children: Africa Elizabeth Moignard, Greek Vases: An Introduction (London: Bristol Classical Press, 2006) Paul T Nicholson and Ian Shaw, Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1999) Daniel P Potts, Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundation (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1997) C F Vafopoulou-Richardson, Ancient Greek Terracottas (Oxford, U.K.: Ashmolean Museum, 1991) Michael Vickers, Ancient Greek Pottery (Oxford, U.K.: Ashmolean Museum, 1999) Sarah Underhill Wisseman, “From Pots to People: Ceramic Production in the Ancient Mediterranean.” In Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials, ed S U Wisseman and W W Williams (Langhorne, Pa.: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1994) ▶ children introduction The life of a child was extremely uncertain and difficult in the ancient world First, a child had to be born alive But in the absence of the knowledge and technologies of modern medicine, large numbers of children were stillborn or died shortly after birth Then the child had to survive Historians estimate that 25 percent of newborns the world over did not survive their first year, dying from respiratory problems, diarrhea (and the dehydration it caused), infectious diseases, and starvation Even if children survived their first year, dangers still lay in wait, and larger numbers failed to survive to age 10 Meanwhile, life expectancy for adults was low, and many women died during childbirth, so a child faced the danger of losing one or both parents, making the chances of the child’s survival slim The child had to be reasonably healthy and well formed to grow to adulthood In most ancient cultures people did not have the resources to care for sick people who could not fend for themselves when necessary A common practice was for sick or deformed infants to be left to die, often in forests or deserts The word foundling, referring to a baby who is “found” and raised by another, attests to the prevalence of this practice Few children went to anything that resembled a school, though in some ancient cultures, such as Greece and Rome, young boys were often taken away at an early age for training in the responsibilities of citizenship, including military training; in ancient Sparta boys were regarded as the property of the state from the age of seven For the most part, though, children stayed at home with their parents Toys were few, though some archaeological evidence for toys has been found Few parents attached much sentimental value to their children Children were a resource, and from an early age they were taught the skills they needed to help them and other members of their clan or tribe survive, including hunting, herding, 187 and farming Boys worked out of doors at these tasks, and it was expected that a boy would follow his father’s occupation Girls were taught domestic chores such as cooking In modern life children are thought to be the sole responsibility of their parents, though parental authority can be delegated to teachers in schools In many ancient cultures, in contrast, children were thought of as the responsibility of the entire community Early peoples lived in extended clans, not only with parents but also with grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins Often these cultures were matrilineal, meaning that descent was traced through the female rather than the male line In this type of culture, the responsibility for training children in the values of the community belonged to the community as a whole If children survived all these hardships, they were ready for initiation into adulthood Usually at around the age of puberty boys—and somewhat less often girls—were subjected to initiation rites that identified them as adult members of the society Often these rites involved some sort of arduous task; typically, the child was segregated from the rest of the community during the initiation The child who successfully completed the initiation became a full-fledged member of the adult community AFRICA BY MICHAEL J O’NEAL Generalizations about children and child rearing in ancient Africa are difficult to make The continent of Africa is and was home to hundreds of ethnic groups, each with its own customs and traditions Thus, to talk about “African” children and child rearing is misleading Further, the lack of written records from ancient Africa makes it difficult for historians and archaeologists to make with confidence precise statements about children and child rearing They know, however, that in modern times African communities continue to follow many of the same customs and to practice many of the same rituals they did many centuries ago The history of children and child rearing in Africa begins millions of years ago Research by archaeologists and geneticists strongly suggests that the human species originated in Africa The earliest “hominids,” the Australopithecines, emerged in Africa some four to six million years ago Among the earliest archaeological evidence are the “Australopithecine footprints” found near Laetoli, Tanzania The footprints are those of an adult and child, made about 3.5 million years ago The concept of “childhood” as it is understood today was probably unknown in ancient Africa Thousands of years ago human behavior was in large measure dictated by the simple goal of survival Mates tried to produce as many offspring as possible during the woman’s childbearing years, with the hope that some would survive to adulthood (when they could reproduce) Beyond mere survival the purpose of child rearing was to teach youngsters how to be human—that is, how to