Kristian Kristiansen (born 21 August 1948) is a Danish

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, ...

known for his contributions to the study of

Bronze Age Europe The European Bronze Age is characterized by bronze artifacts and the use of bronze implements. The regional Bronze Age succeeds the Neolithic Europe, Neolithic and Chalcolithic Europe, Copper Age and is followed by the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. It ...

heritage studies Heritage studies looks at the relationship between people and tangible and intangible heritage through the use of social science research methods. The publication of the book by David Lowenthal, ''The Past is a Foreign Country'', in 1985 is cre ...

and

archaeological theory Archaeological theory refers to the various intellectual frameworks through which archaeology, archaeologists interpret archaeological data. Archaeological theory functions as the application of philosophy of science to archaeology, and is occasion ...

. He is a professor at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...

Education and career

Kristiansen was born in Hyrup on 21 August 1948. He studied

prehistoric archaeology Prehistoric archaeology is a subfield of archaeology, which deals specifically with artefacts, civilisations and other materials from societies that existed before any form of writing system or historical record. Often the field focuses on ages ...

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

and the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

, obtaining his Special Magister Thesis from Aarhus University in 1975, and his Dr Phil at Aarhus University in 1998 on his synthesis "Europe Before History". He was the director of the Danish Archaeological Heritage Administration from 1979 to 1994, and since then has been a professor at the

. Kristiansen initiated the founding of the

European Association of Archaeologists The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) is a membership-based, not-for-profit association, open to archaeologists and other related or interested individuals or bodies in Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1994 at an inaugural meeting in ...

in 1994, and served as its first president until 1998. He was also the founding editor the ''European Journal of Archaeology''. He has held

visiting professorship 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 ...

s at the Sorbonne,

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, 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 ...

and 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 ...

Awards and honours

* Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, 1985 * Honorary fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...

, 1991 * Member of the

Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg (, abbreviated KVVS and often known simply as ''Samhället'') is a Swedish Royal Academy. Its predecessor was founded in Gothenburg in 1773 and the academy took its present name in 1778. The sam ...

, 1994 * Foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademien abbreviated KVHAA ( or or ) is the Sweden, Swedish Swedish Royal Academies, royal academy for the Humanities. Its ...

, 2002 *

European Archaeological Heritage Prize The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) is a membership-based, not-for-profit association, open to archaeologists and other related or interested individuals or bodies in Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1994 at an inaugural meeting in ...

, 2005 *

Society for American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is a professional association for the archaeology of the Americas. It was founded in 1934 and its headquarters are in based in Washington, D.C. , it has 7,500 members. Its current president is Daniel S ...

Book Award, 2007 (for ''The Rise of Bronze Age Society'') * Honorary 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 ...

, 2009 *

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 ...

Grahame Clark Medal The Grahame Clark Medal is awarded by the British Academy every two years "for academic achievement involving recent contributions to the study of prehistoric archaeology". It was endowed in 1992 by Sir Grahame Clark, an eminent prehistorian and a ...

, 2016

Selected publications

* *

References

External links

Staff profile
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristiansen, Kristian 1948 births Danish archaeologists Danish prehistorians Aarhus University alumni University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of the University of Gothenburg Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities Recipients of the Grahame Clark Medal Living people