An Introduction to Childhood Anthropological Perspectives on Children's Lives [Hardcover]

In An Introduction to Childhood, Heather Montgomery examines the role children have played within anthropology, how they have been studied by anthropologists and how they have been portrayed and analyzed in ethnographic monographs over the last one hundred and fifty years.

• Offers a comprehensive overview of childhood from an anthropological perspective
• Draws upon a wide range of examples and evidence from different geographical areas and belief systems
• Synthesizes existing literature on the anthropology of childhood, while providing a fresh perspective
• Engages students with illustrative ethnographies to illuminate key topics and themes

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction 1

1 Childhood within Anthropology 17

Introduction 17

Children: The First Primitives 18

Culture and Personality 22

Cross-Cultural Studies of Child-Rearing 26

Children in British Anthropology 34

The Gendered Child 38

Child-Centered Anthropology 43

Conclusion 49

2 What is a Child? 50

Introduction 50

Childhood as a Modern Idea: The Influence of Philippe Ariès 51

Conceptualizations of Childhood 53

Children as Incompetent or Subordinate 56

Children as Equals 61

Children as a Means of Forming Families and Giving Status 63

Children as an Economic Investment 67

Unwanted and Nonhuman Children 70

Conclusion 77

3 The Beginning of Childhood 79

Introduction 79

Fetuses 80