Unearthing childhood

Young lives in prehistory

Robin Derricourt

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9781526128089
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526128096
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

This is the first book to survey the 'hidden half' of prehistoric societies as revealed by archaeology – from Australopithecines to advanced Stone Age foragers, from farming villages to the beginnings of civilisation. Prehistoric children can be seen in footprints and finger daubs, in images painted on rocks and pots, in the signs of play and the evidence of first attempts to learn practical crafts. The burials of those who did not reach adulthood reveal clothing, personal adornment, possession and status in society, while the bodies themselves provide information on diet, health and sometimes violent death. This book demonstrates the extraordinary potential for the study of childhood within the prehistoric record, and will suggest to those interested in childhood what can be learnt from the study of the deep past.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• Key references, with abbreviations
• PREFACE
• 1 UNDERSTANDING The deep past of childhood
• 2 BEING Birth, motherhood and infancy
• 3 GROWING The child in the family
• 4 FEEDING Weaning, eating and health
• 5 WEARING Clothing, adornment and body shaping
• 6 LEARNING Knowledge and skills
• 7 PLAYING Fun, games, toys and culture
• 8 FIGHTING Conflict and violence
• 9 DYING 1 Death and burial in forager societies
• 10 DYING 2 Death and burial in Old World farming societies
• 11 PROGRESSING The future of childhood’s deep past
• Index of places
• General index