Archaeological perspectives on houses and households in third millennium Mesopotamian society

There have been few studies in Ancient Near Eastern archaeology that have concentrated on domestic buildings, with little existent information about houses.

This represents a serious lacuna in the knowledge of Mesopotamian culture, considering the importance of the house in society, as the main space of social dynamics.This book addresses this gap, analysing the characteristics and the variations of Mesopotamian houses in the third millennium, which represents a critical period for early urbanization.

It identifies common aspects and differences, and relates those characteristics to the socio-economical history of the period to broaden the understanding of this interesting period in Mesopotamian culture.To examine variations and use of space, seven sites were analysed from north (Tell Melebiya, Titris Hoeyuk, and Tell Taya), central (Khafajah and Tell Asmar) and south Mesopotamia (Tell Abu Salabikh and Shuruppak) for a total number of 68 house plans.

Several aspects have been investigated, such as the size of households, the evidence of wealth, the concept of privacy, and the role of women in society.The database of houses collected in this book also offers a reference for other sites to analyse houses and households.