Vere Gordon Childe ( Usually known as Gordon Childe ) ( Sydney , New South Wales , 14 April 1892 â `` Mount Victoria , New South Wales , 19 October 1957 ) was an Australian archaeologist . Vere Gordon Childe ( 14 April 1892 -- 19 October 1957 ) , better known simply as Gordon Childe , was an Australian archaeologist and philologist who specialised in the study of European prehistory .