Dawn of European Civilization

by Vere Gordon Childe

Preface to the 6th Edition
Survival of Food-gatherers
The Orient & Crete
Anatolia, the Royal Road to the Aegean
Maritime Civilization in the Cyclades
From Village to City in Greece
Farming Villages in the Balkans
Danubian Civilization
The Peasants of the Black Earth
Culture Transmission over the Eurasian Plain?
The Northern Cultures
Survivals of the Forest Culture
Megalith Builders & Beaker-folk
Farmers & Traders in Italy & Sicily
Island Civilizations in the Western Mediterranean
The Iberian Peninsula
Western Culture in the Alpine Zone
Megalith Builders in Atlantic Europe
The British Isles
Retrospect
Notes on Terminology
Abbreviations
Books
Index

Genres: History, Archaeology, Prehistory, Nonfiction

463 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 1997

About the author

Vere Gordon Childe, better known as V. Gordon Childe, was an Australian archaeologist and philologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory. A vocal socialist, Childe accepted the socio-economic theory of Marxism and was an early, though unorthodox, proponent of Marxist archaeology. Childe worked for most of his life as an academic in the United Kingdom, initially at the University of Edinburgh, and later at the Institute of Archaeology, London. He also wrote a number of groundbreaking books on the subject of archaeology and prehistory, most notably Man Makes Himself (1936) and What Happened in History (1942).

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the subject which is not as dated as I expected. Of course, Childe was writing long before the latest fascinating revelations of genetic studies, but he was broadly right, it seems to me, about the Kurgan Hypothesis of Marija Gimbautas, of which he was an early champion. Childe was interestingly unusual: supremely intelligent, extremely ugly, very odd, and despite (or because of) his privileged background also an unrepentant Marxist. I am usually allergic to the writings of Marxist historians like Eric Hobsbawm for the same reasons I am bored by the writings of any wrong-headed fanatic who twists the data to force it into the straightjacket of a discredited theory. I cannot entirely acquit Childe of wrong headedness – after all, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the Soviet regime even during Stalin’s murderous tyranny. However, what saves this is that Childe was brilliant at succinct synthesis, and writes engagingly, deeply, and widely. “Marxist Archaeology” is as absurd as Marxist dentistry or Marxist cooking and has rightly been consigned to the dustbin of history. But Childe escapes the same dustbin by virtue of his lack of dogmatism and the fascination of his subject matter.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Childe provides an encyclopedic scope on archeological findings prior to and up to the publication of his work. This book provides so much detail that it can be overwhelming. It's a must-read though!

[Nevena Djonovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

The it girl of archaeology (Gordon Childe)