The life of men and women in the Neolithic village of Abu Hureyra

Abu Hureyra is a place now buried under Lake Assad in Syria. Before the waters invaded the place, there was a mound, and, as usual, where there is a mound, there is digging; a team of archeologists came to unearth the remains of a Neolithic village. 

After digging, washing, brushing, cleaning, classifying, and annalizing, they came to some conclusions about how people lived in the Neolithic, especially in the period when they settled to live in one place, cultivating plants and raising livestock versus migrating from place to place, following the animal herds and crop seasons. 

According to the book The Early Human World by Peter Robertshaw and Jill Rubalcaba, which follows the discoveries at Abu Hureyra, the life of Neolithic people was very hard: hours and hours of long physical work, repetitive (and boring, according to modern standards) daily jobs, and enduring, alienating illnesses. 

Archeologists' conclusions after digging and analyzing the site suggest a heartbreaking, hard-to-believe picture of a small society trying to survive by farming and raising sheep and goats. 

Archeologists have uncovered seeds of wheat and barley and the remains of sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle. 

The Neolithic villagers used to carry their crop from the field to their houses on their heads, so the neck bones grew larger. Also, their upper arms got stronger from heavy lifting, causing the bones to bulge. 

They used to grind the grains between two rocks for hours, with their toes curled under their feet until their big toe bones would wear off. They often used their teeth as tools. The archaeologists think they held canes so they could have free hands for other tasks and/or chewed plants to make strings. They used their teeth so much that they carved deep grooves, which must have hurt a lot since they were down to the roots. 

One particular bone deformity speaks about their health. The eye sockets were pitted, and this condition was attributed to the parasites eroding the bone. 

The book mentioned above is full of surprises about the life of Neolithic men and women. The picture is often very different than what we may think after learning from our textbooks. The style is vivid and entertaining. I find it fascinating.  

How did a girl got married in the Middle Ages

Marriage was probably the worst thing that could happen to women in the past till at least two centuries ago. During the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, or even in the modern centuries, marriage was often a reason for crying and grief. Until early in the 20th century in some countries, there was a great sobbing coming from the bride on the day of her wedding.

Why was marriage so bad?
Because:

• ninety percent of the time, there was no love involved (the percent represents my personal estimate);
• because the husband basically owned the wife, and he had the right to apply coercions if he felt it was right; in other words, he could beat up his wife at will;
• because the wife couldn't get a divorce;
• because a woman had no right whatsoever unless she was rich and there was money involved.

Girl inspecting a Hope Chest. 1929, author Poul Friis Nybo.
U.S. public domain
from Wiki Commons

So, how did the couples get married?
First, marriages were based on interests and wealth. If a woman owned some land, cattle, or goods to put her above the peasant class, she could expect a husband with a similar status or wealth. But if she were Cinderella with a golden heart and a super-model overall appearance but was too poor, her parents may give her to an old, rich, and mean bachelor for a few bucks. That’s bad, to begin with!

Second, somebody else was choosing her husband, usually her parents, not because they didn’t love their daughter but because they followed the local traditions, like everybody. They would choose whatever was best for her and for them from among the suitors. Sometimes, midwives paired a bride with a groom and negotiated a contract. Those middle persons (or shall I call them marriage agents?) would come to the bride’s house to propose a groom, and then they would say what was expected of the bride to bring into the marriage. She’ll bring what is called a dowry, often composed of household items and personal pieces of clothing. Wealthy families would even give land, money, cattle, and other goods, including real estate, especially if they had little or no pretenders.


Third, once married, the woman stayed married. No way around it. If she couldn’t take it anymore, the only option was to run away, hoping that the mean husband wouldn’t find her and bring you back, in which case she not only endured increased beating from her significant other but public opprobrium as well. When a girl married, she had to move to her husband’s house. Usually, he was still living with his parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and other relatives. There was a whole new world, waiting for the new wife to start cooking, cleaning, working the farm, taking care of the kids, and performing other tasks that were assigned by her mother-in-law.

Maybe the worst thing was that the boy she liked was still in the village and married to someone else he didn’t care about.

So, was there a wedding?
When their kids got married, most wealthy families put up a public announcement and a small party not to celebrate the event but to show off their social status. Also, much thought was put into the gifts given to the newlyweds by their godparents or local lord protector. However, marriage into a poor family often went quiet, the event being reported only to the church, which kept a record, and to close relatives. In some cases, not even the church knew. It wasn’t until the Reformation that the church started to ask for a formal ceremony in front of a minister.

Then, after the wedding, what?
Simple! The woman took her dowry chest and moved away from home. From now on, she was on her own. If she made it through the marriage, as most couples did, then she did the same for her children as her parents had done for her. And the cycle started over again—and it didn’t stop until the 20th century!

The art of eating together - conviviality



wikimedia commons
 Giulio Romano, Amore e Psiche,  Palazzo Te a Mantova.

Conviviality is seen as a distinguishing feature between animals and humans. Since prehistoric times, people have gathered to find food, cook food, and eat together. Not only is this conviviality a sign of civilization, but it is also a sign of social status. The richer the meal, the higher the class.

People have organized parties since the Neolithic revolution, when societies started to settle and aggregate around fertile lands, forming communities and building cities. These parties, called banquets, were very often a privilege of the ruling classes. Until the second half of the 20th century, food was consumed for survival worldwide. And it is still a problem these days in some parts of the world. So, only the rich could afford to throw a party.  Some foods were considered a sign of luxury and abundance.

For centuries, the banquets of the rich served multiple purposes: to show off, to make friends, to indebt someone, or to pay respect. And not everybody invited to the party had the same treatment as today. There was discrimination, as we would put it in modern times. The guests were separated by social status: there were sovereigns and vassals and servants and employees. There were even gods invited to come, and they were set at separate tables (later, when the party was over and the guests were gone, the host would eat the meat reserved for those gods).

The hierarchy and power position among the participants at a banquets was shown through the place everyone sat at the table. The higher the position in society, the better place at the banquet table and also the better the food.

A very successful or important party was often recorded in writing to be remembered by the posterity. That’s how we know now when it took place, where, who came to the banquets, what kind of food was served and in what quantities (because the bigger the quantity, the richer the host), and what other events took place, if any.

As time passed, conviviality evolved from a simple act of gathering to an art form to be learned and displayed.  

I always wondered how people lived 100, 1000, and 10,000 years ago. What did they eat? Where did they sleep? What did they think? What made them happy or sad, what made them laugh or cry? Did they love their mates, or were there other emotions involved? How did they discover simple things like using spices and herbs for cooking? Or counting, writing, and painting? How was life without TV, computers, cars, and airplanes? Or without refrigerators and stoves or washers and dryers? How was life before the bulb?

The older generations of our time may remember ancient things like the telegraph or the big bulky radio. Or they may even know how to store food for winter. Some may know how to make their own shoes or sew their own clothes. Others may know plants that soothe wounds or cure a stomach ache. But most of us are totally helpless without the use of modern technology. We are highly addicted to others for everything we own or need, from food and clothing to entertainment and health.  We forgot how to accomplish the basic tasks of survival.

In this blog, I embark on a journey of discovery to answer some of my own questions as well as others. I aim to shed light on the life of ordinary people of the past. Along the way, I may, occasionally, unearth some extraordinary individuals who led seemingly common lives. I may uncover some extraordinary events that have left an indelible mark on the ordinary life.

The historians of L'Ecole Des Annales and their remarkable books have greatly fueled my curiosity about the past. I am deeply grateful for their inspiration.