Some notes on households and families in the land of Aštata during the Late Bronze age

This paper aims to provide insights into the nature and composition of families and households in the land of Ashtata, along the middle Euphrates, during the Late Bronze Age, by relating archaeological evidence to written documents. The excavation of entire neighborhoods at sites such as Tell Bazi, Tell Munbaqa, and Meskene Qadime has provided invaluable data for studying private houses within larger urban layouts, which can also be examined in relation to the social networks of significant portions of these ancient towns. The discovery of private archives, particularly from Meskene Qadime and Munbaqa, containing documents on family matters, offers rich information on family composition, as well as the complexity and fluidity of their internal relationships.