Interior Housing-Side Rooms

In the first of three oral stories, “How Men and Women Got Together”, we experience the unique perspective of the Blood-Piegan tribe. In this oral story, an “Old Man” created both men and women separately, each with their own differences. He then attempts to combine the groups together in order to provide benefits for each group. Material possessions were one of the major driving forces in this story. Early on in the story it is explained, “After a while the men learned how to make bows and arrows. The women learned how to tan buffalo hides and make tipis and beautiful robes decorated with porcupine quills,”. The women in the story desired food and weapons, things that the men already had. Meanwhile, the men desired clothing and shelter, things that the women already had. Apparently, these material goods are valued enough in the Blood-Piegan culture that they were worth both men and women putting their differences aside to obtain. It is also apparent that men and women value

As a result of fulfilling desires, civilized Sumerians were required to use the resources around them at their disposal. A “tablet-box of cedar” and a “clasp of bronze,” would have required cedar trees to be cut down and bronze to be made from mined iron and copper. Unfortunately, due to overconsumption and necessity of these items, an irreversible amount of environmental degradation occurred, providing evidence that yet again, civilized Sumerian culture represented through the “tall, magnificent, and terrible,” King Gilgamesh is the worst version of humanity.

“ Public” refers to pluralities of inhabitants who congregate in groups. Excavation and study of the oldest relics these groupings left behind allows anthropology to posit the “dawn of civilization” to have occurred in Mesopotamia, the epicenter from where humanity departed to colonize other areas. New structures and institutions emerged as larger population centers developed- a process that continues to this day as we observe the immense and primal demographic shift from rural areas to cities that is currently happening throughout the world. In

An important development that distinguishes civilization from even the most advanced societies that preceded was gender inequality. For example, in the new societies, males were considered superior towards females. The text states, “the patriarchal ideal regarded men superior to women and sons preferable to daughters”(page 73). The text displays that women were second priority. This development is different from previous Paleolithic and Neolithic societies

In the book The Prehistory of Home Jerry Moore discusses the importance that home structures have had for humans over time in different places of the world. He says that “In addition to their basic and fundamental function of providing shelter from natural elements, dwellings are powerful and complex concentrates of human existence… our dwellings reflect and shape our lives” (Moore, 3). He believes that homes are representations of the existence of individual humans as well as their surroundings. Jerry Moore is successful in explaining the importance of home in archaeology throughout history with colorful examples as well as a comparison of the importance of the home in the past to the importance of the home in the future.

A: Studies of the cultural landscape and urban morphology of Mesopotamian cities have found signs of social inequality in the varying sizes and ornamentation of houses. Urban elite erected palaces, protected themselves with walls, and employed countless artisans to beautify their spaces. They also established a priest‐king class and developed a religious‐political ideology to support the priest‐kings. Rulers in the cities were both priests and kings, and they levied taxes and demanded tribute from the harvest brought by the agricultural laborers.

Flannery and Marcus discuss in our textbook about the social renown that comes from agriculture. “It is also the case that for most parts of the world, Rousseau was right: not until people had begun to raise crops or animals do we see signs of emerging inequality” (Flannery and Marcus 2012:91). This is especially true for Cahokia. In Cahokia, food storage changed in the Mississippian period. Woods, in his article, points out the fact that there is archeological evidence for food storage as being a communal event at Cahokia and that Cahokian households typically lacked a storage place of their own, which gave rise to the need for a large, community-based facility (2004:149). This was not always the case. There was evidence back in the Late Woodland period, prior to the Mississippian Period that shows there were domestic storage features in households and little evidence for communal storage. The rise of communal storage also gives rise to social power of the elites. “… the institutionalization of social ranking, DeBoer contends that ‘There is no mystery to the absences of subterranean storage in such circumstances. It is expected’” (Woods 2004:154). This being said, the change from subterranean food storage to aboveground food storage changed once Cahokia elites were gaining more and more power and becoming redistributors. This is an exemplary indication of social inequality. The chiefs and elites control the food storage and how much gets redistributed and how much goes back in to replace what was used. The producers and consumers of the food do not get much say in the matter because it is not their

(Haviland et al 2011: 241) Trade increased and many settlements became wealthy. These wealthy communities could support some people as artists and priests. Catal Hyuk is an example of astounding neolithic art, much of which adorns religion shrines. (Levack et al 2009:5)

Placing both houses in a historical context, the Mesopotamian ‘courtyard’ house dates more specifically to the time 10000BC to 600BC, whilst the

These homes consisted of a central space with a large hearth used for cooking and warmth, had many passageways connecting all the homes, and furniture including cabinets, dressers, and chairs made of stone (3). Each home had a specific feature that made them different from one another including different paintings, materials found such as jewelry and pottery, and some even had burials in them

Every village also had a community building, built like a house but much larger, where people could assemble for meetings and ceremonies. Another structure, roofed but with open walls and a platform was also built near the plaza. Here, leaders conducted public ceremonies and guests were received.(2)

The home is actually a major “mechanism for the domestication of … women” as substantiated by the esteemed Leon Baptista Alberti (Wigley 332). Alberti writes in his 15th century treatise on Architecture, that the ancient Greeks rightfully confined women within the private sphere of the home where the women are deeply distanced from public association and men are granted the freedom to network publicly outside and the additional defeminized space of the study. These sexual assertions emanated from misogynistic literature expressing the physical and mental inferiority of undisciplined women as a means to justify domesticating women. The second component of Wigley’s argument is the concept of domestic architecture as a metaphor for femininity. He explains that the house itself is “a domesticated woman”. Just

The governing legal, moral and religious codes of ancient civilizations were written and enforced by a minority that exercised power and authority over the majority. This minority consisted of priests, rulers and elites with established power and influence in society. In these codes of early civilizations, there was an overarching emphasis on maintenance of structure and order in society. Simply put, while these codes reflect the conditions, needs and values of the times in which they were formulated, they also unveil the authors’ agendas to preserve their power by maintaining the status quo. Therefore, these codes acknowledge and uphold the prevailing social, gender and racial inequalities as natural conditions of human existence and reveal the manifold biases present in early civilizations.

Fox, James J. 1993. “Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs for Living.” The Journal of Asian Studies 203-205.

This analysis provides a historical context to investigate domestic occurrences and customary behaviors in western culture during the 18th century. Through the study of the daily chores and hygiene practices of people during this time, I will gain an in-depth understanding of practices, which developed over time, serving as the foundation of our culture in present day. The purpose is to gain in-depth understanding related to gender expectations, responsibilities, social class, health care customs and personal upkeep within a domestic culture are the focus. Finding will determine complexities in the nature of the lives of those who managed these dwellings, by studying preserved artifacts, journals, and documented practices from the 1700's.