Grahame Clark
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Sir John Grahame Douglas Clark (28 July 1907 – 12 September 1995), who often published as J. G. D. Clark, was a British
archaeologist 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, ...
who specialised in the study of
Mesolithic Europe The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
and palaeoeconomics. He spent most of his career working 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 ...
, where he was appointed Disney Professor of Archaeology from 1952 to 1974 and
Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
of
Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
from 1973 to 1980. Born in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
to an upper-middle-class family, Clark developed an early interest in archaeology through his collection of prehistoric flint tools. After an education at
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...
, he proceeded to
Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
in the University of Cambridge, there attaining both his undergraduate and then doctoral degree. For the latter, he produced a thesis and published monograph focusing on Mesolithic Britain. In 1932, he co-founded the Fenland Research Committee, through which he excavated several prehistoric sites in the East Anglian Fens. He was also a senior member of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia and played an instrumental role in transforming it into The Prehistoric Society in 1935. He served as the editor of its
academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...
, the ''Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society'', from 1933 until 1970. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Clark was drafted into the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...
. He remained in Britain, working on aerial reconnaissance, and wrote further archaeological research articles in his spare time. After the war he returned to Cambridge University, where he was employed as a full-time lecturer. Over the course of 1949, 1950, and 1951, he excavated the important Mesolithic settlement site of
Star Carr Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles () south of Scarborough. It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain. It is as important to ...
in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
. Other excavations carried out under his directorship included that of an Iron Age settlement on Micklemoor Hill,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, and the Neolithic site of Hurst Fen,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. In 1951 he was made a Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
, in 1952 appointed to Cambridge's Disney Chair, and in 1959 elected President of the Prehistoric Society. In later life he travelled the globe more extensively, often as a
visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...
. In these years, he also wrote more prolifically, although these books typically received a less enthusiastic reception than his earlier work. Clark was not a popular figure among the British archaeological community, being regarded as a competitive and remote individual who craved recognition. He was nevertheless regarded as one of the most important prehistorians of his generation. He was particularly noted for his emphasis on exploring the economies and environmental conditions of prehistoric Europe. His career was recognised by a number of accolades, including the Dutch
Erasmus Prize The Erasmus Prize is an annual prize awarded by the board of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation to individuals or institutions that have made exceptional contributions to culture, society, or social science in Europe and the rest of the world. I ...
and a British knighthood, and he was the subject of a posthumous biography by Brian Fagan.


Biography


Early life: 1907–27

John Grahame Douglas Clark was born on 28 July 1907. He was the eldest son of Maude Ethel Grahame Clark (née Shaw) and Charles Douglas Clark, the latter being a stockbroker and a reserve officer in the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. The family were upper middle-class and moderately prosperous. They lived in the village of Shortlands, near to
Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
in
West Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Recent excavations and radiometric dating at a Lower Palaeolithic site at the West Gravel Pit, Fordwich, near Canterbury confirmed the ...
. At the outbreak of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Charles Clark joined the West Kent Regiment and was sent to fight overseas. He survived the war, but during his return to Britain in 1919 succumbed to the
influenza pandemic An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads across a large region (either multiple continents or worldwide) and infects a large proportion of the population. There have been five major influenza pandemics in the l ...
and died mid-journey. Grahame Clark grew up without a father, instead being raised by his mother and an uncle for whom he had great affection. According to the available evidence, Clark's childhood was a happy one. His family moved to Seaford, a coastal town on the edge of the
Sussex Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the E ...
, with the young Clark developing a fascination with the prehistoric flint tools that he collected on the Downs. In 1921 Clark began an education at
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...
in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
, where he joined the school's Natural History Society. Aside from his interest in prehistoric tools—which earned him the school nickname "Stones and Bones"—he was also fascinated by the butterflies and moths that could be found in Wiltshire. During his time at the college he visited the
archaeological excavation 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 ...
of Windmill Hill run by Alexander Keiller, and became an early subscriber to the archaeological journal '' Antiquity''. His interest in archaeology was encouraged by ''Antiquitys editor, O. G. S. Crawford, and he published articles on prehistoric tools in the Natural History Society's ''Reports''. Having familiarised himself with much of the literature on prehistory, including V. Gordon Childe's influential 1925 book ''The Dawn of European Civilisation'', in his final year at Marlborough Clark gave a talk on the subject of "Progress in Prehistoric Times". By the time that he left the school he was committed to the idea of becoming a professional archaeologist. In this period most prehistoric archaeologists were non-professional hobbyists, and of the few archaeological jobs available most were in museums.


