Peter Ucko  Peter John Ucko FRAI FSA (27 July 1938 – 14 June 2007) was an influential English archaeologist. He served as Director of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London (UCL), and was a Fellow of both the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries. A controversial and divisive figure within archaeology, his life's work focused on eroding western dominance by broadening archaeological participation to developing countries and indigenous communities. Born in London to middle class German Jewish parents, Ucko attained his BA and PhD in the anthropology department of UCL, where he proceeded to work from 1962 to 1972, also publishing a number of significant books on archaeology. From 1972 to 1981 he worked as Principal of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies in Canberra, Australia, instituting measures to increase the participation of Indigenous Australian communities in their heritage. Returning to England in 1981 to teach archaeology at the University of Southampton, he became national secretary of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (IUPPS) and was responsible for organising their eleventh congress in 1986; disagreements over whether to abide by the academic boycott of South Africa resulted in Ucko denouncing the IUPPS and founding the World Archaeological Congress (WAC), which focused on recognising current socio-political dimensions to archaeology. In 1996 he was controversially appointed director of the UCL Institute of Archaeology, overseeing largescale expansion to create the world's largest archaeology department. Also teaching there, he initiated reforms to the syllabus and forged links with the archaeological community in the People's Republic of China, co-founding the International Centre for Chinese Heritage and Archaeology. Retiring in 2005, he continued developing connections between the UK and China until his death from diabetes. Peter Ucko was born in London on 27 July 1938 to German Jewish parents. His father was a professor of endocrinology who took a great interest in music, conducting orchestras and organising operas, while his mother was a child psychologist. He was sent to boarding school at Bryanston in Dorset, which he despised and left after displeasing the school authorities by refusing to play in a tennis double's match with a local girls school. Studying for a year at North West London Polytechnic, he completed his A-levels and met a number of students from developing countries, developing his staunch anti-racist views. From 1956 to 1959, he studied for an undergraduate degree in anthropology from University College London (UCL), opting for courses that focused on archaeology.