Childhood, archaeology of

Abstract

The archaeology of childhood is an area of interest within archaeology which focuses on childhood as a stage in the human lifecycle and on children as cultural actors in past social groups. This field of inquiry includes focusing on roles and definitions of childhood that fall outside traditional Euro‐American conceptions of childhood, and on investigating the archaeological record in a manner that is inclusive of the particular cultural practices and spheres of knowledge held by children. These emphases have enabled archaeologists to focus on how different types of identity, such as gender, are learned, negotiated, and embodied at different stages of the human lifecycle.