Vancouver on May 12, 1945. During his childhood, Pryce-Jones was a child actor in shows such as “Barney’s Gang” and “Follow Me” and soon received a scholarship to the Banff School of Fine Arts. Pryce-Jones was known to be a young, local, amateur archaeologist in the Vancouver area, which led to his participation in filmed television programmes concerning archaeological sites. He kept detailed
records in his notebooks about the “finds” he made while practicing archaeology, most of which were in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver. He went on to attend the University of British Columbia where he studied theatre. During his time at UBC, Pryce-Jones became further involved in archaeology and worked with Dr. Charles Borden on projects at c̓əsnaʔəm (formerly called the “Marpole Midden”). Much of this work and the reported “finds” of Pryce-Jones occurred on the property of Ernie Burnett in
the Marpole area. He often traded artifacts in his personal collection with other archaeologists. He also participated in archaeological work on Vancouver Island and occasionally worked with Wilson Duff and John Sendey. After graduating from the theatre program at UBC in 1969, he then completed a master of fine arts degree in design from the Yale School of Drama in 1972. He was hired at the University of Las Vegas in 1972, where he became known for outstanding work in the theatre department, specializing in costume
and scene design. In 2003, he received the Charles Vanda Award for Excellence in the Arts as well as countless other awards for his work in the Nevada arts community. He died suddenly during his time in Las Vegas on Nov. 5, 2004.