University education: 1927–34

In 1920s, Britain there were few universities that taught courses in prehistory or archaeology. One was the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, although Clark was unsuccessful in attaining a scholarship to attend
St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...
. Turning to 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 applied to join
Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
and while they too turned him down for a scholarship, they admitted him as a "pensioner", or a student who pays for their own tuition. He began his degree in 1927, and during his first two years was enrolled on the history
tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
. He attended lectures by
economic historians Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of ...
like Michael Postan, which would influence his later archaeological approach to the economies of prehistoric societies. During these years he had continued his research into archaeology on an independent basis, producing articles on prehistoric stone tools that were published in the journals ''
Sussex Archaeological Collections ''Sussex Archaeological Collections'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering archaeological topics. The journal is published by the Sussex Archaeological Society and was established in 1848. History The Sussex Archaeological Socie ...
'' and the '' Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia''. In 1928, Clark began his studies in archaeology, which was then taught alongside
physical anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a natural science discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from ...
and
social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...
within the university's anthropology department. The department was run by the Disney Professor Ellis Minns—whose ideas influenced Clark—while the archaeology curriculum was largely organised by Miles Burkitt, an unpaid lecturer of private means. Providing himself with a broad-based grounding in archaeology, Clark sat in on lectures given by archaeologists like
Gertrude Caton Thompson Gertrude Caton Thompson (1 February 1888 – 18 April 1985) was an English archaeologist at a time when participation by women in the discipline was uncommon. Much of her archaeological work was conducted in Egypt. However, she also worked on e ...
, Dorothy Garrod,
Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...
, and Childe. Although the Cambridge syllabus did not provide opportunities for excavation, Clark assisted the non-professional archaeologist Eliot Curwen during his excavations of the Whitehawk Neolithic causewayed camp near
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
and then The Trundle, an Iron Age hillfort and Neolithic causewayed enclosure near
Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...
. It was at the latter that he befriended two fellow excavators,
Stuart Piggott Stuart Ernest Piggott, (28 May 1910 – 23 September 1996) was a British archaeologist, best known for his work on prehistoric Wessex. Early life Piggott was born in Petersfield, Hampshire, the son of G. H. O. Piggott, and was educated ...
and Charles Philips, who became lifelong friends. He also visited a number of
Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Military Cross, MC Territorial Decoration, TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeolo ...
's excavations, although never worked on them. Clark graduated in 1930 with a first-class honours degree. Clark then registered as a doctoral student, being awarded a Hugo de Balsham studentship at Peterhouse from 1930 to 1932, and then a Bye Fellowship from 1932 to 1935. At Burkitt's suggestion, he devoted his thesis largely to the Mesolithic—or 'Middle Stone Age'—period of British prehistory. At the time little was known about Mesolithic Britain as few scholars had paid attention to it, and most of the archaeological evidence for it consisted of scattered flint tools. Burkitt served as his supervisor, although largely left Clark to his own devices. Clark initially familiarised himself with the evidence for Mesolithic society in continental Europe by travelling to Denmark and Sweden in 1929, where he had a chance meeting with Sophus Müller. On his return to Britain he began a systematic examination of Mesolithic stone tool collections that were held in both museums and private collections across the country, listing these many artefacts within a database. From this he was able to map the distribution of such Mesolithic tool assemblages across the island. On the basis of this research he wrote ''The Mesolithic Age in Britain'', which was published to critical acclaim by
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
in 1932. The book took a conservative approach to the subject by being heavily artefact-focused, although reflected Clark's growing interest in ecology and the role of Mesolithic society in adapting to
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
by discussing the technique of
pollen analysis Palynology is the study of microorganisms and microscopic fragments of mega-organisms that are composed of acid-resistant organic material and occur in sediments, sedimentary rocks, and even some metasedimentary rocks. Palynomorphs are the mic ...
—which had recently been developed in Scandinavia—as a means of understanding ancient changes in the vegetation. Influenced by Childe, the book was rooted in the theoretical perspective of
culture-historical archaeology Culture-historical archaeology is an archaeological theory that emphasises defining historical societies into distinct ethnic and cultural groupings according to their material culture. It originated in the late nineteenth century as cultural ev ...
, presenting different styles of Mesolithic tool as representations of different '
cultures Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
', which in turn represented different peoples. ''The Mesolithic Age in Britain'' formed the core of Clark's completed thesis, which was titled "The Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Early Metal Age Industries in Britain" and submitted in January 1934. After passing his
oral exam The oral exam (also oral test or '; ' in German-speaking nations) is a practice in many schools and disciplines in which an examiner poses questions to the student in spoken form. The student has to answer the question in such a way as to demons ...
, which was conducted by Thomas Kendrick at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in London, Clark was awarded his PhD in 1934. While conducting his research, he published a number of
research article Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally pub ...
s in scholarly journals such as ''Antiquity''. In 1932, he co-founded the Fenland Research Committee with the botanists Harry and Margaret Godwin; it represented a loose association of specialists in different academic fields who all had an interest in the East Anglian Fenlands. Clark served as the group's honorary secretary, and under him all of the Committee's research projects would be promptly written up and published. The group excavated at Plantation Farm near Shippea Hill, helping to establish a basic stratigraphic chronology of the Fenland's development. In 1934 they then carried out a second excavation at Peacock's Farm, which was very important for demonstrating the advantages of interdisciplinary research and for placing British prehistory within an environmental framework. In February 1932, Clark was elected to the council of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia, and in May 1933 became acting editor of the society's ''Proceedings'' at Childe's recommendation. In February 1934 he was made a permanent council member and honorary editor of the ''Proceedings''. By 1934, both Clark and contemporaries like Piggott had become increasingly influential within the British archaeological community. Previously, in February 1933, Burkitt had ensured that Clark was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Clark himself was however unpopular in many archaeological circles, a result of what his later biographer Brian Fagan described as Clark's tendency to be "extremely critical, even cruel" toward others. During his doctoral studies, he entered a relationship with an archaeology student at Girton College, Cambridge named Gwladys Maud "Mollie" White. In June 1933 the couple assisted Philips' excavation of the
long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...
atop Giant's Hill near Skendleby,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
.


