November 23, 1948

Ian Hodder is a British archaeologist and his name is associated with something called post-processualist theory in archaeology. This approach was first publicized during the decade of the 1980s. From what I gather, this conceptual framework stresses the importance of each individual's interpretation of the possible symbolic dimensions to the finds  in early archeological situations. Where the element of truth is accented in what seems like a sieve of relativism I cannot grasp. 

For our purposes Hodder is a major figure, not just because of his commanding the digs at Catalhoyuk, but the interest in his interpretation of the goddess figurines found at Catalhoyuk.  These show  a woman seated and supported on the sides by lions. For many years this was viewed as evidence of a matriarchy, but Hodder downplays the idea this enthroned woman relates to  power alignment.This is because, he says, he found many of these small figurines discarded in trash dumps of the time. 

Ian Hodder was born November 23, 1948 in Bristol. England. We put together the following biographical sketch from several sources including an 1999 SCA Interview with Ian Hodder (by Melanie Magdalen) and a PR release associated with the honorary doctorate he received in 2011 from the University of Leyden.

Dr. Hodder’s childhood  included travel as well as study. His major influences in life were his father and Gordon Childe. He never met Childe but absorbed his approach and ideas.
Ian Hodder studied archaeology and received a  PhD in 1975 from Cambridge. After a time in Leeds he returned to Cambridge in 1977. He worked there until 1999 and since 1996 was a professor there. In 1999 he became a Fellow of the British Academy. 1999 was also the year he went to Stanford University where he was appointed the Dunlevie Family Professor of Anthropology in 2002.  

Dr. Hodder’s most memorable projects include discovering a Roman tower, digging in Kenya, Knossos, Mount Carmel caves,  the Andes. and  a Neolithic burial mound in the Fens in eastern England. Hodder's world wide fame though,  is based on his work at  Çatalhöyük.

Çatalhöyük is a  9000-year-old Neolithic site in Central Anatolia, that is to say Turkey. The study of Çatalhöyük showed complex settlements existed outside of the Fertile Crescent and that very large social communities could be created in the form of villages. 

Hodder has headed the Çatalhöyük Archaeological Project since the beginning of the 1990s. Çatalhöyük  is a chance to test his post-processual archaeological method: both the archaeologists and the contemporary communities feeling kinship with the site, are given the opportunity to be part of the interpretative process. 

A key  importance of archaeology is promoting diversity in an interconnected  world. An archaeologist has to communicate with the public and work in collaboration with different groups while also learning about the past. Archaeology is also a governmental responsibility, and states  should play a better role “regulating the relationship between developers and archaeologists,”  according to what Hodder told one interviewer.

Hodder lists his hobbies as  playing the piano, (jazz and classical music),  sailing and jogging. 

The books he authored are:  Symbols in Action (1982),  Reading the Past (1986),  The Domestication of Europe (1990),  The Archeological Process ( 1999) and Çatalhöyük. The Leopard’s Tale (2006).