Lindsay Powell - Care in the Past: Archaeological and Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by
OXBOW BOOKS
The Old Music Hall, 106108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JE

and in the United States by
OXBOW BOOKS
1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083

Oxbow Books and the individual contributors 2017

Paperback Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-335-5
Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-336-2 (epub)
Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-337-9 (kindle)
Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-338-6 (pdf)

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Powell, Lindsay, editor of compilation. | Southwell-Wright, William, editor of compilation. | Gowland, Rebecca, editor of compilation.

Title: Care in the past: archaeological and interdisciplinary perspectives / edited by Lindsay Powell, William Southwell-Wright, and Rebecca Gowland.

Description: Oxford; Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016044905 (print) | LCCN 2016045533 (ebook) | ISBN 9781785703355 (paperback) | ISBN 9781785703362 (epub) | ISBN 9781785703379 (mobi) | ISBN 9781785703386 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Social archaeology. | Archaeology and history. | Caregivers--History. | Caring--Social aspects--History. | Child care--History. | Older people--Care--History. | People with disabilities--Care--History. | Animal welfare--History.

Classification: LCC CC72.4.C367 2016 (print) | LCC CC72.4 (ebook) | DDC 930.1--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016044905

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Front cover: Concerned parents trying to coax a sick child to take some liquid while a dog waits patiently. Watercolour by W.H. Margetson, 1901. Image courtesy of Wellcome Library, London under a Creative Commons licence.

Lindsay Powell
To Nathan, my mom and family

William Southwell-Wright
I would like to dedicate this book to my parents for their love and support

Rebecca Gowland
For my boys, Tim, Theo and Milo, for all of your care and love

Contents

William Southwell-Wright, Rebecca Gowland, and Lindsay Powell

Mary Lewis

Ellen Kendall

Heidi Dawson

Rebecca L. Gowland

Nick Thorpe

David Doat

Shawn M. Phillips

Marlo Willows

Richard Thomas

Gary King

Rebecca Gowland, Lindsay Powell, and William Southwell-Wright

Acknowledgements

The editors would like to express their gratitude to the following people and organisations for their support and contributions to this volume. First, we would like to thank the Department of Archaeology, Durham University for the initial grant of a Research Dialogues Fund and the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Durham University for contributing funding for the conference that provided the initial impetus for this volume Care in the Past: Archaeological and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. We would also like to thank the College of St. Hild and St. Bede for allowing us to stage the conference, Sophie Newman for her assistance on the day, and all those individuals who gave talks: Jessica Cooney, Heidi Dawson, Katherine Huntley, Bryn James, Gary King, Mary Lewis, Dawn McLaren, Irina Metzler, Hannah Newton, Nick Thorpe, Veronique Thouroude, and Marlo Willows. Secondly, thanks are given to Emma-Jayne Graham and Julie Peacock for giving talks as part of the Care in the Past Research Dialogues talks given at the Department of Archaeology, Durham University. Thirdly, we would like to thank the Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) and the University of Liverpool for allowing our participation in their annual conference, and those who contributed to our session Disability and Archaeology: Critical Perspectives and Inclusive Practices: Victoria Beauchamp, Emma-Jayne Graham, Shawn Phillips, Dario Scarpati, Nicola Thorpe, Lisa Trentin, Johannes Verstraete, Julie Walker, and Stephanie Wright. Finally, we would like to thank Julie Gardner at Oxbow, Charlotte Roberts, the chapter authors, and all those individuals who assisted in the production of the volume: Patricia Baker, David Bolt, Kathy Dettwyler, Mandy Jay, Andrew Millard, Piers Mitchell, Rebecca Redfern, Sarah Semple, Nivien Speith, Nathan Thomas, Tim Thompson, Beth Upex, and Mark White.

List of Contributors

DR. HEIDI DAWSON
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
University of Bristol
43 Woodland Road
Bristol
BS8 1UU

DR. DAVID DOAT
Ethics (EA 7446)
Catholic University of Lille
60, Boulevard Vauban
F-59800 Lille
France

DR. REBECCA GOWLAND
Durham University
Department of Archaeology
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE

ELLEN KENDALL
Durham University
Department of Archaeology
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE

DR. GARY KING
Independent Researcher

DR. MARY LEWIS
Department of Archaeology
University of Reading
Whiteknights
PO Box 227
Reading
RG6 6AB

DR. SHAWN PHILLIPS
Indiana State University
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Earth and Environmental Systems
200 North Seventh Street
Terre Haute
Indiana 47802
USA

DR. LINDSAY POWELL
Independent Researcher

DR. CHARLOTTE ROBERTS
Durham University
Department of Archaeology
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE

WILLIAM SOUTHWELL-WRIGHT
Independent Researcher

DR. RICHARD THOMAS
School of Archaeology and Ancient History
University of Leicester
University Road
Leicester
LE1 7RH

DR. NICK THORPE
University of Winchester
Sparkford Road
Winchester
SO22 4NR

DR. MARLO WILLOWS
University of Edinburgh
School of History, Classics and Archaeology
Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG

Preface

Navigating Approaches to Impairment, Disability and Care in the Past: The Need for Reflection

Charlotte Roberts

Introduction

It is a pleasure to write this preface to a volume that will become essential reading for those working in this field. The health and general well-being of any society, past or present, can be argued as key features that underpin its very function. An ill and disabled society can affect that very function, as can poor access to health or related care. This is why health care is such an important component of any countrys infrastructure, albeit varying in availability and quality over time and space. While accepting that the experience of living with health problems and accessing care and treatment today are vastly different to living in the Palaeolithic, for example, there are some parts of the world today that have health care systems that function relatively effectively. They may variously provide efficient diagnosis and treatment at the point of need, help on prevention and healthy living, and access to general advice (including social care options). While recognizing that health care can be varied in availability and quality today, the experience of disease varies too across the world, and is very much driven by where people live and in which sociocultural milieu they reside.