Paper short abstract:

The archaeological funerary context provides a rich source of evidence for studying childhood in the past through the integration of skeletal and cultural evidence. This study adopts a life course approach to explore the different ways in which childhood may have been perceived in the past and the potential biological consequences as indicated by skeletal evidence for health.

Paper long abstract:

Funerary remains have proven to be a particularly rich source of information for accessing past social identities. The archaeological funerary arena is an almost unique context because of the association it provides between the biological remains of past peoples and their material culture. This enables one to analyse skeletal remains for indicators of social and physical environment and situate these findings within a cultural milieu. Many skeletal indicators of poor health in childhood (e.g. cribra orbitalia, growth retardation) have multiple and overlapping causes and can only be meaningfully interpreted when properly contextualised. Likewise, the material culture associated with graves can only achieve its full interpretive potential when examined in relation to the remains of those interred. This study adopts a life course approach to explore the different ways in which childhood may have been perceived in the past, the demarcation of life stages, and the potential biological effects of these perceptions as indicated in the funerary domain. A case study from late Roman Britain has been used to highlight the potentials and limitations of this theoretical approach for accessing past childhood.