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Being Human: Social Change In Ancient Yemen

I am often asked how archaeologists can confidently know anything about ancient social lives from just ruined landscapes and broken artifacts. The key is to use multiple lines of evidence.

For ancient highland Yemen, for example, I have shown that the large cooking pots and wide serving platters which dominated sites of the prehistoric Bronze Age were largely replaced by individual serving dishes and storage vessels in the Iron Age.

At the same time, evidence for hearths and cooking moves from communal outdoor spaces to private indoor kitchens. Iron Age homes are more differentiated in size, and both houses and entire towns begin to be surrounded by walls.

Together, these lines of evidence show how the people of ancient highland Yemen first shifted from an egalitarian lifestyle to a more socially stratified society with increasing political competition.

Dr. Krista Lewis is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at UA Little Rock, a member of the Middle Eastern Studies faculty, and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Dr. Lewis’ research investigates the relationship between trade, food, politics, landscape, cities, and environment from prehistory to the present. She has been producing episodes of Being Human since 2013.