Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean (Rewriting Antiquity)

This collection employs a multi-disciplinary approach treating ancient childhood in a holistic manner according to diachronic, regional and thematic perspectives. This multi-disciplinary approach encompasses classical studies, Egyptology, ancient history and the broad spectrum of archaeology, including iconography and bioarchaeology. With a chronological range of the Bronze Age to Byzantium and regional coverage of Egypt, Greece, and Italy this is the largest survey of childhood yet undertaken for the ancient world. Within this chronological and regional framework both the social construction of childhood and the child’s life experience are explored through the key topics of the definition of childhood, daily life, religion and ritual, death, and the information provided by bioarchaeology. No other volume to date provides such a comprehensive, systematic and cross-cultural study of childhood in the ancient Mediterranean world. In particular, its focus on the identification of society-specific definitions of childhood and the incorporation of the bioarchaeological perspective makes this work a unique and innovative study. Children in Antiquity provides an invaluable and unrivalled resource for anyone working on all aspects of the lives and deaths of children in the ancient Mediterranean world. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of contents Figures Tables Contributors Abbreviations Introduction: Investigating the ancient Mediterranean ‘childscape’ Note References Part I What is a child? 1 The ancient Egyptian conception of children and childhood Terminology Characteristics of children and childhood Childhood markers and “rites of passage”: Physical development, body modification, dress and relative social status The representation of children’s physical development Body modification Hair Tattoos Circumcision Dress, undress and life stage Relative social status, social class and gender Social status The impact of social class and gender Conclusions References 2 What is a child in Aegean prehistory? Before the palaces: the Early Bronze Age Aegean Constructions of childhood in the period of the Minoan palaces The artistic evidence: a typology of Minoan and Cycladic age grades Girls Boys Discussion: Minoan constructions of childhood Age grades, hairstyle and costuming Rites of passage and gendered social roles Education Children and families Children as social actors Conclusions: what was a Minoan child? Mycenaean constructions of childhood Mycenaean evidence Linear B tablets Funerary evidence Artistic representations Discussion: Mycenaean constructions of childhood Conclusions: what was Mycenaean childhood? References 3 Ideological constructions of childhood in Bronze and Early Iron Age Italy: Personhood between marginality and social ... Introduction Theoretical framework Methodological issues Personhood and archaeological theory Funerary and field archaeology Biology and bioarchaeology Evidence from Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Italy Discussion and conclusion References 4 Defining childhood and youth: A regional approach to Archaic and Classical Greece: the case of Athens and Sparta The presentation of male childhood and youth at Sparta and Athens in the ancient literary sources The presentation of female childhood and youth at Sparta and Athens in the ancient literary sources The presentation of female childhood and youth in Spartan and Athenian iconography The presentation of male childhood and youth in Spartan and Athenian material culture Conclusions References 5 The child in Etruscan Italy Before the art of writing: a boy warrior of the “Villanovan” culture (c. 900–720 BC) The wide world of the orientalizing period and an angry girl (c. 720–575 BC) Becoming visible: children of the masters of central Italy (c. 575–475 BC) Set-back for the Etruscans and closer family unity (c. 475–300 BC) The last three centuries BC: loss of political power and renewed family values The Augustan age in northern Etruria: a renaissance for Etruscan children Children in their family context In conclusion: children and continuity References 6 Children and the Hellenistic period First problem: gaps in the literary sources Second problem: are there differences between classical and Hellenistic authors and artists? Third problem: Hellenistic attitudes towards children are evident earlier Fourth problem: developments affected only part of the Hellenistic world Fifth problem: broad generalisations The exposure of newborns Adoption Athletic competition Education Conclusions References 7 Roman childhood revisited In search of Roman childhood Infantia Shaping and bonding Amulets and transitions The constraints of pueritia The memory of children and familial identity Children’s imagines Remembering children Conclusion References 8 From birth to rebirth: Perceptions of childhood in Greco-Roman Egypt Introduction From conception to birth Conceiving a child Protecting the infant Lived experiences of children A child’s first birthday Education and child–parent relationships Child apprenticeships and household interactions Gendered initiation rites The death of a child Child mummies and family burials Child portraits and apotropaic imagery Adolescent funerary shrouds and social commemoration Conclusion References 9 Looking for children in Late Antiquity Where and how to find the child in Late Antiquity Children and childhood in theory Children in life Children in sickness and in death Conclusion References 10 From village to monastery: Finding children in the Coptic record from Egypt Coptic in a multicultural and multilingual land The textual evidence Identifying children Family sizes and orphanhood The first years The lived experience In villages In monasteries Death Conclusion