Prehistoric Households and Childhood

Abstract

From the perspective of contemporary societies ‘childhood’ and ‘household’ are not universal, static categories but rather culturally highly variable dimensions of social life which can be influenced by numerous factors. They appear to be complex social processes, entwined with each other, and are characterized by changing actors. The material traces of these processes in the prehistoric archaeological record are rudimentary and offer no immediate access to ‘childhood’ or ‘household’, but domestic or maintenance activities are relatively well recorded at settlement sites and therefore offer the best vantage point from which to approach the question of social construction and organization, the structuring of everyday life, and the part played by adolescents in these processes. This chapter focuses on the role played by adolescents in the formation of archaeologically tangible activity areas to gain insight into the participation of prehistoric children in the construction of everyday life and daily routines.

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