Early career: 1935–39

In July 1935, Cambridge University's Department of Anthropology and Archaeology employed Clark as an assistant lecturer to teach a course on "geochronology and climatic history", and the following year his position was upgraded to that of a faculty member. In this position he trained an influential coterie of undergraduates in archaeology between 1935 and 1939, among them Charles McBurney,
Bernard Fagg Bernard Evelyn Buller Fagg MBE, (8 December 1915 – 14 August 1987) was a British archaeologist and museum curator who undertook extensive work in Nigeria before and after the Second World War. Biography Fagg was born in Upper Norwood to ...
, and
J. Desmond Clark John Desmond Clark (10 April 1916 – 14 February 2002) was a British archaeology, archaeologist noted particularly for his work on prehistoric Africa. Early life Clark was born in London, but his childhood was spent in a hamlet in the Chilte ...
. In 1935, he helped to set up the Cambridge University Archaeology Field Unit and was appointed its honorary vice president. He arranged for undergraduate members of the Field Unit to assist him in his March 1935 excavations at Mildenhall Fen, where they discovered a wealth of Bronze Age material. Over the course of 1937 and 1938, he co-ran an excavation of the Mesolithic site at
Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...
with the non-professional W. F. Rankine. The excavation only revealed some stone tools, producing no ecological data and very little evidence of any structures. Although Rankine argued that they should produce a lengthy report, Clark only wrote up the results for a 1939 article in the ''Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society''. In February 1935, Clark had suggested that the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia rename itself as the Prehistoric Society, thus stretching its remit far beyond East Anglia. A vote on the issue produced an overwhelming majority in support of the change. Membership of the group then grew rapidly; in 1935 it had 353 members, and this had increased to 668 in 1938. Under Clark's lead, the new ''Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society'' published articles by prominent archaeologists like Childe, Piggott, Philips, and Glyn Daniel, and emphasised interdisciplinary examinations that took into account the work of the
natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
s. Clark also encouraged archaeologists working on non-British prehistory to submit to the journal, and met with the prominent French archaeologist
Henri Breuil Henri Édouard Prosper Breuil (28 February 1877 – 14 August 1961), often referred to as Abbé Breuil (), was a French Catholic Church, Catholic priest, archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnologist and geologist. He studied cave art in the Somme ( ...
on the latter's visit to Cambridge. In the summer of 1936, Clark married Mollie in St Peter's Church,
Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...
. They then embarked on a
honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...
in Norway and Sweden, looking at the region's prehistoric rock art, on the subject of which Clark then produced an illustrated article for ''Antiquity''. Later that year, the couple and Philips embarked on a road trip across northern Europe, visiting archaeological sites like the
Danevirke The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish language, Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse language, Old Norse: ''Danavirki'', in German language, German: ''Danewerk'', literally meaning ''Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork of the Danes'') ...
and the Nydam Boat. In Germany they spent time at the Schleswig Museum and met with Gustav Schwantes, who took them to visit Alfred Rust's excavation of a Mesolithic site at Meiendorf. Clark and Rust got on well and remained in contact for many years. Crossing to Denmark, the trio were involved in a car crash near to
Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Sutton Hoo Mound 1 ship in 1939. In 1936,
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
published Clark's ''The Mesolithic Settlement of Northern Europe'', in which he demonstrated his growing interest in ecological and environmental themes. The book established Clark as being at the forefront of Mesolithic archaeology, and was hailed as an important and trend-setting tome which would influence generations of Mesolithic archaeologists before eventually becoming outdated due to more detailed research. In 1939 Methuen and Co published Clark's ''Archaeology and Society''. This was a textbook that outlined how to understand past societies through archaeology, and expressed the view that archaeology could be a force for peace in the world by promoting notions of human unity. In the book he condemned Soviet archaeology, believing that the Soviet government had forced archaeologists to support their pre-conceived
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
ideas about societal and economic development. He also condemned the use of archaeology in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and
Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
, claiming that they used archaeology to promote a "diseased nationalism". Published to good reviews, the book was read widely and revised editions were published in 1947 and 1952. According to the historian of archaeology Pamela Jane Smith, it became "one of Clark's most widely read and respected publications."


