Peter J. Ucko FSA (1938-2007) was Professor Emeritus of Comparative Archaeology, Director of University College London's Institute of Archaeology, and most notable for his organisation of the first World Archaeological Congress in 1986. Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek: αρχαίος, archae, ancient; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... University College London, commonly known as UCL, is a college of the University of London. ... The Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

Ucko was born in Buckinghamshire, his German father was a professor of medicine. He was educated at a boarding school and took his A-levels at the North Western Polytechnic in London before reading Anthropology at University College, London (UCL). He completed his Ph.D. thesis on prehistoric archaeology and Egyptology in 1962. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is one of the home counties in South East England. ... The A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education qualification in the United Kingdom, usually taken by students in the final two years of secondary education (commonly called the Sixth Form), or in College (not to be mistaken with the college term some countries such as... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Anthropology (from Greek: ἀνθρωπος, anthropos, human being; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the comparative study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity through the examination of historical and present geographical distribution, cultural history, acculturation, and cultural relationships. ... Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza against Khafres Pyramid at the Giza pyramid complex. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ucko became a lecturer at UCL, editing two books, The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals and Man, settlement and urbanism that were widely accepted as standard works. His 1968 monograph Anthropomorphic Figurines of Predynastic Egypt and Neolithic Crete countered the Mother Goddess theories espoused by Marija Gimbutas, characterizing her interpretations as glib. He saw the figurines as sexless, unless they had unmistakable features like sex organs, breasts and beards, and he resolutely refused to see them as representations of deities, instead characterizing them as amulets of sympathetic magic, even children's toys. His views were highly influential on the succeeding generation. It has been suggested that Mother (neopaganism) be merged into this article or section. ... Marija Gimbutas by Kerbstone 52, at the back of Newgrange, Co. ...

Ucko accepted the post of Principal of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies in Canberra in 1972. In 1980 he advised the Zimbabwaean government on cultural resource management and in 1981 was appointed to succeed Colin Renfrew as professor of archaeology at the University of Southampton. The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Motto Unity, Freedom, Work Anthem Simudzai Mureza wedu WeZimbabwe(Shona) Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe(Ndebele) Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe Capital (and largest city) Harare Official languages English Government Republic  -  President Robert Mugabe Independence from the United Kingdom   -  Rhodesia November 11, 1965   -  Zimbabwe April 18, 1980  Area  -  Total 390,757... In the broadest sense, Cultural Resources Management (CRM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural resources, such as the arts and heritage. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn (born 25 July 1937), English archaeologist, notable for his work on the radiocarbon revolution, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, and the prevention of looting of archaeological sites. ... The University of Southampton is a university situated in the city of Southampton, on the south coast of Great Britain. ...

As a young man, Ucko was one of the very few white students at the North Western Polytechnic where he heard first-hand accounts of racism and discrimination. On entering the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies he found an organisation devoted to paying white people to study black people, and whilst working in Zimbabwe he saw how Ian Smith's government had manipulated archaeological evidence to support the racist regime. These experiences made him strongly anti-racist. The Rt Hon Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, 1964 (official portrait) Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID (born 8 April 1919) was the Premier of the British Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 11 November 1965, and Prime Minister of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 11 November...

At Southampton, Ucko agreed to become National Secretary of the British Congress of the International Union of Pre- and Protohistoric Sciences which was to hold its next four-yearly meeting in England in 1986. At Ucko's urging, the Executive Board decided to follow the policy agreed by UNESCO and exclude South African and Namibian delegates because of the Apartheid regime in those countries. The archaeological community was split, leading to the foundation of the World Archaeological Congress. He wrote about the moral issues involved in his most personal work, Academic Freedom and Apartheid. The International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences is a learned society, linked through the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies to UNESCO, and concerned with the study of prehistory and protohistory. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ...

In 1996, Ucko was appointed to the post of Professor of Comparative Archaeology and Director of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London amidst a minor controversy based upon the fact that the post was not advertised. Ucko was headhunted directly from his post at the University of Southampton. He was a Fellow of both the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries. Whilst Director, he actively endeavoured to turn the Institute into the forefront of world archaeology, with specialists working in virtually every region of the world, and joining anthropological and scientific approaches to material culture. When he retired in 2005, the Institute was the largest archaeology department in the world, with over 70 academic staff and over 600 hundred students from over 40 different countries. In his last year as a Director he secured positions for ten early career scholars that were appointed as lecturers, in spite of the financial deficit of UCL. This move consolidated his reputation as a scholar committed to empower minorities, regardless of race, age of gender, and as a master of the art of investing funding even if he did not have it. "A Future for Archaeology" was edited by Robert Layton, Stephen Shennan and Peter Stone in 2006 as a festschrift for Peter Ucko. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom. ... The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) (founded 1871) is the oldest anthropological society in the world. ... See: Society of Antiquaries of London Society of Antiquaries of Scotland This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

His last quest was the creation of the International Centre for Chinese Heritage and Archaeology, an institution devoted to promote the exchange of archaeologists between Europe and China, which has materialised in several projects of collaboration in training and research, and a number of scholarships for Chinese students to be trained in archaeology at UCL.

Ucko died in London on the 14th of June 2007, leaving an immense trail of international students, scholars and individuals alike who continue to regard him as a mentor and a great source of inspiration.

Reference

• Ucko, P., 1987, Academic Freedom and Apartheid: The Story of the World Archaeological Congress, London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-2191-2
• Robert Layton, Stephen Shennan Peter Stone (eds.) 2006, A Future for Archaeology.

External links

• Peter Ucko's homepage
• Ucko's role debunking Goddess theories

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