Kristian Kristiansen (born 21 August 1948) is a Danish archaeologist known for his contributions to the study of Bronze Age Europe,

heritage studies Heritage studies looks at the relationship between people and tangible and intangible heritage through the use of social science research methods. The publication of the book by David Lowenthal, ''The Past is a Foreign Country'', in 1985 is credi ...

and archaeological theory. He is a professor at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

Education and career

Kristiansen was born in Hyrup on 21 August 1948. He studied

prehistoric archaeology Prehistoric archaeology is a subfield of archaeology, which deals specifically with artefacts, civilisations and other materials from societies that existed before any form of writing system or historical record. Often the field focuses on ages ...

at Aarhus University and the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

, obtaining his Special Magister Thesis from Aarhus University in 1975, and his Dr Phil at Aarhus University in 1998 on his synthesis "Europe Before History". He was the director of the Danish Archaeological Heritage Administration from 1979 to 1994, and since then has been a professor at the

. Kristiansen initiated the founding of the

European Association of Archaeologists The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) is a membership-based, not-for-profit association, open to archaeologists and other related or interested individuals or bodies in Europe and beyond. It was founded in 1994 at an inaugural meeting in ...

in 1994, and served as its first president until 1998. He was also the founding editor the ''European Journal of Archaeology''. He has held visiting professorships at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, Stanford University, the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Awards and honours

* Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, 1985 * Honorary fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

, 1991 * Member of the

Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskaps- och Vitterhets-Samhället i Göteborg, abbreviated KVVS and often known simply as ''Samhället'') is a Swedish Royal Academy. Its predecessor was founded in Gothenburg ...

, 1994 * Foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, 2002 * European Archaeological Heritage Prize, 2005 *

Society for American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is a professional association for the archaeology of the Americas. It was founded in 1934 and its headquarters are in based in Washington, D.C. , it has 7,500 members. Its current president is Deborah L. ...

Book Award, 2007 (for ''The Rise of Bronze Age Society'') * Honorary fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

, 2009 *

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

Grahame Clark Medal The Grahame Clark Medal is awarded by the British Academy every two years "for academic achievement involving recent contributions to the study of prehistoric archaeology". It was endowed in 1992 by Sir Grahame Clark, an eminent prehistorian and a ...

, 2016

Selected publications

* *

References

External links

Staff profile
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristiansen, Kristian 1948 births Danish archaeologists Prehistorians Aarhus University alumni University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of the University of Gothenburg Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities Recipients of the Grahame Clark Medal Living people