Second World War: 1939–45

Clark's archaeological career was put on hold during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. While awaiting enlistment into the British armed forces, Clark took lessons in Russian with Minns in order to enable him to read Soviet archaeological publications. He was then drafted into the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) Volunteer Reserve as a
pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...
, being posted to the central interpretative unit at RAF Medmenham. There, he served in the aerial photograph interpretation unit, where he worked alongside fellow archaeologists like Daniel, Garrod, Piggott, Philips, and McBurney. This grouping allowed for some continuity in the British archaeological community despite the widespread cessation of active research. During this period he lived with his wife and two children at a small, isolated house in
Little Marlow Little Marlow is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist lies at the heart of the village, not far from the river and next to th ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
. In 1944 he was transferred to the Air Historical Branch based in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, which allowed him and his family to relocate back to their Cambridge house in Barton Road. Clark used his daily commute from Cambridge into central London to edit articles submitted for the ''Proceedings''. Although all meetings of the Prehistoric Society were cancelled for the duration of the war, Clark was able to keep the journal going despite paper rationing. Clark read omnivorously and produced a steady stream of academic articles in this period. From 1942 to 1948, he published articles on such diverse subjects as water, bees, sheep, fishing, and whale hunting in prehistory. These publications reflected his interest in using recorded folk culture and historical evidence to inspire fresh interpretations of the archaeological material. In August 1943, Clark gave the opening address at the 'Future of Archaeology'
conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...
at London's Institute of Archaeology. This address was then published in ''Antiquity''. In it, Clark claimed that education in British schools was a "parody of knowledge" and that rather than emphasising competitiveness and preparing pupils for future careers, education should focus on "human well-being" and helping students to gain an understanding of both themselves and of humanity. He claimed that the teaching of prehistory—a subject he thought to be the inheritance of all humanity—would provide a good basis for a pupil's education. At the conference, he had been among those arguing that after the war the field of archaeology should not be allowed to come under increasing state control, fearing that doing so might result in British archaeology taking on increasingly nationalistic characteristics, as it had in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
.


Post-war period: 1946–51

Clark was demobilised in 1946. He returned to Cambridge University where he was appointed full lecturer in archaeology, with the department now under the leadership of Garrod. During the war he had written ''From Savagery to Civilisation'', and it was published by Cobbett Press in 1946. The book utilised the anthropologist
Edward Burnett Tylor Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (2 October 18322 January 1917) was an English anthropologist, and professor of anthropology. Tylor's ideas typify 19th-century cultural evolutionism. In his works '' Primitive Culture'' (1871) and ''Anthropology'' ...
's division of society into the categories of savagery, barbarism, and civilisation, although added the innovation of dividing savagery into higher and lower forms. Fagan later noted that in adopting Tylor's tripartite division, the book was "old-fashioned even for the 1940s". During the summer break of 1947, Clark led a team of undergraduates in the excavation of Bullock's Haste along the
Car Dyke The Car Dyke was, and to a large extent still is, a long ditch which runs along the western edge of the Fens in eastern England for a distance of over . It is generally accepted as being a Roman invasion of Britain, Roman construction and was, f ...
near Cottenham, revealing evidence of early Romano-British activity. In 1947 and in 1948, he was awarded a
Leverhulme Fellowship The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...
which allowed him to travel across much of Northern and Central Europe. He looked at the technologies and techniques of rural and fishing communities in much of Scandinavia, displaying his interest in the relationship between folk culture and ecology. He expanded the length of the ''Proceedings'' in the years following the war, now aided by Piggott and
Kenneth Oakley Kenneth Page Oakley (7 April 1911 – 2 November 1981) was an English physical anthropologist, palaeontologist and geologist. Oakley, known for his work in the Fluorine absorption dating of fossils by fluorine content, was instrumental in ...
as his editorial assistants. In 1946, Childe resigned as the Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. Clark applied to succeed him, although the position was instead given to Piggott. Piggott then invited Clark to give the Munro Lectures at Edinburgh in 1949. In 1950, he was elected to a fellowship at Peterhouse, a position that he held for the next 45 years. At the college he befriended his colleague Michael Postan, an economic historian whose research into Medieval farming techniques inspired Clark to reassess Neolithic farming. In 1951, he contributed a chapter on the use of folklore in interpreting prehistory for a ''
festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
'' devoted to Childe. Fagan later described this chapter as one of Clark's most important papers. Using his Munro Lectures as a basis, Clark also wrote a book, ''Prehistoric Europe: the Economic Basis'', which reflected his interest in ecology and the impact that it had on the economics of human society. The book received mixed reviews, although would be described by Fagan as "arguably the most influential of all Clark's books". It sold widely and was translated into several languages. Clark had been very impressed with Gerhard Bersu's excavation of the Iron Age settlement of Little Woodbury in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
in 1938 and 1939. After the war, he decided to excavate an Iron Age settlement nearer to Cambridge using the same techniques as Bersu had used. An amateur archaeologist had found early Iron Age pottery on Micklemoor Hill near West Harling in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, and Clark began an excavation of the site in 1948. However, before Clark could finish the excavation, he was distracted by a new project. In 1948, Clark was informed about a Mesolithic flint scatter that had been found in peaty deposits at Seamer Carr in
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...
by an amateur archaeologist, John Moore. Clark visited this site, known as
Star Carr Star Carr is a Mesolithic archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England. It is around five miles () south of Scarborough. It is generally regarded as the most important and informative Mesolithic site in Great Britain. It is as important to ...
, and realised that it may provide further evidence of a Mesolithic settlement. He oversaw three seasons of excavation at the site, in the summers of 1949, 1950, and 1951. The project was carried out on a shoestring budget under the auspices of Cambridge University and the Prehistoric Society. The project was consciously multidisciplinary, involving botanists from the beginning. Fagan noted that the excavation methods were "adequate, although certainly not up to Mortimer Wheeler standards". He published his results promptly, bringing out preliminary reports in the 1949 and 1950 editions of the ''Proceedings''. The final monograph was completed in December 1952 and published by Cambridge University Press in 1954. According to Fagan, it was "one of the classic archaeological monographs of the twentieth century". It was published to good reviews, and helped to establish Clark's reputation among the archaeological community in the United States. A number of American excavations—such as that at Ozette indigenous village in Washington—were influenced by its multidisciplinary approach.


