Archaeology of Childhood

Disability and Age Expectations in Romano-British Child Burials

by William Southwell-Wright

In M. Carroll and E-J Graham (eds.). Infant Health and Death in Roman Italy and Beyond. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series (forthcoming 2013).

Príspevok k problematike pohrebného rítu detí vo villanovskej kultúre. Burial rite of the Villanovan Culture - Problems Concerning Child Graves

by Katarina Hladikova

Childhood tuberculosis: a probable case from late medieval Somerset, England

by Heidi Dawson

In press availble on-line International Journal of Paleopathology
Co-authored with Dr Kate Robson Brown

Fibiger, L. (in press). Misplaced childhood? Interpersonal violence and children in Neolithic Europe. In C. Knüsel & M. Smith (eds.) A history of human conflict. Osteology and 'traumatized bodies' from earliest prehistory to the present. London, Routledge.

by Linda Fibiger

Invitation - Workshop of the Archaeology of Childhood

by Paulina Romanowicz

The Invitation for the Workshop of the Archaeology of Childhood organized by Department of Archaeology, University of Szczecin, on 5th-6th November 2012 in Małkocin (Western Pomerania, Poland).

See also http://www.facebook.com/events/370447183006828/

Pohreb dieťaťa z halštatskej mohyly v Süttő – súvislosti a interpretácie. Burial of a child from Early Iron Age barrow in Süttő – context and interpretations.

by Petra Kmeťová

published in "Zborník Filozofickej fakulty Univerzity Komenského - MUSAICA 27, Bratislava 2011"

In this paper we focus on find of skeleton of an 8 year old child from Early Iron Age barrow in Süttő, Western... more In this paper we focus on find of skeleton of an 8 year old child from Early Iron Age barrow in Süttő, Western Hungary. Detailed observations of stratigraphy and distribution of finds originally placed on grave-chamber roof helps to reconstruct possible relation of the child burial from chamber roof with three iron horse-bits. Another detail, although mentioned by author of the excavation, but left unnoticed by other authors, is another deposit of harness (probably for several horses), burned on funeral pyre of a man buried inside the grave chamber, as well as find of single unburned rein-knob from dromos. It seems likely that harnesses for several horses were placed on pyre along with a man of elevated social rank, and three unburned bridles were given to the inhumated child on the roof of wooden chamber. Considering the theory of horse-gear in grave symbolizing social status of a deceased, we suggest that the, bridles represented high status of the child. Symbol of a wagon could have been used only for persons of the highest rank. Infant could have obtained this status by inheritance (descent). Whether this child died naturally and therefore was buried in the (already existing) barrow of the adult with similar status, or was one of his funeral sacrifices to the deceased, remains open.

Les enfants dans les cimetières médiévaux (VIIe-XIe siècle) : observations et hypothèses à propos de quelques données archéologiques / Children in medieval cimiteries : comments and hypothesis about some archaeological data (VII-XIe century)

by Emilie Perez

Emilie Perez, 2011, Les enfants dans les cimetières médiévaux (VIIe-XIe siècle) : Observations et hypothèses à propos de quelques données archéologiques, in Le Corps des anges. Réflexions sur les pratiques funéraires autour de l’enfant mort au Moyen Âge, Silvana Editoriale, Blandy-les-Tours, p.57-69

La place de l'enfant dans l'espace funéraire du haut Moyen Âge (VIe-Xe siècle)

by Emilie Perez

published in "Cahiers d'Histoire", vol.29, 2, 2010

En l’absence d’informations substantielles sur l’enfant dans les documents écrits du haut Moyen Âge, la majeure... more
En l’absence d’informations substantielles sur l’enfant dans les documents écrits du haut Moyen Âge, la majeure partie des données que nous pouvons exploiter proviennent des fouilles archéologiques. Les archéologues et les anthropologues s’efforcent d’approcher le rituel funéraire, de repérer un traitement qui serait spécifique aux enfants morts, dès les premiers siècles du Moyen Âge, et d’expliquer l’absence des plus jeunes dans les cimetières : la sous-représentation des enfants au sein des espaces funéraires médiévaux est, en effet, un phénomène constant.


In the absence of substantial information about childhood in written documents of the early Middle Ages, the majority of the data that we use comes from archaeological excavations. Archaeologists and anthropologists are attempting to understand the funerary ritual evidence in order to identify specific treatments of dead children from the earliest centuries of the Middle Ages, and to approach the problem of their absence in cemeteries. The under-representation of children in medieval burial spaces is essentially a recurring phenomenon.

Quand l'enfant arrive... Être mère, être père en Grèce à l'époque classique (Ve-IVe s. av.)

by Céline Dubois

Conférence à la Société d’Histoire de la Naissance, hôpital St Antoine à Paris, le 10 décembre 2011.

Des objets pour les bébés ? Le dépôt de mobilier dans les sépultures d’enfants en bas âge du monde grec archaïque et classique

by Céline Dubois

In : Hermary A., Dubois C. éds. L'enfant et la mort III : Le mobilier funéraire des sépultures d’enfants dans le monde gréco-romain. Actes du colloque organisé par l’ANR L’enfant et la mort dans l’Antiquité, le 20-22 janvier 2011 à la Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme d’Aix-en-Provence (sous presse)

Burial customs were essential to the ancient Greeks but, usually, inspired by the classical literature, many... more Burial customs were essential to the ancient Greeks but, usually, inspired by the classical literature, many researchers considered that the death of infants involved succinct rituals. The recent archaeological discoveries (Astypalaia for example) force us to qualify this idea and to think about the infancy in general. Also by studying the number and the nature of the goods deposited in the baby’s graves, this article aims to reflect on real place of the infant in the Greek society (in the family and in the polis).

