Excavating Women : A History of Women in European Archaeology

Archaeologists are increasingly aware of issues of gender when studying past societies; women are becoming better represented within the discipline and are attaining top academic posts. Until now, however, there has been no study undertaken of the history of women in European archaeology and their contribution to the development of the discipline. From the earliest days of archaeology as a discipline to the present, this book examines women's increased involvement in archaeological work, and why many women found it more acceptable to work outside of their native lands. This critical assessment of women in archaeology reveals how selective the archaeological world has been in recognizing the contributions of those who have shaped its discipline, and how it has been particularly inclined to ignore the achievements of women archaeologists. Excavating Women is essential reading for all students, teachers and researchers in archaeology who are interested in the history of their discipline. BOOK COVER......Page 1 HALF-TITLE......Page 2 TITLE......Page 4 COPYRIGHT......Page 5 THE COVER PICTURE......Page 6 CONTENTS......Page 10 LIST OF FIGURES......Page 12 TABLES......Page 14 CONTRIBUTORS......Page 15 1 EXCAVATING WOMEN......Page 18 THEMATIC COMPARISON......Page 20 THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR: THE PIONEERS—THE UNPROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONALS......Page 27 THE INTER-WAR YEARS: THE FOLLOWERS......Page 30 FROM 1945 TO THE 1970s: CONSOLIDATION AND EXPANSION......Page 36 FROM THE 1970s TO THE PRESENT: THE SEARCH FOR EQUALITY......Page 39 REFERENCES......Page 41 Part I GENERAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN EUROPEAN ARCHAEOLOGY......Page 46 THE PURPOSE OF HISTORIOGRAPHY......Page 48 WHY A HISTORIOGRAPHY OF ‘WOMEN IN ARCHAEOLOGY’?......Page 50 To set the record straight: role model and equity research......Page 51 Distinct female contribution......Page 53 Integration in the discipline......Page 59 Social impact on the discipline and its product......Page 61 Characterizing the individual......Page 62 THE CREATION OF (IN)VISIBILITY AND (IN)SIGNIFICANCE......Page 69 NOTES......Page 71 REFERENCES......Page 72 THE SELF-RELIANCE OF FRENCH WOMEN (WHICH AMERICAN FEMINISTS MISTAKE FOR TIMIDITY)......Page 76 FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGY OR THE INCONGRUITY OF AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF GENDER......Page 81 WE MEET A SMALL NUMBER OF WOMEN AND MEN......Page 82 CONCLUSION: THE INEVITABLE MIX OF THE SEXES IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROFESSION......Page 88 NOTES......Page 90 REFERENCES......Page 93 INTRODUCTION......Page 102 POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXTS OF WOMEN’S ISSUES IN POLAND......Page 103 WOMEN IN POLISH ARCHAEOLOGY BETWEEN 1918 AND 1939......Page 105 Education and employment......Page 109 Structure of employment within archaeological institutions......Page 110 Representation of women and men according to academic degrees and place of employment......Page 111 Representation of women and men in archaeological publications......Page 113 Social perception of women’s roles......Page 115 Women’s contribution to archaeology......Page 116 CONCLUSION......Page 117 REFERENCES......Page 118 AIMS AND APPROACHES......Page 120 A PERIOD OF CHANGE......Page 122 WOMEN ENTER THE STAGE......Page 123 THREE PIONEERS......Page 124 THE SECOND GENERATION......Page 129 WORKING CONDITIONS......Page 130 ACADEMIC VISIBILITY......Page 131 A DIFFERENT ARCHAEOLOGY?......Page 133 WOMEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN THE MALE WORLD......Page 134 