CHILDE, V(ERE) GORDON

born April 14, 1892, Sydney died Oct. 19, 1957, Mount Victoria, N.S.W., Australia Australian-born British historian whose study of European prehistory in the 2nd and 3rd millennia BC sought to evaluate the relationship between Europe and the Middle East and to examine the structure and character of the preliterate cultures of the Western world in antiquity. His insistence on an international approach founded a tradition of prehistoric studies. Childe was professor of prehistoric archaeology at the University of Edinburgh (1927-46) and then director of the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, until 1956. In many publications he presented a synthesis of knowledge covering a vast and complex field in an authoritative and unique manner. His works include The Dawn of European Civilization (1925; 6th ed., 1957) and The Danube in Prehistory (1929), a classic of European prehistory. His books aimed at a general readership include Man Makes Himself (1936), an exposition of the parallel evolution of society and technology, and What Happened in History (1942), an introduction to prehistoric archaeology.