Disney Chair: 1952–72

In 1952, Garrod took an early retirement and Clark was selected as her replacement for the Disney Chair. To mark this status, Cambridge University awarded him an Sc.D degree on the basis of his published work. In this position he avoided formal meetings and made decisions by himself. He failed to obtain many resources for the department from the university administration, with the department therefore remaining small under his tenure. He did however acquire funds to hire a research assistant, the first being Eric Higgs. As chair, he encouraged the staff in his department to prioritise their research over teaching, and to prioritise the teaching of graduates over undergraduates. In this position he had little personal contact with the department's students, and encouraged them to go abroad after their education, believing that the best opportunities for archaeological research lay outside Britain. He got on with some of his staff, such as
John Coles John Coles may refer to: * John David Coles, film and television director * John Coles (historian) (1930–2020), British archaeologist *John Coles (diplomat) Sir Arthur John Coles (born 13 November 1937) is a retired British diplomat. He served ...
and McBurney, although not with others, such as Glyn Daniel. Over the coming years he would also sit on a range of committees, including the
Ancient Monuments Board English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, li ...
,
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...
, the management committee of the Institute of Archaeology, as well as the Prehistoric Society, of whose journal he remained editor. In 1951, he had been elected a Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
, and in 1953 he gave the Academy's Reckitt Archaeological Lecture, which he devoted to a discussion of prehistoric economies. With his project at Star Carr completed, Clark returned his attention to the excavation of the Iron Age settlement at Micklemoor Hill. He oversaw two further seasons of excavation in 1952 and 1953, which was mostly overseen by Clare Fell, the assistant curator at the Museum of Archaeology. In 1954, Clark was made aware of Neolithic pottery and worked flints that had been discovered through an excavation at Hurst Fen near Mildenhall in
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. Believing this to be likely evidence of a Neolithic settlement, he oversaw a project of excavation at the site in 1957 and 1958, although left most of the running of the excavation to Higgs. Clark was disappointed that he excavation revealed a number of scatters post-holes and pits but no structures. The site had nevertheless yielded important typological information about Neolithic pottery and provided greater knowledge about the Neolithic period in eastern England. It would prove to be Clark's final major excavation. ''Prehistoric Europe'' brought Clark wider visibility and resulted in his first opportunity to visit the United States. In 1952 he was asked to attend the inaugural meeting of the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropology in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. At the event Clark met the American archaeologist
Gordon Willey Gordon Randolph Willey (7 March 1913 – 28 April 2002) was an American archaeologist who was described by colleagues as the "dean" of New World archaeology.Sabloff 2004, p.406 Willey performed fieldwork at excavations in South America, Central A ...
, who became his good friend. In 1957, he returned to the U.S. to teach for a semester as the Grant McCurdy Lecturer at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. In 1958, Clark published his last piece of original research on the Mesolithic, an article on trapez-shaped
microlith A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 60,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Austral ...
s for the ''Proceedings''. That year he also spent time in France's
Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
region, visiting
Lascaux Lascaux ( , ; , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, Dordogne, Montignac, in the Departments of France, department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 Parietal art, parietal cave painting, wall paintin ...
cave and Hallam L. Movius's excavation of Abri Pataud. In 1959, Clark was elected President of the Prehistoric Society. In his presidential address he called for a less Eurocentric and more global focus on research into prehistory. To this end he produced a one-volume history of global prehistory, resulting in ''World Prehistory: An Outline'', which was published by Cambridge University Press in 1961. Despite its title, over half of the book was devoted to the prehistory of Western and Central Europe, reflecting how little was known about much of the world's distant past at the time. The book proved an immediate success and brought Clark far greater visibility and opportunities. In 1960, Clark returned to Peacock Farm to oversee a small excavation designed to recover material that could be subjected to the newly developed process of
radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
. He also grew increasingly interested in Greek prehistory, and gained a permit to excavate the Neolithic Nea Nikomedia mound near Veroia in eastern
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
. He did not personally lead the excavation, which took place in 1961, instead leaving that to his student Robert Rodden, who was assisted by fellow students like David L. Clarke, Charles Higham, and
