V. Gordon Childe

Vere Gordon Childe (14 April 1892 – 19 October 1957), better known as V. Gordon Childe, was an Australian archaeologist and philologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory. A vocal socialist, Childe accepted the socio-economic theory of Marxism and was an early, though unorthodox, proponent of Marxist archaeology, which he combined with his culture-historical archaeological perspective. Childe worked for most of his life as an academic in the United Kingdom, initially at the University of Edinburgh, and later at the Institute of Archaeology, London. He also wrote a number of groundbreaking books on the subject of archaeology and prehistory, most notably Man Makes Himself (1936) and What Happened in History (1942).

Born in Sydney, New South Wales into a middle-class family of English descent, Childe studied at the University of Sydney before moving to England where he studied at the University of Oxford. Upon returning to Australia he was prevented from working in academia because of his political views and so took up employment working for the Australian Labor Party before he once more returned to England, settling down in London. Here he proceeded through a variety of jobs, all the time continuing his research into European prehistory by making various journeys across the continent, and eventually publishing his findings in academic papers and books.

From 1927 through to 1946 he was employed as the Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, and at that time was responsible for the excavation of the unique Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae and the chambered tomb of Maeshowe, both in Orkney, northern Scotland. Becoming a co-founder and president of the Prehistoric Society, it was also at this time that he came to embrace Marxism and became a noted sympathiser with the Soviet Union, particularly during the Second World War. In 1947 he was offered the post of director at the Institute of Archaeology, something that he took up until 1957, when he retired. That year he committed suicide by jumping off of a cliff in the Australian Blue Mountains near to where he was born.

Widely regarded as one of the most important archaeologists and prehistorians of his generation, he became known as the "great synthesizer" for his work in synthesizing regional research into a broader picture of Near Eastern and European prehistory. He was also renowned for his emphasis on revolutionary technological and economic developments in human society, such as the Neolithic Revolution and the Urban Revolution, in this manner being influenced by Marxist ideas on societal development.