Despite growing strength in recent decades, an archaeology of childhood has often been overlooked by those studying prehistory. This is concerning because communities are enlivened by their children, and conversations with and about children often provide a critical arena for the discussion of aspects of societies which prehistorians are comfortable addressing, such as social structure, identity and personhood. Through an exploration of childhood as expressed in the Earlier Bronze Age burials from Ireland, this article demonstrates that neither written sources, artistic depictions nor toys are necessary to speak of children in the past. Indeed, an approach which tacks between scales reveals subtle trends in the treatment of children which speak to wider shared concerns and allows a reflection on the role of children in prehistory.

中文翻译：

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在史前时期看孩子：来自青铜时代爱尔兰的观点

尽管近几十年来越来越强大，但研究史前史的人经常忽视童年考古学。这是令人担忧的，因为社区因他们的孩子而活跃，与孩子的对话和关于孩子的对话通常为讨论史前人乐于处理的社会方面提供了一个重要的舞台，例如社会结构、身份和人格。通过对爱尔兰早期青铜时代墓葬中所表达的童年的探索，本文表明，无论是书面资料、艺术描绘还是玩具都不需要谈论过去的儿童。事实上，一种在不同尺度之间进行调整的方法揭示了儿童治疗的微妙趋势，这些趋势反映了更广泛的共同关注点，并允许反思儿童在史前时期的作用。