David Leonard Clarke (3 November 1937 – 27 June 1976) was an English archaeologist and academic.

He studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, from which he obtained his PhD in 1964 under the supervision of Grahame Clark.

It demonstrated the importance of systems theory, quantification, and scientific reasoning in archaeology, and drew ecology, geography, and comparative anthropology firmly within the ambit of the subject.

In 1975 and 1976 Clarke led an excavation of the Great Wilbraham causewayed enclosure, near Cambridge.

[1] Clarke died in 1976 as a result of thrombosis arising from a gangrenous twisted gut.