References Part II Daily life 11 The child’s experience of daily life in ancient Egypt Coming into Egyptian society: birth and nurture Birth Nurture Play and education The role of education in socialisation and enculturation The importance of gender and social class in daily life Conclusions References 12 Changing states: Daily life of children in Mycenaean and Early Iron Age Greece Nurturing the young: a view to attitudes Gendering the young Children in rituals Work, education, and training Regional variation Conclusion References 13 Children in early Rome and Latium Birth, death and infant exposure Nurture Dress as an indicator of age and gender Play Everyday tasks Education Conclusions References 14 Being a child in Archaic and Classical Greece Demographic imperatives Economic constraints Vulnerability to accident, illness and physical abuse Relationship between parents and children Caregivers Play Education Socialisation Sexual awakening Conclusions References 15 The daily life of Etruscan babies and children Births and babies Raising the child Nursing and kourotrophoi Images and life of toddlers and children Adolescents Conclusion References 16 Being a child in the Hellenistic world: A subject out of proportion? Introduction: some thoughts on Hellenism, continuity and change Asia Minor in the Seleucid empire Macedonia and Greece Ptolemaic Egypt Central Asia: the Seleucid and the Parthian empire, Bactria and Indian kingdoms Conclusion Acknowledgements References 17 Different lives: Children’s daily experiences in the Roman world Life in the domestic sphere School, work, and play Social and religious rituals Conclusions References 18 Children as instruments of policy in Hadrian’s Egypt Note References 19 Daily life of children in Late Antiquity: Play, work and vulnerability Introduction Birth, religion and early life Education and household relationships Work and play Conclusion References Part III Religion and ritual 20 “Child in the nest”: Children in Pharaonic Egyptian religion and rituals The child as subject The child as agent The child as otherworldly being The child as religious player Conclusions References 21 Children and Aegean Bronze Age Religion Infants and toddlers in Aegean Bronze Age religion The Cyclades Minoan Crete Mycenaean Greece Children and adolescents in Aegean Bronze Age religion Mycenaean Greece Mycenae Tiryns The Mycenae gold ring Akrotiri, Thera The crocus-gatherers and the goddess of building Xeste 3, Akrotiri, Thera Religious activity in front of tree-shrines Offering fish and incense in the West House at Akrotiri Minoan Crete Girls in religious contexts Boys in religious contexts The Palaikastro Kouros The sacrificial killing of children and adolescents in Minoan Crete Conclusion References 22 Initiating children into Italian Bronze and Early Iron Age ritual, religion and cosmology Introduction Burial outside cemeteries Children in caves Domesticating the dead Gender set in stone Iconic places Standing tall Small things Figurines Miniature worlds Role play Conclusion References 23 Children in Archaic and Classical Greek religion: Active and passive ritual agency Introduction ‘Sweet voices of the child honouring the gods’: choruses of parthenoi and paides Pais amphithales: ‘good looking and blooming on both sides’ Athenian parthenoi in cult Athenian and Spartan boys and youths in cult The Apatouria: boys become men Boy and girl priests Boys and youths at sacrifices: the splagkhnoptes (entrail cooker) Children and Asklepios Children and Artemis Boys and girls at the Olympic festival Marriage: girls become women Conclusion References 24 Children in Etruscan religion and ritual Epigraphic and linguistic evidence Special funerary evidence: rituals for children Children in religious cults: literary evidence The evidence of votives Iconographic evidence Sacrifice and divination Divine protection Cults with special reference to the young? Conclusions References 25 Children’s roles in Hellenistic religion Passive roles for children: children as spectators and participants Active roles for children: children as participants in processions Active roles for children: children as cult agents Active roles for children: children as priests and priestesses Conclusion References 26 Children in Roman religion and ritual Children in utero and during the first weeks of life Childbirth and post-partum rituals Children and domestic religion Children and state religion Conclusion References 27 Children, religion and ritual in Greco-Roman Egypt The protection of children Amulets and spells Harpocrates in the Late Dynastic and Greco-Roman period Children in temples, rituals and festivals Children in temples Children as mediums Children in religious festivals Conclusions References 28 The child in Late Antique religion and ritual Christianity and children Children and baptism Christian rituals aimed at protecting children Children at church Children in the clergy or in monasteries Conclusion References Part IV Death 29 Child, infant and foetal burials in the Egyptian archaeological record: Exploring cultural capacities from the ... Introduction Data Limitations of the study: representativeness Discussion Cultural capacities: position, value, agency Conclusion References 30 “Do not say ‘I am young to be taken’.”: Children and death in ancient Egypt: Second Intermediate Period to the Late Period Introduction Second and Intermediate Period (1650.1550 BCE) New Kingdom (1550.1069 BCE) Third Intermediate Period (1069–664 BCE) Late Period (664.332 BCE) Analysis: concern or indifference? Notes References 31 Children and death in Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Greece Introduction Bronze Age Early Helladic (3100.2000 BC) Middle Helladic (2000.1600 BC) Mycenaean period Early Iron Age (1050–700 BC) Conclusions References 32 Children, death