David L. Clarke

David Leonard Clarke (3 November 1937 – 27 June 1976) was an English archaeologist and academic. He is well known for his work on processual archaeology.

Early life and education

Clarke was born in Kent, England. He studied at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge.

Academic career

He became a Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1966. His teaching and writing, particularly in analytical archaeology in 1967, transformed European archaeology in the 1970s. It demonstrated the importance of systems theory, quantification, and scientific reasoning in archaeology, and drew ecology, geography, and comparative anthropology firmly within the ambit of the subject. Never really accepted by the Cambridge hierarchy, he was nevertheless loved by his students for his down-to-earth, inclusive attitudes toward them. In 1970 he published his PhD thesis about British and Irish Bell Beaker pottery.

Clarke died in 1976 as a result of thrombosis arising from a gangrenous twisted gut.

Selected works

• Clarke, David L. (1968). Analytical Archaeology. Methuen. ISBN 0-416-42850-9.
• Clarke, David L. (1970). Beaker Pottery of Great Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 576. ISBN 0-521-07249-2.
• Clarke, David L. (1972). Models in Archaeology. London: Methuen. ISBN 0-416-16540-0.
• Clarke, David L. (1977). Spatial Archaeology. Boston: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-175750-1.
• Clarke, David L. (1979). Analytical Archaeologist: Collected Papers of David L. Clarke. Boston: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-175760-9.