Sharon Brookshaw

<p>This chapter discusses the archaeology of childhood from a museum perspective. It presents data from British museums showing that material is held in collections that can evidence the existence and sometimes also the activities of children in the more distant past. Even remains of children themselves, such as 'Charlie', the skeleton of a young child on display at the Alexander Keiller Museum, can prove important, particularly for younger visitors to such museums. Some examples of museum displays where children from the deeper past have been included and consideration of the curatorial perspective (how important and relevant do curators of archaeological material consider displaying such material to be? Do they think it is feasible to do so?) will be also be covered.</p>

This article discusses the archaeology of children and childhood from a museum perspective with the aim of illustrating that children from the deeper past can and should be included in museum exhibitions, and that archaeologists should consider museum collections a resource for furthering understanding of children in the past. It presents data from recent research illustrating the range of material culture relating to children that is held in the accredited museums of mainland Britain, with a particular emphasis on archaeological objects and collections. The results of a survey examining the attitudes and ideas of curators in regard to exhibiting this material and including children in museum displays are also provided, and some examples of relevant museum exhibitions discussed.

Children are everywhere; we all are or have been children, and some of us have children of our own. So why are they largely invisible in so many aspects of cultural heritage? This article examines the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of children and childhood in Western cultures, a specific aspect of ICH relating to the youngest in society. It asks what we mean by “child” and what might be their intangible heritage, considering aspects such as oral traditions, social rituals, folklore, playlore, and children’s skills in crafting their own toys. It provides an overview of the literature relating to ICH and childhood in museums, arguing both for greater recognition of children’s intangible heritage and for the value of incorporating it into exhibitions, considering some examples of where this has been done. While examination of the archaeology, history, and material culture of children is growing, there has been limited consideration of how intangible cultural heritage might be developed in the museum context with regard to presenting childhood, something this article aims to address.

The word “material” in material culture refers to a broad range of objects classified as “artifacts”—that is, those objects made or used by humans. The inclusion of the word “culture” is rather misleading, however, as material culture is not strictly culture itself but rather its product; as cultural constructs inform the production of artifacts, the study of material culture is a way of revealing beliefs, assumptions, and social fears within the society that produced and consumed any given artifact. Material culture therefore properly means the physical manifestations of culture, and covers those aspects of human behavior, learning, and knowledge that provide a person with the reasoning for producing and using artifacts. Until relatively recently, there was little serious interest in the study of the material cultures of children and childhood (children being biologically immature individuals, with the associated childhood referring to the social and cultural construction of the lives, development, and meaning of these children). Children’s experiences vary enormously over time, space, and culture, and the material environment of the child is an important part of their experience of the world. Conversely, the study of such material culture makes children visible, particularly in the archaeological record where such materials evidence children’s presence and activities. While the origins of material culture study can be traced back to the late 19th century, texts on childhood objects did not start appearing until much later on, and even then it was largely confined to collectors’ guides and histories (mostly concerning toys, dolls, and children’s costume; items that may be thought of as icons of childhood) rather than studies considering the relationship between children and their material world. Such material cultures may therefore be thought of (after Brookshaw 2009, cited under Material Culture of Children) as being either the material culture of children (items made, adapted, or repurposed by children themselves such as homemade—sometimes termed “makeshift” toys) or the material culture of childhood (items made by or bought for children by adults).

This article examines the issues and problems surrounding the material culture of children and childhood, with the aim of making children more visible within material culture studies. It presents results from recent research examining such material culture within the accredited museum collections of mainland Britain, and compares the data from this study to expectations and statements made in the small body of existing literature in this field. Evidence is offered to both challenge and confirm ideas, and new perspectives on this area are offered, notably that `the material culture of children' and `the material culture of childhood' should be considered distinguishable and separate entities.

Children are everywhere; we all are or have been children, and some of us have children of our own. So why are they largely invisible in so many aspects of cultural heritage? This article examines the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of children and childhood in Western cultures, a specific aspect of ICH relating to the youngest in society. It asks what we mean by “child” and what might be their intangible heritage, considering aspects such as oral traditions, social rituals, folklore, playlore, and children’s skills in crafting their own toys. It provides an overview of the literature relating to ICH and childhood in museums, arguing both for greater recognition of children’s intangible heritage and for the value of incorporating it into exhibitions, considering some examples of where this has been done. While examination of the archaeology, history, and material culture of children is growing, there has been limited consideration of how intangible cultural heritage might be developed in the museum context with regard to presenting childhood, something this article aims to address.

This chapter discusses the archaeology of childhood from a museum perspective. Children have been argued to be under-represented in museum displays and those representations that are created are often of a nostalgic image of childhood over the past hundred years – the “Edwardian nursery” image of children in the past. It presents data from British museums showing that material is held in collections that can evidence the existence and sometimes also the activities of children in the more distant past. Even remains of children themselves, such as “Charlie”, the skeleton of a young child on display at the Alexander Keiller Museum, can prove important, particularly for younger visitors to such museums. Some examples of museum displays where children from the deeper past have been included and consideration of the curatorial perspective (how important and relevant do curators of archaeological material consider displaying such material to be? Do they think it is feasible to do so?) will be also be covered.