Andrew Sherratt

Andrew Sherratt
Name	Andrew Sherratt
Birth date	1946-02-07
Death date	2006-01-24
Occupation	Archaeologist, Professor
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Known for	Eurasian archaeology, secondary products revolution

Andrew Sherratt was a British archaeologist and prehistorian whose work reshaped interpretations of Eurasian prehistory, agricultural spread, and socio-economic change. He combined evidence from archaeological fieldwork, anthropological theory, and comparative studies across regions such as Anatolia, Central Asia, Europe, and the Near East. Sherratt is widely associated with influential concepts including the "secondary products revolution" and large-scale diffusionist models that engaged with scholarship by figures like V. Gordon Childe and Marija Gimbutas.

Early life and education

Sherratt was born in 1946 and educated at institutions including University of Cambridge where he completed degrees under scholars linked to traditions from British Museum-affiliated research and the legacy of Sir Mortimer Wheeler. His formative years intersected with debates involving Glyn Daniel, Jacquetta Hawkes, and contemporaries influenced by archaeological synthesis in venues such as the Royal Archaeological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries of London. Early training exposed him to field projects related to sites in Turkey, Greece, and Syria, and to theoretical currents deriving from Franz Boas-influenced diffusionist critiques and structuralist debates associated with Claude Lévi-Strauss.

Academic career

Sherratt held academic posts at institutions including the University of Sheffield and later the University of Oxford, where he engaged with departments connected to Institute of Archaeology (Oxford), interacting with colleagues from University College London, University of Cambridge, and the British Academy. He supervised doctoral students who went on to positions at universities such as Harvard University, University of Chicago, University of Cambridge, and University of Manchester. His career involved collaborations with research centres like the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, the Council for British Research in the Levant, and international projects linked to funding agencies including the Leverhulme Trust and the European Research Council.

Research and theoretical contributions

Sherratt developed comparative models drawing on cross-disciplinary sources including work by Colin Renfrew, Ian Hodder, and Lewis Binford to address questions about the spread of technologies such as dairying, metallurgy, and wheeled transport across regions like Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Pontic steppe, and Europe. He articulated the "secondary products revolution" hypothesis in dialogue with studies by Marvin Harris, Karl Wittfogel, and scholars studying pastoral economies in Central Asia and North Africa. His diffusionist and long-distance interaction frameworks engaged debates with proponents of migrationist interpretations exemplified by discussions around Yamnaya culture, Corded Ware culture, and archaeological narratives tied to Indo-European dispersals. Sherratt also integrated zooarchaeological data produced by teams working with researchers associated with British Museum (Natural History), and incorporated palaeoenvironmental datasets produced by laboratories linked to University of Cambridge (Department of Geography), Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and the Natural History Museum.

Key publications

Sherratt authored and co-authored numerous influential pieces appearing alongside works by Colin Renfrew, Chadwick Alan Reddick? and debates published in outlets connected to publishers such as Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Major contributions include papers elaborating the secondary products revolution, syntheses on Neolithic and Bronze Age interaction across Eurasia, and critiques of unilinear diffusion exemplified in edited volumes produced with colleagues from University of Sheffield and University of Oxford. He contributed chapters to volumes alongside editors connected to the British Academy and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, and his work featured in journals and collections where contemporaries like Ian Hodder, Barry Cunliffe, and David Wengrow debated prehistoric social change.

Awards and honours

Sherratt received recognition from scholarly bodies including election to fellowships and prizes administered by the British Academy, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and university-level honors from institutions such as University of Sheffield and University of Oxford. His work was cited in festschrifts and commemorative volumes produced with contributions from scholars at Harvard University, University College London, and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, reflecting esteem among peers including Colin Renfrew, Ian Hodder, Barry Cunliffe, and David Wengrow.

Personal life and legacy

Sherratt's personal life intersected with academic networks spanning Europe, North America, and West Asia, and his mentorship influenced generations of archaeologists working on themes related to Bronze Age, Neolithic Revolution, pastoralism, and technological innovation. After his death in 2006, his ideas continued to provoke debate in forums organized by institutions such as the British Academy, the University of Oxford, and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, and remain cited in ongoing research on prehistoric interaction, diffusion, and economic transformation across regions including Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and Europe.

Category:British archaeologists Category:1946 births Category:2006 deaths