Death in the Neolithic: The role of the child. An interpretative approach to the differences between child and adult burial deposits in Neolithic Ireland.

by Niamh Ní Riain

The purpose of this study was to identify and investigate the differences between the treatment of adults and children... more The purpose of this study was to identify and investigate the differences between the treatment of adults and children in death in the Irish Neolithic funerary record. Another aim was to investigate whether or not different Irish Neolithic communities practised the same cultural traditions in relation to adult and child funerary practises. This desk based study achieved these aims by examining the differences between adult and child burial deposits in relation to the funerary rite utilised, the associated artefacts, their position and orientation, and whether their remains were individually or communally deposited. The relevant literature including excavation reports were examined and a site inventory was compiled. The details of the burial deposits from all Neolithic sites which contained infants, children, and adolescents were included in the inventory. Early Bronze Age wedge tombs containing child, infant and adolescent remains were also included, in order to identify whether or not there was a continuation in funerary practices from the Neolithic. Analysis was then conducted on a tomb type by tomb type basis (i.e. portal, passage, court, Linkardstown & wedge tombs) and a number of uncategorised funerary monuments were also included. The results of the analysis have revealed that differences relating to the above aspects do, indeed, exist in the Irish Neolithic funerary record. These differences however, are regional and localised and indicate that different Irish Neolithic communities did not have the same cultural practises and traditions in relation to adult and children funerary practises.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Size and Scale In the Archaeological Interpretation of “Child-Related” Artifacts

by Stacey Camp

(2008) Anthropology News (29)4:10-11.

Subadult or subaltern? Children as serial categories

by Fredrik Fahlander

Published in: (Re)Thinking the Little Ancestor: New Perspectives on the Archaeology of Infancy and Childhood, Mike Lally & Alison Moore (eds), Oxford: Archaeopress, British Archaeological Reports 2011, pp14-23.

Research on children and childhood in archaeology is hampered by the fact that the object of study is difficult to... more Research on children and childhood in archaeology is hampered by the fact that the object of study is difficult to define. There are no typical threshold when a child is turning adult in a social sense. Even if that was feasible to define, would it be unfortunate to treat all individuals under a certain age as one category: there are too great differences in e.g., corporeality and social abilities among pre-pubertal individuals. There is thus a need to find ways of defining and differentiate the vague category of children into more relevant social dittos. In this paper I explore Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of serial collectivity as a means to establish a range of series of differently empowered children based on their corporeal, mental and social properties.

El imaginario del joven en la cultura ibérica

by Teresa Chapa

La percepción de la infancia en el mundo ibérico= The perception of children in the Iberian culture

by Teresa Chapa

Alexis CORROCHANO, "Le secteur des enfants", in : Agnès BERGERET (Ed.), Saint-Martin-de-Castries (Hérault) de l’habitat rural à l’ensemble ecclésial (VIIIe-XVIIIe siècle), Lodève : Charte Lodévois-Larzac, 2008, p. 80-82 (Les Cahiers du Lodévois-Larzac, 30).

by Alexis Corrochano

Algunos apuntes sobre la Arqueología de la Infancia: Exploración de vías metodológicas para su definición

by Mariana Sacchi

Childhood is a topic that was poorly worked in Latin-American archaeology. Children like
generators or as active... more Childhood is a topic that was poorly worked in Latin-American archaeology. Children like
generators or as active participants and creators of archaeological record are an interest that
has been growing throughout the last twenty years.
The aim of this work is to analyze the presence of children in archaeological literature and the
possibility to develop an approach towards them across the study of the archaeological record.
To this end, the analysis of three cases will be used. Each of them seeks, across different lines,
to contribute to the development of methodological pathways that allow the extention of the
vision of the archaeological record and to call attention on children as producers and modifiers
of the latter. Finally, we try to approach the problematics from a perspective that considers
children like active agents, promoters of change and continuity of cultural practices.

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS: CHILDHOOD MORTALITY AND BURIAL PRACTICE IN LATE NEOLITHIC ATLANTIC EUROPE

by Anna Waterman

The forgotten dead: the cilliní and disused burial grounds of Ballintoy, County Antrim

by Eileen Murphy

Donnelly, S., Donnelly, C. and Murphy, E. 1999. The forgotten dead: The cilliní and disused burial grounds of Ballintoy, County Antrim. Ulster Journal of Archaeology 58, 109-13.

El flautista de Hamelin en los Andres Centro sur: Aproximaciones a la "arqueología de la infancia" a través del estudio de puntas de proyectil.

by María Soledad Fernández Murillo

Publicado en: Anales de la XXII Reunión anual de Etnología, MUSEF La Paz-Bolivia (Tomo I, Seminario de Arqueología) pp29-44

Publicado en: Anales de la XXII Reunión anual de Etnología, MUSEF La Paz-Bolivia (Tomo I, Seminario de Arqueología) pp... more Publicado en: Anales de la XXII Reunión anual de Etnología, MUSEF La Paz-Bolivia (Tomo I, Seminario de Arqueología) pp 29-44