The archaeology of household activities.

The archaeology of household activities. PENELOPE M. ALLISON (ed.). The archaeology of household activities.xiii+206 pages, 46 figures. 1999. London: Routledge; 0-415-20597-2paperback 18.99 [pounds sterling]. Dr ALLISON's contribution to the archaeological study ofhouseholds is thoroughly constructive. Other than the opening andclosing chapters, there are: five papers (including M. Schiffer) withremarks on `formation processes' and chronological distinctionsamong assemblages; Dr ALLISON'S own critique of archaeologicalterminology for describing assemblages; and three papers on gender.Major historical issues are broached, including colonialism (RomanBritain Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia. , Yucatan) and gender role change (two papers on ColonialAustralia). Typical of the creativity here is the cross-section offields: four papers deal with Classical archaeology 'Classical archaeology' is a term given to archaeological investigation of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about in Latin and , two withMesoamerica, and three with historical archaeology Historical archaeology is a branch of archaeology that concerns itself with "historical" societies, i.e. those that had systems of writing. It is often distinguished from prehistoric archaeology which studies societies with no writing. (including Yucatan).This book's slimness is deceptive.