REFERENCES......Page 135 WHERE WERE THEY? ANTIQUITIES AND WOMEN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY......Page 140 THE FIRST WOMEN: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY UNTIL THE CIVIL WAR......Page 143 WOMEN UNDER THE FRANCOIST DICTATORSHIP......Page 147 THE LAST THREE DECADES, 1960s TO 1993......Page 151 NOTES......Page 155 REFERENCES......Page 157 7 WHEN THE WALL CAME DOWN......Page 160 Part II HISTORY THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL......Page 166 8 ARCHAEOLOGY, GENDER AND EMANCIPATION......Page 168 UNIVERSITY STUDIES AND THE EARLIEST PROFESSIONAL WORK......Page 169 THE DOCTOR’S DEGREE......Page 170 THE CHALLENGES OF THE 1920s......Page 171 THE 1930s AND 1940s: POPULAR SCIENCE AND POLITICAL WORK......Page 174 INTERNATIONAL WORK......Page 175 REFLECTIONS......Page 176 GENDER IDEOLOGY IN HANNA RYDH’S ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS......Page 177 THE DOUBLE MESSAGE......Page 180 WOMEN’S STUDIES?......Page 181 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT......Page 182 REFERENCES......Page 183 THE SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT......Page 188 AMELIA EDWARDS, 1831–1892......Page 192 MARGARET MURRAY, 1863–1963......Page 195 GERTRUDE CATON THOMPSON, 1888–1985......Page 197 DOROTHY GARROD 1892–1968......Page 199 KATHLEEN KENYON, 1906–1978......Page 200 VISIBLE THEN, INVISIBLE NOW......Page 201 FEMINIST IDEAS......Page 204 THEN AND NOW......Page 205 REFERENCES......Page 207 INTRODUCTION......Page 210 TRAVELS, EXPEDITIONS AND THE FIRST WOMEN SCIENTISTS......Page 212 HARRIET BOYD AND GOURNIA......Page 213 THE GOURNIA MONOGRAPH......Page 217 THE MINOAN GODDESS......Page 219 FINAL REFLECTIONS......Page 221 NOTES......Page 222 REFERENCES......Page 223 FRAILTY, THY NAME IS WOMAN?......Page 226 WORDS, WORDS, WORDS......Page 228 IF ONCE A WIDOW, EVER I BE A WIFE......Page 230 THE REST IS SILENCE......Page 232 TO BE OR NOT TO BE......Page 233 NOTES......Page 241 REFERENCES......Page 243 INTRODUCTION......Page 246 HISTORICAL AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND......Page 247 THE ‘HEROIC’ AGE OF GREEK ARCHAEOLOGY......Page 249 SEMNI KAROUZOU......Page 254 CURRENT SITUATION......Page 261 UNIVERSITY VERSUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICE: GENDER AND PRESTIGE IN GREEK ARCHAEOLOGY......Page 263 ‘INVISIBLE’ WOMEN, GENDERLESS EPISTEMOLOGIES: WHY IS IT SO?......Page 264 CONCLUSIONS......Page 266 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 267 NOTES......Page 268 REFERENCES......Page 269 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT......Page 276 METHODOLOGY......Page 279 Problems with the interviews......Page 280 TOWARDS A HISTORIOGRAPHY OF FORMER FEMALE PhD GRADUATES: THE STORIES BEHIND THE PICTURES......Page 283 Being a (female) student during the Nazi regime......Page 285 Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994)......Page 287 The research work of Marija Gimbutas......Page 288 Eva-Maria Bossert (b. 1925)......Page 290 The role of women on excavations......Page 291 CRITICAL REFLECTIONS......Page 292 NOTES......Page 295 REFERENCES......Page 298 14 THE IMPACT OF MODERN INVASIONS AND MIGRATIONS ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLANATION......Page 304 CONCLUSIONS......Page 318 REFERENCES......Page 319 INDEX......Page 322 Humanities BOOK COVER 1 HALF-TITLE 2 TITLE 4 COPYRIGHT 5 THE COVER PICTURE 6 CONTENTS 10 LIST OF FIGURES 12 TABLES 14 CONTRIBUTORS 15 1 EXCAVATING WOMEN 18 THEMATIC COMPARISON 20 THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR: THE PIONEERS—THE UNPROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONALS 27 THE INTER-WAR YEARS: THE FOLLOWERS 30 FROM 1945 TO THE 1970s: CONSOLIDATION AND EXPANSION 36 FROM THE 1970s TO THE PRESENT: THE SEARCH FOR EQUALITY 39 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 41 NOTES 41 REFERENCES 41 Part I GENERAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN EUROPEAN ARCHAEOLOGY 46 2 RESCUE AND RECOVERY 48 INTRODUCTION 48 THE PURPOSE OF HISTORIOGRAPHY 48 WHY A HISTORIOGRAPHY OF ‘WOMEN IN ARCHAEOLOGY’? 