Have you ever wondered how daily life was in ancient times? How did houses look like, smell, taste and even sound like in the past? How did ancient people throw house parties and run businesses from home? Why did they bury people and objects under house floors?
These are some of the key questions we will explore in the Household archaeology class. Household Archaeology is a relative new sub-field of archaeology that moves away from the monumental and highly visible public spaces of antiquity and focuses on the architecture, spatial patterning, daily activities, behaviors and experiences of the ancient house. Household archaeology allow us to move from excavated walls to people and discover the fascinating stories of individuals that made and used the object we finds in archaeological contexts. Our main goal in the course is to explore how ancient houses can help us better ancient societies. In doing so, we will investigate key sites in the eastern Mediterranean ranging from the Neolithic to the Early Modern period, that have enabled archaeologists to explore this new field and introduce us to archaeological assemblages found in ancient houses.
