Household archaeology has a long history of anthropological inquiry.

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

investigations of the household serve as a microcosm for the greater social universe. The household serves as a space for socialization processes. Household archaeology focuses on the household as a social unit, and involves research on the household's dwelling and other related architecture, material culture, features, and larger sociopolitical organizations that are associated with a specific culture. Household social relationships have been associated as serving as an "atom" for society.Yanagiasako, Sylvia (1979), Family and Household: The Analysis of Domestic Groups. ''Annual Review of Anthropology'', 8: pp. 161-205, Annual Reviews. Therefore, household studied effectively convey information pertaining to flexible economic and ecological conditions Household activity encompasses spheres of activity related to function and how people act. Household archaeology redefines the notion of the household and the domestic by challenging notions of what households are, how they operate and the social implications of such analysis. The material culture provides information about such activities. Households are families, domestic groups, and co-habitations. Households function in a variety of fashions.

History of Theoretical Background

Household archaeology involves investigations of

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

activities. It encompasses social formation processes,

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

or co-residential organization and the

material culture Material culture is the aspect of social reality grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects creat ...

associated with such activities. Scholarly inquiry into household studies began in the 1960s with research emphasis upon a micro-scale analysis of social groups.Bender, Donald (1967), A Refinement of the Concept of Household: Families, Co-Residence and Domestic Functions. ''

American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), published quarterly by Wiley. The "New Series" began in 1899 under an editorial board that included Franz Boas, Daniel G. Brinton, and John W ...

'' 65(5): pp. 493-504, Blackwell. Households are commonly referred to as the most basic social unit. Households operate within social and economic processes aimed to structure general conditions of social life. "Household" and "family" are social phenomena. According to Bender, these constructions are "logically distinct and, under certain circumstances, vary independently of each other." The household has three elements: the social (demographic), the material (possessions and dwellings) and the behavioral (activities).Wilk, Richard and William Rathje (1982), Household Archaeology. ''American Behavioral Scientist'', 25(6): pp.617-639. Household membership employs a variety of strategies and behaviors. Household archaeology is concerned with the

remaining from basic activity patterns as a result of human behavior.

Archaeological implications

The material record thoroughly represents the intimate spaces of everyday life. It challenges how to formulate questions about everyday experiences. How people construct and interact with the world around them provide material evidence of a specific worldview.Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/worldview Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010. The household consists of the social (demographic and relationships of its members), the material aspect (dwelling and structures), and the behavioral aspect (activities it performs). A household can be considered as “a corporate body organized by reference to shared practices and common estate.” Robin, Cynthia (2003). New Directions in Classic Maya Household Archaeology. ''Journal of Archaeological Research'' 11(2): 307-356. Religion, rituals and social activities are often organized at the household level and reinforced by habitual actions through time. Human agency also affects conceptions of household ideology. Scientific inquiry within household archaeology is a balance between theoretical arguments and empirical data to support or refute the evidence. Household archaeology is a platform for examining inequality. Whether gender, social or material, inequality exists in archaeological analysis.

General topics

Defining the household

The term "family" today implies a kinship tie, while domestic groups are associated with function and co-residence simply implies shared dwelling space. A household can be any of these. Household function is concerned with production, consumption, reproduction and socialization. These functions can be interpreted archaeologically. Domestic chores have historically been associated with a gendered division of labor and tasks associated with maintaining the household chores and child rearing.

Gender

Historically, a presumed gendered binary exists associating men with the “public” sphere and women with the “private” sphere. This often is explained by the historical division of labor in

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

societies where men were responsible for food procurement of large game and women were responsible for child-rearing and gathering plant food sources.

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Moore, Henrietta (1988). Kinship, Labour and Household: Understanding Women’s Work. ''Feminism and Anthropology'', pp. 43-72. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis. This argument is unacceptable today. Women are engaged in productive, active work inside and outside the home all over the world. Anthropological inquiry into the sexual division of labor in the domestic domain began with

Ester Boserup Ester Boserup (18 May 1910 – 24 September 1999) was a Danish economist. She studied economic and agricultural development, worked at the United Nations as well as other international organizations, and wrote seminal books on agrarian change a ...

's work on women and economic development. A universally assumed Western division between the “domestic/house/private” space versus the “public/exterior male world” exists. This launched a structured division between gendered social worlds. Women have made a substantial contribution to subsistence activities and household production. The structured system of social relationships also implies an “idealized” gendered identity associated with a public vs. private dichotomy. Political actions and socioeconomic motivations aid male and female actions in domestic groups. The mother-child relationship is often associated with the nucleus of all family groups. Reproduction involves physical reproduction, child rearing and socialization. Households can be organized to collectively achieve these tasks.

Gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

themes resonate as a result of this action. Household studies of space and place often involve function and activity. Site layouts, and conceptions of households provide information about

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

roles in the past.

Household space

The dwelling itself serves as a material, functional space. The house serves as a "privileged entity" for studying intimate spaces of inside space. Storage space can assess a socially constructed identity. This process allows groups to apply spatial and social meaning to control knowledge. Alternatively, discard behavior reflects how acquisition and use reflects patterns of daily life. Particular spaces within the dwelling itself are reserved to accomplish household tasks. For example, the

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

is reserved for cooking and the

bedroom A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterised by its usage for sleeping and sexual activity. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds (ranging from a crib for ...

is reserved for sleeping. However, not all cultures adhere to such traditions.

Methodology

Multiple lines of evidence prove to be most useful in household archaeological studies.

Human settlement In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of ci ...

patterns, site formation processes, and

help to organize household studies that bridge theoretical and methodological interpretations of archaeological assemblages.

Botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Faunal assemblage In archaeology and paleontology a faunal assemblage is a group of associated animal fossils found together in a given stratum. The principle of faunal succession is used in biostratigraphy to determine each biostratigraphic unit, or biozone. The ...

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

, privy,

historical documents Historical documents are original documents that contain important historical information about a person, place, or event and can thus serve as primary sources as important ingredients of the historical methodology. Significant historical documen ...

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, and

refuse Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste produ ...

data provide information for methodological applications of household archaeology. Household Archaeology employs a dynamic interaction between theoretical and practical. Applications of “longue durée,” an

Ethnohistory Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may n ...

approach are suggested as a method for household anthropological

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. Joyce employed such methods in examining the socialization processes for

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

children.Joyce, Rosemary (2000). Girling the Girl and Boying the Boy. In ''Human Lifecycles, World Archaeology''. 31(3): 473-483. Household archaeology encompasses the space outside the dwelling itself. New scientific analysis allow households to be examined using new techniques such as soil chemistry, bone chemistry, and

Paleoethnobotany Paleoethnobotany (also spelled palaeoethnobotany), or archaeobotany, is the study of past human-plant interactions through the recovery and analysis of ancient plant remains. Both terms are synonymous, though paleoethnobotany (from the Greek words ...

. Uniquely preserved examples allow archaeologists to examine households carefully and devise new techniques for analysis.

References

{{reflist, 2 Archaeological sub-disciplines