Editing V. Gordon Childe (section)

===Institute of Archaeology, London: 1946–1956===

[[File:MaesHowe.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.5|The Neolithic passage tomb of Maes Howe on [[Mainland, Orkney]], excavated by Childe 1954–55]]

In 1946, Childe left Edinburgh to take up the position as director and professor of European prehistory at the [[UCL Institute of Archaeology|Institute of Archaeology]] (IOA) in London. Anxious to return to London, he had kept silent over his disapproval of government policies so he would not be prevented from getting the job.{{sfnm|1a1=Trigger|1y=1980|1p=125|2a1=Green|2y=1981|2p=105}} He took up residence in the [[Isokon building]] near to [[Hampstead]].{{sfn|Green|1981|pp=117–118}}

Located in [[St John's Lodge, London|St John's Lodge]] in the Inner Circle of [[Regent's Park]], the IOA was founded in 1937, largely by the archaeologist [[Mortimer Wheeler]], but until 1946 relied primarily on volunteer lecturers.{{sfn|Green|1981|p=106}} Childe's relationship with the conservative Wheeler was strained, for their personalities were very different; Wheeler was an extrovert who pursued the limelight, was an efficient administrator, and was intolerant of others' shortcomings, while Childe lacked administrative skill, and was tolerant of others.{{sfn|Green|1981|pp=107–108}} Childe was popular among the institute's students, who saw him as a kindly eccentric; they commissioned a bust of Childe from [[Marjorie Maitland Howard]]. His lecturing was nevertheless considered poor, as he often mumbled and walked into an adjacent room to find something while continuing to talk. He further confused his students by referring to the socialist states of eastern Europe by their full official titles, and by referring to towns by their Slavonic names rather than the names with which they were better known in English.{{sfn|Green|1981|pp=110–111}} He was deemed better at giving tutorials and seminars, where he devoted more time to interacting with his students.{{sfn|Green|1981|p=113}} As Director, Childe was not obliged to excavate, though he did undertake projects at the Orkney Neolithic burial tombs of [[Quoyness]] (1951) and [[Maes Howe]] (1954–55).{{sfnm|1a1=Green|1y=1981|1p=112|2a1=Richards|2y=1995|2p=125}}

In 1949, he and Crawford resigned as fellows of the [[Society of Antiquaries of London|Society of Antiquaries]]. They did so to protest the selection of [[James Mann (curator)|James Mann]]—keeper of the [[Tower of London]]'s armouries—as the society's president, believing Wheeler (a professional archaeologist) was a better choice.{{sfn|Green|1981|p=118}} Childe joined the editorial board of the periodical ''[[Past & Present (journal)|Past & Present]]'', founded by Marxist historians in 1952.{{sfnm|1a1=Green|1y=1981|1pp=119–120|2a1=Sherratt|2y=1989|2p=157|3a1=Pearce|3y=1995|3p=141}} During the early 1950s, he also became a board member for ''[[Modern Quarterly (British journal)|The Modern Quarterly]]''—later ''The Marxist Quarterly''—working alongside the board's chairman Rajani Palme Dutt, his best friend and flatmate from his Oxford days.{{sfn|Green|1981|pp=119–120}} He authored occasional articles for Palme Dutt's socialist journal, the ''[[Labour Monthly]]'', but disagreed with him over the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]]; Palme Dutt defended the Soviet Union's decision to quash the revolution using military force, but Childe, like many Western socialists, strongly opposed it. The event made Childe abandon faith in the Soviet leadership, but not in socialism or Marxism.{{sfn|Green|1981|p=121}} He retained a love of the Soviet Union, having visiting on multiple occasions; he was also involved with a CPGB satellite body, the Society for Cultural Relations with the USSR, and served as president of its National History and Archaeology Section from the early 1950s until his death.{{sfnm|1a1=Trigger|1y=1980|1pp=124–125|2a1=Green|2y=1981|2pp=122–123}}

In April 1956, Childe was awarded the Gold Medal of the Society of Antiquaries for his services to archaeology.{{sfn|Green|1981|pp=142–143}} He was invited to lecture in the United States on multiple occasions, by [[Robert Braidwood]], [[William Duncan Strong]], and [[Leslie White]], but the [[U.S. State Department]] barred him from entering the country due to his Marxist beliefs.{{sfnm|1a1=Pearce|1y=1988|1p=418|2a1=Pearce|2y=1995|2p=133}} While working at the institute, Childe continued writing and publishing books dealing with archaeology. ''History'' (1947) promoted a Marxist view of the past and reaffirmed Childe's belief that prehistory and literate history must be viewed together, while ''Prehistoric Migrations'' (1950) displayed his views on moderate diffusionism.{{sfnm|1a1=Trigger|1y=1980|1pp=154–155|2a1=Green|2y=1981|2pp=127, 130}} In 1946 he also published a paper in the ''[[Southwestern Journal of Anthropology]]''. This was "Archaeology and Anthropology", which argued that the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology should be used in tandem, an approach that would be widely accepted in the decades following his death.{{sfn|Green|1981|p=129}}