Colin Renfrew Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, (25 July 1937 – 24 November 2024) was a British archaeologist, paleolinguist and Conservative peer noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, ...
. After his visited the excavation, Clark proceeded to Turkey to visit
James Mellaart James Mellaart FBA (14 November 1925 – 29 July 2012) was a British and Dutch archaeologist and author who is noted for his discovery of the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. He was expelled from Turkey when he was suspected o ...
excavation of the Neolithic site at
Çatalhöyük Çatalhöyük (English: Chatalhoyuk ; ; also ''Çatal Höyük'' and ''Çatal Hüyük''; from Turkish language, Turkish ''çatal'' "fork" + ''höyük'' "tumulus") is a Tell (archaeology), tell (a mounded accretion resulting from long-term huma ...
. Clark then furthered his interest in south-eastern Europe by writing an article for the ''Proceedings'' which synthesised newly discovered radiocarbon dates to argue that farming originally spread across Europe from Greece and the Western Balkans. In early 1964, Clark made his first visit to the
Antipodes In geography, the antipode () of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it. A pair of points ''antipodal'' () to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Ea ...
as he spent time as the William Evans Professor at Otago University in New Zealand, using the opportunity to learn more about Maori prehistory. In May of that year he used the Commonwealth Visiting Scholars' appointment to fund a period in Australia, where he spent time at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
,
Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum Kurilpa is the state museum of Queensland, funded by the government, and dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museu ...
, and the
Australian Museum The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...
. He also visited Vincent Megaw's excavation of the Curracurrang rock shelter and was taken by
Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. He is best remembered for his work mapping the various tribal groupings of Aboriginal Australians ...
to witness a living hunter-gatherer society at the
Papunya Papunya ( Pintupi-Luritja: ''Warumpi'') is a small Indigenous Australian community roughly northwest of Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is known as an important centre for Contemporary Indigenous Australian ar ...
indigenous community. In November 1965, he undertook a lecture tour of the U.S., giving talks at
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
,
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
, the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, the
University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...
, and Colorado Women's College. That year Hutchinson published a book that Clark had co-written with Piggott, ''Prehistoric Societies'', and in 1967
Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
published Clark's
coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and which can serve to inspire conversation o ...
, ''The Stone Age Hunters''. In 1968, he published a revised second edition of ''World Prehistory'', although it attracted criticism from archaeologists studying Africa for making significant errors about that continent. In 1968, he travelled via
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
to Japan in order to attend the International Conference of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, using the trip to spend time in Taiwan, the Philippines, and New Zealand. In 1969, he was then appointed visiting Hitchcock Professor at the
University of California-Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley ...
; his lectures there were published as ''Aspects of Prehistory'' by the
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
in 1970. He published a classification system of five "lithic modes" or types of stone tools in 1969, which is still in use today. In 1970, Clark retired as editor of the ''Proceedings''. In 1972, Clark spent time at
Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...
as a visiting professor. That same year, Clark returned to the subject of Star Carr to publish a book for undergraduate students, ''Star Carr: A Case Study in Bioarchaeology''. Towards the end of his career, Clark was given a range of awards in recognition of his research output: the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
's
Hodgkins Medal The Hodgkins Medal is awarded annually or biennially by the Smithsonian Institution for important contributions to the understanding of the physical environment as it affects the welfare of man. It was established in 1893 in honor of Thomas Georg ...
in 1967, the Wenner-Gren Foundation's Viking Fund Medal in 1971,
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
in 1971, the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
's Lucy Wharton old Medal in 1974, the Society of Antiquaries' Gold Medal in 1978, and the
Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of " Oriental research" (in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions). It was founded by the philologist Will ...
's Chandra Medal in 1979. Two
festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
's were also produced in his honour: a 1971 volume of the ''Proceedings'' was devoted to him, while in 1976, Gale de Giberne Sieveking, Ian H. Longworth, and Kenneth E. Wilson produced the
edited volume Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...
''Problems in Economic and Social Archaeology'', which again was dedicated to Clark.


