Born Rodney Phillip Needham Green on 15/5/1923, he changed his name in 1947; the following year he married Maud Claudia (Ruth) Brysz. The couple would collaborate on several works, including an English translation of Robert Hertz's Death and the Right Hand. His fieldwork was with the Penan of Borneo (1951-2) and the Siwang of Malaysia (1953-5). His doctoral thesis on the Penan was accepted in 1953. He was University Lecturer in Social Anthropology, Oxford University, 1956–76; Professor of Social Anthropology, Oxford, 1976–90; Official Fellow, Merton College, Oxford, 1971–75; and Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford, 1976-90.