Childbirth in prehistory: An introduction

Abstract

Childbirth in prehistorical contexts is seldom considered since there seems to be an underlying assumption that this event lacks a surrounding and traceable material culture. The argument here is that this is a judgement based upon the refusal to acknowledge childbirth as an important social event. Therefore material remains have not been identified as related to childbirth in the archaeological record. The aim of this article is to show that childbirth as a concept has many important social implications and might in fact be traceable in a wide range of prehistoric material. To illustrate this, two examples of different remains are discussed. Firstly, a skeleton with indications of childbirth, as in the case of the mesolithic ‘Woman of Barum’ found in southern Sweden. In connection with this the social implications of mother, mothering will be discussed. Secondly, the Chalcolithic findings from Kissonerga-Mosphilia, Cyprus, are highlighted and suggested to be the remains of a functional set of birth-related equipment.