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Childe, His Student, and Archaeological Science: An Epilogue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Don Brothwell
Don Brothwell*
Affiliation:
University of York, UK
*
[email: archaeology@york.ac.uk]
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Abstract

Childe was a considerable influence on my archaeology, when I was an undergraduate at the Institute of Archaeology (London). His personality was enigmatic, as were parts of his publications. In this contribution some critical comments are made of his work, together with discussions on his Marxism, the Neolithic Revolution, what is meant by progress, and his all too brief consideration of the range of archaeological science. It will be argued that his inability to make close friendships, and other aspects of his personality, would suggest that he had Asperger's syndrome.

Childe a considérablement influencé mon archéologie lorsqu'étudiant à l'Institut d'Archéologie à Londres. Sa personnalité était énigmatique, de même qu'une partie de ses publications. Dans cet article, quelques remarques critiques sont faites quant à son œuvre, allant de pair avec des discussions sur son marxisme, la révolution néolithique, ce qu'on comprend par progrès, et sa trop brève étude de l'éventail de la science archéologique. On soutiendra que son incapacité de nouer des amitiés intimes et autres aspects de sa personnalité pourraient suggérer qu'il souffrait du syndrome d'Asperger.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Childe nahm erheblichen Einfluss auf meine Archäologie, als ich Grundstudent am Institut für Archäologie in London war. Seine Persönlichkeit war rätselhaft, wie es auch Teile seiner Publikationen waren. In diesem Zusammenhang sind einige kritische Anmerkungen zu seinem Werk gemacht worden, gemeinsam mit Diskussionen seines Marxismus, der Neolithischen Revolution, was mit Fortschritt gemeint ist und seiner allzu kurzen Betrachtung der Bandbreite der archäologischen Wissenschaft. Es wird vermutet, dass seine Unfähigkeit enge Freundschaften zu schließen und andere Aspekte seiner Persönlichkeit darauf hindeuten, dass er am Asperger-Syndrom litt.

Keywords

archaeological scienceAsperger's syndromeMarxismNeolithic RevolutionprogressVere Gordon Childescience archéologiquesyndrome d'Aspergermarxismerévolution néolithiqueprogrèsVere Gordon Childearchäologische WissenschaftMarxismusNeolithische RevolutionFortschrittAsperger-SyndromVere Gordon Childe
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 12 , Issue 1-3 , 2009 , pp. 193 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Sage Publications 

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