The Archaeology of Households, Kinship, and Social Change

The first workshop and edited volume in the Winslow Series was organized by Lacey Carpenter and Anna Prentiss in January 2019. This volume examines the relationships within and between households to better understand their roles in major societal transformations. Drawing up on case studies from North America, South America, Southwest Asia, Oceania, and referencing work in Africa, East Asia, and Europe, the authors develop new empirical approaches to understanding kinship networks as they reconceptualize households as agents of political change. The contributors originally participated in a session at the 2017 Society for American Archaeology Meetings, and then came together at Hamilton College for four days at the Winslow Workshop Series. During the workshop, authors provided detailed critical feedback on each other’s papers, and developed key themes to explore in new co-authored “Perspectives” chapters. The resulting volume, co-edited by an early career researcher and an established scholar and the volume contributed to by both junior and senior scholars, is poised to make a major contribution to the field. 

Participants: Lacey Carpenter (co-organizer), Anna Prentiss (co-organizer), Casey Barrier, Nathan Goodale, Donna Glowacki, Jennifer Kahn, Ian Kuijt, Rachel Lee, Tom Pluckhahn, Elsa Redmond, Barbara Roth, Charles Spencer, Julián Salazar, and Carl Wendt.