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April Nowell
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Growing Up in the Ice Age: Fossil and Archaeological Evidence of the Lived Lives of Plio-Pleistocene Children Paperback – June 14, 2021

by April Nowell (Author)

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Winner of the 2023 European Association of Archaeology Book of the Year Award

In prehistoric societies children comprised 40-65% of the population, yet by default, our ancestral landscapes are peopled by adults who hunt, gather, fish, knap tools and make art. But these adults were also parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who had to make space physically, emotionally, intellectually and cognitively for the infants, children and adolescents around them. Growing Up in the Ice Age is a timely and evidence-based look at the lived lives of Paleolithic children and the communities of which they were a part. By rendering these 'invisible' children visible, readers will gain a new understanding of the Paleolithic period as a whole, and in doing so will learn how children have contributed to the biological and cultural entities we are today.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Foreword by Jane Baxter

1. Toward an archaeology of Paleolithic children

2. Birth and the Paleolithic ‘family’

3. Toys, burials and secret spaces

4. Stone tools, skill acquisition and learning a craft

5. Children, oral storytelling and the Paleolithic ‘arts’

6. Adolescence in the Ice Age

7. Paleolithic children as drivers of human evolution

Appendix 1. Chronology of the Paleolithic and timeline of fossil hominins
Appendix 2. Table of subadult fossils in the Plio-Pleistocene (perinatal–ca. 10 years)
Appendix 3. Table of subadult fossils from the Plio-Pleistocene (ca. 10 years–20 years).

Bibliography
Index
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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Oxbow Books
  4. Publication date
    June 14, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1789252946
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1789252941
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book effectively lays out an integrated approach that includes the domain of children as directly relevant to understanding the archaeological remains adults produce. A key point is the role of a community in providing the bridge from childhood to adulthood—it is through the multiple levels of a community that children gain the knowledge and cultural framework they will need as adults. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty."
D. Read, emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles, CHOICE May 2022 Vol. 59 No. 9

“…an important book that engages with the more difficult question of what Plio-Pleistocene children’s lives were actually like by using a holistic and interdisciplinary approach. In addition to her own archaeological expertise, Nowell relies on the most recent research by biological anthropologists, primatologists, geneticists, ethnographers, psychologists, and other scientists. She weaves the latest data and theoretical perspectives seamlessly into a rich and nuanced description of what life might have been like for children and adolescents during various phases of evolution.”
American Antiquity

"…this is data-driven, intellectually weighty, wide-ranging and erudite, lively, and packed full of ideas. […] it goes much further than most books on human origins to humanise the Palaeolithic world, and the result is one of the best evocations of the Palaeolithic world I have read. […] It should certainly be required reading for Palaeolithic and prehistoric specialists; and academics in the life sciences and social sciences and interested lay readers will find it of great value."
Paul Pettitt, Proffessor of Palaeolithic Archaeology at Durham

“…richly illustrated, includes appendices of fossil remains, and contains numerous references and a robust bibliography. Growing Up in the Ice Age is important for students and professionals in physical and behavioral anthropology because it fills a gap in helping us understand the fundamental role children played, literally and figuratively, in our hominin past.”
Journal of Paleoanthropology

"…a timely summary of the state-of-the art regarding Pleistocene youngsters, their lives, deaths and material worlds. […] this perspective on children as agents of change and innovation is valid and important beyond the Pleistocene."
Childhood in the Past

"This is a must-read for those interested in childhood in the past, and for those seeking a rare humanistic volume on human evolution and Palaeolithic archaeology."
Current World Archaeology

“The volume has a broad appeal, bringing together a large quantity of data for specialists, but also presenting the archaeological evidence empathetically so that it speaks to anyone interested in the lives of children in the past.”
Antiquity

About the Author

April Nowell is a Paleolithic archaeologist and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Victoria. She directs an international team of researchers in the study of Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites in Jordan and is known for her publications on cog

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxbow Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 14, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1789252946
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1789252941
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1 x 9.75 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #1,330,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

About the author

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April Nowell

April Nowell

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Dr. April Nowell is a Paleolithic archaeologist and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Victoria. She directs an international team of scientists in the study of Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites in Jordan and collaborates with colleagues on the study of Ice Age rock art in Australia and France and on ostrich eggshell beads in South Africa. In 2016, she and her colleagues working in Jordan published the world's oldest identifiable blood on stone tools showing that 250,000 years ago Homo erectus ate everything from ducks to rhinos. She is known for her publications on cognitive archaeology, Paleolithic art, the archaeology of children and the relationship between science, pop culture and the media. Watch her TEDx "paleoporn" here: youtube.com/watch?v=ar92Cdp0waY

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Top reviews from the United States

  • George W.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed
    Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Not for the casual reader. This was a good book but very detailed with a lot of footnotes.
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  • William M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at prehistory
    Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2021
    Accessible but data driven, fascinating perspective on the Ice Age.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Kris F
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and important!
    Reviewed in Canada on September 10, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    An important, compelling book. By zeroing in on children and adolescents it reveals a whole world long ignored, or treated cursorily, by an archaeology traditionally dominated by a Western male perspective and limited to “stones and bones” for evidence. I like the fact that the book makes this world accessible while staying close to the science, without polemizing or popularizing; I found it scholarly but highly engaging. Particularly compelling is how it brings into clearer focus some of the essential community dynamics of our distant ancestors, such as the interactions between “sub-adults” and their parents, grandparents and mentors. Throughout the book there are passages where people seem to come to life, their activities recorded not on film but in tool-making litter, footsteps, fingerprints, or smudges on cave walls. Perhaps most importantly, it highlights the crucial roles played, in the past as much as today, by children and adolescents in the evolution of humankind.
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  • MR JEAN-LOUIS GUY
    5.0 out of 5 stars A conseiller à tous les passionnés par l’enfance
    Reviewed in France on March 13, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Ouvrage très informatif avec de nombreuses données récentes. Plan très clair pour chaque chapitre et des messages à emporter comme conclusions.
    Tables récapitulatives des fossiles pédiatriques interessantes
    Bibliographie soignée
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  • Zuzana Durianova
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Love it from start to finish. So much information and interesting facts.
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  • Rob Rondeau
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
    Reviewed in Canada on August 16, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This is a well written book and is a valuable addition to the research field.
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  • Lena
    2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing for “regular” people.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Disappointed. Too scholarly, and half of the book is references. Not to mention the cheaply made edition for such a price (£34). Two stars just for the (small amount) of the photographs in colour, and the decent font. I’m, personally, an amateur in prehistory, just someone who loves it, and all I’d request from a book on the topic, is to “bring it to life”. This book will not do that, at all. For me, a missed opportunity.
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