and society in Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Sicily Introduction Cassibile Pantalica Monte Dessueri Finocchito Discussion Conclusions and an epilogue References 33 Children and death in Archaic and Classical Greece The death of a child The geography of child burials Modes of child disposal The material accompaniments Means of commemoration A sanctuary for infant burials? The case of Astypalaia Exposure, exclusion, infanticide Concluding remarks Note References 34 Infancy and childhood in funerary contexts of Early Iron Age Middle Tyrrhenian Italy: A comparative approach Introduction: childhood in the past The anthropology of death Childhood in Early Iron Age funerary contexts of Latium vetus Data sample Demography and context Funerary rite and tomb structure Grave goods Latium vetus: conclusions Children in other Early Iron Age funerary contexts of middle Tyrrhenian Italy: a comparison Etruria Etruscans outside Etruria: Verrucchio and Pontecagnano Pithekoussai Other Central Italian Populations: Abruzzo Conclusions References 35 Child death in the Hellenistic world Time and space Burial treatment Special resting places Offerings and rituals Conclusion References 36 Death of a Roman child Introduction Demographics and early childhood death Infanticide Exposure and its ambit Foundlings Stages of childhood: terminology and significance Attitudes to the loss of young lives Inversion of norms: expectations of children, and pressure to leave a successor Children’s careers and attainment Loss of potential and impact on survivors Funerals and their timing Rituals and their significance Burial/cremation and children’s cemeteries Grave offerings Mourning Regulation of mourning Perceptions of the appropriate scale of mourning Children as mourners Commemoration Sarcophagi and other commemorative monuments Conclusion References 37 Death of a child: Demographic and preparation trends of juvenile burials in the Graeco-Roman Fayoum Excavation methods and recording Archaeological and textual sources of data Paleodemography and modern terminology Analysis of burials Spatial burial patterns Cluster burials Patterns of preparation for burial Conclusion References 38 Infant mortality, Michael Psellos and the Byzantine demon Gillo References Part V Bioarchaeology 39 The bioarchaeology of children in Greco-Roman antiquity Introduction Background The sites Childhood mortality Childhood infection and disease Weaning (paleodiet) Mortuary practices Conclusion References 40 Infancy and childhood in Roman Egypt: Bioarchaeological perspectives Introduction The bioarchaeological context Kellis and the Kellis 2 cemetery Evidence of childhood health and disease in Roman Egypt Conclusion References 41 “The greatest of treasures”: Advances in the bioarchaeology of Byzantine children The Zoodochos Pigi cemetery excavation at Alikianos (Crete) Anthropological and paleopathological evidence for Byzantine Greek non-adult populations Feeding the Byzantine child: the contribution of stable isotope analysis The link between weaning practices and the development of pathological conditions (Re)Thinking Byzantine children: towards the future References Index "This collection employs a multi-disciplinary approach treating ancient childhood in a holistic manner according to diachronic, regional and thematic perspectives. This multi-disciplinary approach encompasses Classical Studies, Egyptology, ancient history and the broad spectrum of archaeology, including iconography and forensic science. With a chronological range of the Bronze Age to Byzantium and regional coverage of Egypt, Greece, and Italy this is the largest survey of childhood yet undertaken for the ancient world. Within this chronological and regional framework both the social construction of childhood and the child's life experience are explored through the key topics of the definition of childhood, daily life, religion and ritual, death, and the information provided by bioarchaeology. No other volume to date provides such a comprehensive, systematic and cross-cultural study of childhood in the ancient Mediterranean world. In particular, its focus on the identification of society-specific definitions of childhood and the incorporation of the bioarchaeological perspective makes this work a unique and innovative study. Children in Antiquity provides an invaluable and unrivalled resource for anyone working on all aspects of the lives and deaths of children in the ancient Mediterranean world"-- Provided by publisher La 4e de couv. indique : This collection employs a multi-disciplinary approach treating ancient childhood in a holistic manner according to diachronic, regional and thematic perspectives. This multi-disciplinary approach encompasses Classical Studies, Egyptology, ancient history and the broad spectrum of archaeology, including iconography and forensic science. With a chronological range of the Bronze Age to Byzantium and regional coverage of Egypt, Greece, and Italy this is the largest survey of childhood yet undertaken for the ancient world. Within this chronological and regional framework both the social construction of childhood and the child's life experience are explored through the key topics of the definition of childhood, daily life, religion and ritual, death, and the information provided by bioarchaeology. No other volume to date provides such a comprehensive, systematic and cross-cultural study of childhood in the ancient Mediterranean world. In particular, its focus on the identification of society-specific definitions of childhood and the incorporation of the bioarchaeological perspective makes this work a unique and innovative study. Children in Antiquity provides an invaluable and unrivalled resource for anyone working on all aspects of the lives and deaths of children in the ancient Mediterranean world