This pioneering collection engages with recent research in different areas of the archaeological discipline to bring together case-studies of the household material culture from later prehistoric and classical periods. The book provides a comprehensive and accessible study for students into the material records of past households, aiding wider understanding of our own domestic development.

This pioneering collection engages with recent research in different areas of the archaeological discipline to bring together case-studies of the household material culture from later prehistoric and classical periods. The book provides a comprehensive and accessible study for students into the material records of past households, aiding wider understanding of our own domestic development.

From the simplest hunter-gatherer society to the most powerful Empire, all societies are built on basic daily life, developed day to day with its specific material conditions. Household archaeology looks at the detail of the living domain, exploring the most essential elements of any social dynamic, the archaeology of the small scale. The Archaeology of Household looks at this important aspect of archaeological investigation in a variety of different ways using a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives, deep thinking about the mathematical nature of household space, and how societies world view was reflected in domestic space. Case studies include hunter-gatherer societies in America, Neolithic and Bronze Age lakeside settlements in Switzerland and the Alpine region, Bronze Age sites in Hungary and northern Europe and Archaic period Sicily.

Since the late 1970s, household archaeology has become a key theoretical and methodological framework for research on the development of permanent social inequality and complexity, as well as for understanding the social, political and economic organization of chiefdoms and states. This volume is the cumulative result of more than a decade of research focusing on household archaeology as a means to gain understanding of the evolution of social complexity, regardless of underlying economy.

Archaeology of Households, Kinship, and Social Change offers new perspectives on the processes of social change from the standpoint of household archaeology. This volume develops new theoretical and methodological approaches to the archaeology of households pursuing three critical themes: household diversity in human residential communities with and without archaeologically identifiable houses, interactions within and between households that explicitly considers impacts of kin and non-kin relationships, and lastly change as a process that involves the choices made by members of households in the context of larger societal constraints. Encompassing these themes, authors explore the role of social ties and their material manifestations (within the house, dwelling, or other constructed space), how the household relates to other social units, how households consolidate power and control over resources, and how these changes manifest at multiple scales. The case studies presented in this volume have broader implications for understanding the drivers of change, the ways households create the contexts for change, and how households serve as spaces for invention, reaction, and/or resistance. Understanding the nature of relationships within households is necessary for a more complete understanding of communities and regions as these ties are vital to explaining how and why societies change. Taking a comparative outlook, with case studies from around the world, this volume will inform students and professionals researching household archaeology and be of interest to other disciplines concerned with the relationship between social networks and societal change.

The essays in this volume represent substantially revised versions of papers presented at the conference "Household Archaeology in the Middle East and Beyond: Theory, Method, and Practice." This three-day meeting took place between February 19 and 21, 2009 at Fort Douglas on the campus of The University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Covering major theoretical and methodological developments over recent decades in areas like social institutions, settlement types, gender, status, and power, this book addresses the developing understanding of where and how people in the past created and used domestic space. It will be a useful synthesis for scholars and an ideal text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in archaeology and architecture.