Later life: 1973–95

Clark retired as Disney Professor in 1974. From 1973 until 1980 he served as the Master of Peterhouse, in what became some of the happiest years of his life. In 1975, he revised may of his ideas on Mesolithic Northern Europe for ''The Earlier Stone Age Settlement of Scandinavia''. The book was not well received, with many archaeologists working on Scandinavian material deeming it outdated. In 1976, he made a coast-to-coast trip across Canada, and that year chaired the first meeting of the Science-based Archaeological Committee, which had been established by the
Science Research Council The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and its predecessor the Science Research Council (SRC) were the United Kingdom, UK agencies in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities, including astronomy, biote ...
in order to distribute funds to archaeological projects. In 1977, he published a third edition of ''World Prehistory'', now retitled ''World Prehistory in New Perspective''. From 1974 to 1978, he chaired the British Academy's Section Ten, which was devoted to archaeology and anthropology. In 1978 he travelled to
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
to attend the Wheeler Memorial Lecture of the
Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
at the invitation of B. K. Thapar. In 1980, Clark's short book, ''Mesolithic Prelude'' was published, based on his 1979 Munro Lecture. In 1982, Methuen then published Clark's ''The Identity of Man as Seen by an Archaeologist'', in which he argued that cultural diversity underlay the process of humanisation. The book received few reviews, including one produced by
Edmund Leach Sir Edmund Ronald Leach FRAI FBA (7 November 1910 – 6 January 1989) was a British social anthropologist and academic. He served as provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1966 to 1979. He was also president of the Royal Anthropolo ...
for ''
Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
'' which was highly critical, arguing that Clark's functionalist and culturally evolutionary approach was outdated. He then produced a sequel, ''Symbols of Excellence'', which allowed him to discuss his interest in art; it was published by Cambridge University Press in 1986. In 1989, Clark's ''Prehistory at Cambridge and Beyond'' was published, a work that was part-biography and part-history of archaeology, discussing the broad diaspora of Cambridge-trained archaeologists. Clark's final book, ''Space, Time, and Man: A Prehistorian's View'', was published by Cambridge University Press in 1992. The book dealt with concepts of time and place throughout the ages and received few reviews on publication. According to Fagan, Clark's later books were "based on the values of an earlier time and reflect his profound conservatism", perhaps explaining why they received so little attention. In his final years, Clark continued to receive recognition for his achievements. The Netherlands Foundation awarded him the
Erasmus Prize The Erasmus Prize is an annual prize awarded by the board of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation to individuals or institutions that have made exceptional contributions to culture, society, or social science in Europe and the rest of the world. I ...
in 1990. He divided the £100,000 prize money between the British Academy and the Prehistoric Society, allowing both to establish their own prizes. In 1992, the British state then awarded him a
knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
. While on a cruise in the eastern Mediterranean with his wife, Clark suffered a serious stroke in June 1995, requiring a return home. There, he died in Cambridge on 12 September 1995. A memorial service was held at Little St Mary's, Cambridge. One of his fellow staff members at Cambridge, John Coles, was appointed literary executor of his books and papers.


Archaeological approach

According to Fagan, Clark was "more concerned with ''what'' happened n the pastrather than ''how'' or ''why''." The archaeologist John Mulvaney stated that, in contrast to the tendency of Childe and other archaeologists to focus on artefact typologies, Clark's "vibrant world embraced landscape, economy and social themes, not simply labelled artefacts". This was reflected in the changing definitions of archaeology that Clark used; in 1927 he claimed that archaeology was "the study of past distribution of culture-traits in time and space, and of the factors governing their distribution", while in 1939 he referred to it as "the study of how men lived in the past". Clark was fascinated by prehistoric subsistence and social patterns. His approach to prehistory was rooted in the notion that the human race was biologically united and that human diversity arose from responses to changing environments. Smith believed that as of 1939, Clark had become a functionalist. From 1972 onward, Clark became heavily involved in the use of newly developed scientific techniques for the analysis of archaeological material. Influenced by German and Scandinavian archaeological models, Clark drew on
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
and
ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
to gain a better understanding of prehistoric modes of subsistence. He nevertheless did not use such analogies uncritically, believing that they were mostly of use when there was a continuous historical link between older and more recent communities and where they both lived in very similar environmental conditions. Clark encountered the development of
processual archaeology Processual archaeology (formerly, the New Archaeology) is a form of archaeological theory. It had its beginnings in 1958 with the work of Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips, ''Method and Theory in American Archaeology,'' in which the pair stated ...
during the mid-20th century, when his student David L. Clarke became one of its key proponents. The proponents of processualism, then referred to as the "New Archaeology", often rejected what they regarded as the old guard in the profession. Clark stayed out of the theoretical debates between the processualists and adherents of older schools of thought, although in a letter to Coles expressed "distress" at what he saw as students forcing archaeological data to fit their preconceived notions. He rejected the idea that archaeology was a pure science, claiming that this was misguided and "also pathetic".


