V. Gordon Childe

Who was V. Gordon Childe?

Vere Gordon Childe, better known as V. Gordon Childe, was an Australian archaeologist and philologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory. Working most of his life as an academic in the United Kingdom for the University of Edinburgh and then the Institute of Archaeology, London, he wrote many influential books and was an early proponent of culture-historical archaeology and Marxist archaeology.

Born in Sydney, New South Wales, to a middle-class family of English descent, Childe studied at the University of Sydney before moving to England to study at the University of Oxford. Returning to Australia, he was prevented from working in academia because of his socialist political views, instead working for the Australian Labor Party. Emigrating to London, he continued his research into European prehistory through various journeys across the continent, publishing his findings in academic papers and books.

From 1927 through to 1946 he worked as the Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, overseeing excavation of the unique Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae and the chambered tomb of Maeshowe, both in Orkney, Scotland. Becoming co-founder and president of The Prehistoric Society, he embraced Marxism and became a noted sympathiser with the Soviet Union. From 1947 to 1957 he worked as director of the Institute of Archaeology, continuing to publish his research. Upon retirement, he returned home to the Australian Blue Mountains, there committing suicide.