Christopher John Scarre is an academic and writer in the fields of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

pre-history Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

and

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

. He is Professor of Archaeology at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

and was head of its archaeology department 2010–2013.

Early life

Scarre studied at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree, that was later promoted to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Cantab) degree. He then undertook

postgraduate study Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

of landscape change and archaeological sites in western France, culminating in a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) degree.

Academic career

Scarre was Deputy Director of the

McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research is a research institute of the University of Cambridge in England. History The institute was established in 1990 through a benefaction from the late Dr Daniel McLean McDonald, a successful in ...

at the

from its foundation in 1990 to 2005. In January 2006, Scarre was appointed Professor of Prehistory at the Department of Archaeology of the

. In 2006, he was Professeur Invité at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

in Paris. He has directed and co-directed

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

at a number of prehistoric sites. These include sites in France, Portugal, and the Channel Islands. Beginning in 2008, he led excavations exploring the prehistoric monuments of

Herm Herm (Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, ...

. This project was

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts a ...

-funded and a final excavation was under taken in the summer of 2011. He was editor of the Cambridge Archaeological Journal from 1991 to 2005. He is the current editor of the international academic journal '' Antiquity'', having been appointed in January 2013. In 2007, he was elected to the post of Trustee of the

Council for British Archaeology The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity established in 1944 in the UK. It works to involve people in archaeology and to promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and fut ...

Personal life

His brother, Geoffrey Scarre, is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Durham.

Honours

On 9 January 1986, Scarre was elected Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA).

Selected works

* * * * * Mohen, Jean-Pierre, Scarre, Chris ''Les Tumulus de Bougon.'' 2002, Complexe mégalithique du Ve au IIIe millénaire. Paris: Errance. * Scarre, Chris, Fagan, Brian M. ''Ancient Civilizations''. 2002, New York: Prentice Hall. * ''Les Monuments Mégalithiques de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande''. 2005, Paris: Errance. * * * * * * *

Editorial activity

* ''Megalithic Quarrying: Sourcing, extracting and manipulating the stones''. 2009, Oxford: Archaeopress. * * Laporte, Luc, Joussaume, Roger & Scarre, Chris ''Origin and Development of the Megalithic Monuments of Western Europe.'' 2006. Bougon: Musée des Tumulus de Bougon. * * Cherry, John, Scarre, Chris & Shennan, Stephen ''Explaining Social Change: studies in honour of Colin Renfrew.'' 2004. McDonald Institute Monographs. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. * * ''The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World'' (1999). * Editor-in-chief of the '' Cambridge Archaeological Journal'' (1990–2005).

References

External links

"Archaeologist Chris Scarre finds fascination in discovering the past by examining its material remains.", ''History Today''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarre, Chris Living people Academics of Durham University Alumni of the University of Cambridge English archaeologists Academic journal editors Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Academics of the University of Cambridge Year of birth missing (living people) Antiquity (journal) editors