Personal life

Physically, Clark was tall and thin, and in his personal life he was intensely private. Fagan described him as "an imposing, remote man who hid his feelings", while presenting "an austere, sometimes forbidding exterior". Coles similarly regarded him as aloof figure, but nevertheless thought that he was "basically a sympathetic and kind man". Clark was awkward around his students, who were often a little afraid of him. His lecture style was regarded as dry and not entertaining. Clark's biographer noted that his teaching was "at best pedestrian", and that he had a "reputation for poorly prepared lectures", rendering him unpopular as a teacher. According to Coles, Clark's lectures "were generally considered to be rather poorly constructed, and he often wandered from the subject in hand". In several cases he was reported to have given the wrong lecture to a class. According to Fagan, Clark had a "competitive personality" and "craved recognition and an international reputation". Although he had many acquaintances within the archaeological community, he had few friendships with other archaeologists; according to Fagan, he was "not necessarily universally beloved". He annoyed colleagues by quickly turning any conversations into a talk about his own research. Daniel for instance noted that there was "an alarming and chilling self-centredness n Clark It was so difficult to conduct any reasonable conversation" with him. Mulvaney, who was one of his students, noted that in supervisory meetings, the "austere and busy" Clark "wasted time with derisory gossip concerning his peers, tainted with dogmatic political assertions". Mulvaney nevertheless felt that Clark's "personality blemishes were worth enduring. As years passed he became helpful and friendly." Fagan noted that Clark was one of the four men who dominated British archaeology during the 1950s and early 1960s, along with the Edinburgh-based Piggott, the
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
-based Roger Atkinson, and the Oxford-based Christopher Hawkes. Clark's relationship with these colleagues was mixed; Piggott was a lifelong friend, although Hawkes became his "long-term intellectual adversary". The two publicly disagreed strongly on the place of migration and cultural diffusion in British prehistory; Hawkes believed that cultural development and change was brought about primarily by migration into Britain, whereas Clark argued in favour of indigenous cultural evolution as the best explanation for such changes. Throughout his life, Clark remained a practising
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
. Politically, he was deeply
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, an ideological standpoint nurtured since his youth. In books like ''The Identity of Man'', Clark promoted what he saw as the benefits of social hierarchy, viewing socio-economic inequalities as an impetus towards
liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
and believing that unequal levels of consumption allowed for humanity's greatest artistic and cultural creations. In response to these claims, Leach described Clark's political beliefs as "lying well to the right" of British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
. An
elitist Elitism is the notion that individuals who form an elite — a select group with desirable qualities such as intellect, wealth, power, physical attractiveness, notability, special skills, experience, lineage — are more likely to be construct ...
, Clark believed strongly in the importance of individual achievement and human progress, believing that humanity's future lay in the ability of people from different cultures and ideologies to co-operate in order to solve those problems that they had in common. Clark was dedicated to his family. According to Coles, his wife Mollie "became an indispensable part of Clark's academic life as well as a source of immense happiness to him". After their wedding, the Clarks purchased a house in Barton Road, Cambridge. They lived away from this house during the first part of the Second World War, although they returned in 1944. Here, Clark took an interest in
gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...
and proudly displayed his garden to visitors. Clark had a love of
dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...
sailing, and for many years had a houseboat at the coastal town of
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...
. When the boat became too dilapidated he replaced it with a cottage in the town in 1957. Clark spent much of his leisure time visiting art galleries, and in later life he began collecting art, as well as Chinese porcelain and Asian jade.


Reception and legacy

For Fagan, Clark was "one of the most important prehistorians of the twentieth century", an individual whose "intellectual influence on archaeology was enormous", producing a "legacy to prehistory
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
will endure for generations". The historian Adam Stout noted that Clark was "one of the century's most influential prehistorians". Coles similarly noted that he was "one of the founders of European and world-wide prehistoric studies, and there are many now who would assert his primacy in these fields over all other prehistorians of the 20th century". Coles noted that among continental European scholars, Clark was "the most respected British prehistorian" of his generation. Clark's work was however little known in the United States, where it was eclipsed in the 1960s by the growth of processual archaeology. A less grandiose assessment was left by the archaeologist Pamela Jane Smith, who stated that Clark made "major contributions to the establishment of prehistory as an academic subject at Cambridge University". The archaeologists Arkadiusz Marciniak and John Coles stated that Clark was one of the "eminent archaeologists" who helped to establish prehistoric archaeology as a "fully professional discipline" with explicitly outlined goals and methods and an institutional foundation. He was a pioneer in ecological, functionalist approaches to archaeology, as well as the first archaeologist to write a global prehistory of humankind. In November 1997, a Grahame Clark Memorial Conference was held at the British Academy in London. It was at the conference that John Coles invited Fagan to write Clark's biography. In 2007, an academic symposium was held to mark the centenary of Clark's birth at the Archaeology Museum of Biskupin in Poland; it was co-organised by the museum with the
Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...
and the Committee of Pre- and Proto-historical Sciences. On the basis of the conference, in 2010, Marciniak and Coles published a co-edited volume titled ''Grahame Clark and His Legacy''. They noted that up to that point there had been "little in-depth assessment" of Clark's influence in archaeology, in particular in contrast to the large number of Childe.


Publications

* *Clark, J. Grahame D. (1936). The Mesolithic Settlement of Northern Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Clark, J. Grahame D. (1977). World Prehistory: In New Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Clark, J. Grahame D. (1954). Excavations At Star Carr: An Early Mesolithic Site at Seamer, near Scarborough, Yorkshire. CUP Archive. *Clark, Grahame; Mellaart, James; Mallowan, M. E. L; Aldred, Cyril. (1961). The Dawn of Civilisation The First World Survey of Human Cultures in Early Times. London: Thames and Hudson. *Clark, Grahame & Piggott, Stuart (1965). Prehistoric Societies. Hutchinson. (The History of Human Societies series)


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Grahame 1907 births 1995 deaths English archaeologists People from Bromley People educated at Marlborough College Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Masters of Peterhouse, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor English prehistorians Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Royal Air Force officers Disney Professors of Archaeology