houses and furniture, some drawings, and written descrip-
tions in China and India. Generally these are the household
goods of the wealthy, but it is possible to extrapolate what
other people may have had, or not had, in their houses.
Th e earliest surviving household goods in India are from
excavations in the Indus Valley from the 1920s. From 2500 to
1800 b.c.e. civilization centered on two large cities, Harappa
and Mohenjo Daro, as well as some 100 nearby towns and
villages. Some of the houses were large, but others were more
modest. Th e function of the various rooms was revealed by ar-
tifacts found in them, including fi gurines of deities and other
mythical characters, including the famous bronze “dancing
girl” and other sculptures and terra-cotta fi gures. A large
number of small personal seals have also been found, as well as
remains of plates, water containers, vessels for storing grain,
and pots, oft en decorated with geometrical designs or show-
ing images of animals in black ink. Th ese provide evidence of
the large range of crops grown in the Indus Valley, which, in
turn, would have required families to own large numbers of
farm implements. Th e most common pieces of furniture in
houses were wooden storage chests, with fasteners fashioned
from bronze or copper. Th ere were also chairs—carved chair
legs have been found—and beds and benches.
Apart from the Indus civilization, the earliest descrip-
tions of Indian furniture are of thrones, and they can be seen
in Buddhist reliefs from the second century b.c.e. Many have
a fl at and rectangular seat with four legs and sometimes an
upright back but no arms. Th ere are even images of the Bud-
dha sitting on a similarly designed throne. Also appearing in
reliefs are beds that, in the fi rst century c.e., had a wooden
frame and a mattress. Gradually both became more elabo-
rate, but drawings continue to show Indians sitting on chairs
with crossed legs.
In China many early graves have been excavated, along
with sites of houses from the Han Dynasty (202 b.c.e.–220
c.e.). Th ese sites have revealed many details about Chinese
household goods connected with cooking: pots, bowls, and
plates. Th ese items varied from the cheap clay pots of the
poor to better quality terra-cotta vessels and on to elabo-
rate and delicate porcelain. In addition, utensils, especially
remains of knives, have been found. For larger items some
representations of early Chinese furniture have survived,
and tombs contain some of the deceased’s possessions, in-
cluding small models of houses and miniature models of
furniture. Chinese furniture was manufactured without
nails, and dowels were used only when a repair had to be
made. Furniture was constructed with mortise and tenon
joints largely because, especially in northern China, wide
diff erences in temperature between summer and win-
ter caused expansion and contraction of the wood. Other
Chinese items in houses included fl oor coverings; storage
boxes, especially for food during the winter; and personal
ornaments or jewelry. Th ese vary from simple to intricately
carved items made from gold and silver, sometimes inlaid
with precious stones, or from jade.
Korean furniture was similar to that in northern China,
again because of the need to cope with the diff erences in
temperature. Some potsherds have also survived, and they,
once again, show the heavy cultural infl uence of China on
the Korean peninsula. Unlike the household goods in China
and Korea, those in Korea tended to be much less obtrusive.
With regular earthquakes, many houses were made with
light walls that could be easily moved or reassembled. Many
people slept and ate on the ground, and thus many household
items included armrests, pillows, and small writing desks and
cabinets for valuables.
In Southeast Asia wooden artifacts generally have not
survived because of the wet climate. Pottery uncovered at
many sites shows Indian and Chinese cultural infl uences.
Many early Vietnamese people had musical instruments. Th e
excavations at Dong Son, in northern Vietnam, show a highly
developed Bronze Age culture from about 300 b.c.e., where a
large number bronze drums have been found indicating an
early importance placed on music. Some historians have sug-
gested that the drums were solely for burying with the dead,
but this seems unlikely. Numbers of miniature drums, bowls,
situlae (bronze vessels similar to buckets), bells, and bronze
tools have also been recovered. If the Dong Don culture rested
heavily on music, so also did the reputation of the empire of
Funan from the fi rst through the fi ft h centuries c.e. Chinese
chronicles describe a Funan delegation to China in 243 c.e.
that brought along expensive gift s made by musicians, whose
music was highly praised. Excavations of houses at Oc-Eo (in
modern-day Vietnam), believed to have been the capital of
Funan, have indicated that there was room for large amounts
of furniture, but because the furniture was made from wood,
it has not survived.
In the Pacifi c household goods, except for pots and
tools, were probably made from wood. Carved stools, tables,
wooden drums, fi gurines, fl y whisks, and ornaments survive
from later periods, and it is highly probable that these would
have existed in earlier times, with a major focus being on
boats and fi shing equipment. In Australia the climate is good
for preserving material, but the nomadic life of the aboriginal
peoples limited their possessions to hunting weapons and a
few other basic necessities.EUROPE
BY JUSTIN CORFIELD
Large numbers of household goods surviving from ancient
Europe refl ect changes in society and technology, starting
with the forming of stone implements of the Paleolithic a
million or more years ago. Th ese items, mostly fl ints, were
used for hunting, cutting meat and crops, and cleaning ani-
mal skins. Archaeological fi nds around the lakeside site of
Bilzingsleben in Germany, which have been dated to the Pa-
leolithic, have shown that the devices of the hunter-gatherers
there included fl ints, wooden tools, and bone implements.
Similar discoveries in eastern Europe have established thathousehold goods: Europe 565