Exploring children’s use of domestic space in ancient Greece with material culture analyses

Without a comprehensive awareness of their material culture, it is easy to overlook children in household archaeology. This is particularly problematic since juveniles spend much of their time in domestic environments and did so in many ancient and historical contexts. In ancient Greece, literary evidence demonstrates the ideal was for children to remain in the house with female caregivers, at least until they started schooling (if male) or were married (if female). Failing to investigate evidence of children’s activities in excavated houses thus misses a significant opportunity to understand the lives of ancient Greek juveniles. An improved awareness of children’s material culture facilitates investigation of their activities in domestic contexts, through distribution analyses of their material culture in excavated houses. This article applies analyses to Classical houses in Attica, as well as to case studies from the Classical settlement at Olynthus, to develop an improved understanding of children’s lives and significance within their families and society across the fifth and fourth centuries BC in Greece.