New evidence reveals a hidden dimension of the ancient pottery industry: child labor.
Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University and the National Museum in Copenhagen have analyzed 450 pottery vessels from Tel Hama, a town on the edge of the Ebla Kingdom in modern-day Syria.
What they uncovered offers a glimpse into a surprising aspect of life 4,500 years ago.
According to their findings, published in the journal Childhood in the Past, approximately two-thirds of the pottery vessels were created by children as young as seven or eight.
Child Labor in the Early Bronze Age
Dr. Akiva Sanders explained that cities associated with the Ebla Kingdom began relying on children for pottery production around 2400 BCE.
These children, specially trained to make uniform drinking cups, played a key role in supplying the kingdom’s banquet halls with cups that were used for royal and everyday events alike.
“At that time, banquets were common, and with frequent feasts came the need for many cups,” said Dr. Sanders. “Children were seen as an ideal labor force due to their ability to be easily trained in repetitive tasks, creating standard designs, much like what we would later see in industrial revolutions.”
Fingerprint analysis of the pottery, excavated in the 1930s and housed in Denmark’s National Museum, provided conclusive evidence of the potters’ ages. By studying the size of the prints embedded in the clay, the researchers deduced the ages and, in some cases, even the sex of the artisans.
In Tel Hama, children made two-thirds of the vessels, while the remaining third were crafted by older men.
A Systematic Shift with Urbanization
The rise of the Ebla Kingdom coincided with urbanization, and as cities grew, so did the need for organized labor.
“The demographic of potters shifted drastically as urban centers formed,” Sanders noted.
Initially, the ceramic industry was shared by teenagers and adults, with boys and girls equally contributing. However, as the kingdom centralized its economic activities, the younger workforce took over. The increase in alcohol-fueled feasts caused a growing demand for uniform cups, making children the backbone of this standardized production.
“Children were taught precise movements, helping to create an assembly line effect,” said Sanders. “This mirrors the child labor systems seen during the Industrial Revolution centuries later in Europe and America.”
A Creative Escape
Despite the demands placed on them, the children of Tel Hama found ways to express their creativity.
Archaeologists discovered miniature figurines and tiny vessels that were likely made outside the confines of the pottery workshops. These items, unrelated to the kingdom’s official production needs, suggest that children taught each other to craft their own creations, demonstrating imagination and artistic flair.
Dr. Sanders believes these artifacts were “a rare outlet for personal expression” among the young workers.
This small, yet significant finding offers a reminder that, while ancient societies often relied on child labor, childhood itself remained a time of learning, play, and experimentation.
