This week on my blog I will talk about Vere Gordon Childe (1892-1957), who was a very important Australian archaeologist of the early twentieth century.
Usually known as just Gordon Childe, he was perhaps best known for his excavation of the unique neolithic site of Skara Brae in Orkney and for his Marxist views which influenced his thinking about prehistory. He is also credited with coining the terms "Neolithic Revolution" and "Urban Revolution". He was one of the great archaeological synthesizers attempting to place his discoveries inside a theory of prehistoric development on a wider European and world scale.
Some of his most important books are The Dawn of European Civilisation (1925), The Aryans: a study of Indo-European origins, (1926), The Most Ancient East (1928), What Happened in History (1942) and Man Makes Himself (1951). These books, published almost 90 years ago, appear today as some of the most important works in the history of archaeological thought.
In general, the influence of Childe has been present in a number of archaeological schools, from the mid-twentieth century to the present. As we have said, the terms "Neolithic Revolution" and "urban revolution" were some of his most popular contributions. However, all approaches have also influenced a number of archaeologists of the processual school and post-processual, in recent decades.
Personally, I admire Gordon Childe because he was the first professional Marxist archaeologist. In few words, I admire Childe by being able to apply the Marxist theory of history in the archaeological interpretation of prehistoric.
Usually known as just Gordon Childe, he was perhaps best known for his excavation of the unique neolithic site of Skara Brae in Orkney and for his Marxist views which influenced his thinking about prehistory. He is also credited with coining the terms "Neolithic Revolution" and "Urban Revolution". He was one of the great archaeological synthesizers attempting to place his discoveries inside a theory of prehistoric development on a wider European and world scale.
Some of his most important books are The Dawn of European Civilisation (1925), The Aryans: a study of Indo-European origins, (1926), The Most Ancient East (1928), What Happened in History (1942) and Man Makes Himself (1951). These books, published almost 90 years ago, appear today as some of the most important works in the history of archaeological thought.
In general, the influence of Childe has been present in a number of archaeological schools, from the mid-twentieth century to the present. As we have said, the terms "Neolithic Revolution" and "urban revolution" were some of his most popular contributions. However, all approaches have also influenced a number of archaeologists of the processual school and post-processual, in recent decades.
Personally, I admire Gordon Childe because he was the first professional Marxist archaeologist. In few words, I admire Childe by being able to apply the Marxist theory of history in the archaeological interpretation of prehistoric.
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