Invisible People and Processes

Book excerpt: Invisible People and Processes focuses on issues of gender and childhood in European archaeology. It presents a range of themes and periods, covering Britain, the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, with contributions by scholars from the UK, USA, Canada and Europe. The authors not only examine the archaeological record for these two structuring principles of human society, but also consider cultural variability and discuss related theoretical problems. The structure of the book is thematic. The first part concentrates on theory and reviews the available evidence. The second part includes case studies of critical research relating particularly to gender, while the last part contains case studies relating especially to children and childhood. Each part is concluded by a commentary from an expert in the field. This book is the first archaeological work on gender to focus exclusively on the European archaeological record, and to combine this with a coherent discussion of childhood and concepts of childhood. It will be essential reading for all those working in gender and related studies, especially in an archaeological context.