50 To set the record straight: role model and equity research 51 Distinct female contribution 53 Integration in the discipline 59 Social impact on the discipline and its product 61 Characterizing the individual 62 THE CREATION OF (IN)VISIBILITY AND (IN)SIGNIFICANCE 69 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 71 NOTES 71 REFERENCES 72 3 ARCHAEOLOGY OF FRENCH WOMEN AND FRENCH WOMEN IN ARCHAEOLOGY 76 THE SELF-RELIANCE OF FRENCH WOMEN (WHICH AMERICAN FEMINISTS MISTAKE FOR TIMIDITY) 76 FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGY OR THE INCONGRUITY OF AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF GENDER 81 WE MEET A SMALL NUMBER OF WOMEN AND MEN 82 CONCLUSION: THE INEVITABLE MIX OF THE SEXES IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROFESSION 88 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 90 NOTES 90 REFERENCES 93 4 GENDER POLITICS IN POLISH ARCHAEOLOGY 102 INTRODUCTION 102 POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXTS OF WOMEN’S ISSUES IN POLAND 103 WOMEN IN POLISH ARCHAEOLOGY BETWEEN 1918 AND 1939 105 POLISH ARCHAEOLOGY AFTER 1945 109 The representation of women in Polish archaeology after 1945 109 Education and employment 109 Structure of employment within archaeological institutions 110 Representation of women and men according to academic degrees and place of employment 111 Representation of women and men in archaeological publications 113 Social perception of women’s roles 115 Women’s contribution to archaeology 116 CONCLUSION 117 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 118 REFERENCES 118 5 WOMEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN RETROSPECT 120 THE PRESENT SITUATION 120 AIMS AND APPROACHES 120 A PERIOD OF CHANGE 122 THE STRUCTURE OF NORWEGIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 123 WOMEN ENTER THE STAGE 123 THREE PIONEERS 124 THE SECOND GENERATION 129 WORKING CONDITIONS 130 ACADEMIC VISIBILITY 131 A DIFFERENT ARCHAEOLOGY? 133 WOMEN ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN THE MALE WORLD 134 REFERENCES 135 6 SPANISH WOMEN IN A CHANGING WORLD 140 WHERE WERE THEY? ANTIQUITIES AND WOMEN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 140 THE FIRST WOMEN: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY UNTIL THE CIVIL WAR 143 WOMEN UNDER THE FRANCOIST DICTATORSHIP 147 THE LAST THREE DECADES, 1960s TO 1993 151 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 155 NOTES 155 REFERENCES 157 7 WHEN THE WALL CAME DOWN 160 Part II HISTORY THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL 166 8 ARCHAEOLOGY, GENDER AND EMANCIPATION 168 UNIVERSITY STUDIES AND THE EARLIEST PROFESSIONAL WORK 169 THE DOCTOR’S DEGREE 170 THE CHALLENGES OF THE 1920s 171 THE 1930s AND 1940s: POPULAR SCIENCE AND POLITICAL WORK 174 INTERNATIONAL WORK 175 REFLECTIONS 176 GENDER IDEOLOGY IN HANNA RYDH’S ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS 177 THE DOUBLE MESSAGE 180 WOMEN’S STUDIES? 181 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 182 NOTES 183 REFERENCES 183 9 WOMEN IN BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY 188 THE SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT 188 AMELIA EDWARDS, 1831–1892 192 MARGARET MURRAY, 1863–1963 195 GERTRUDE CATON THOMPSON, 1888–1985 197 DOROTHY GARROD 1892–1968 199 KATHLEEN KENYON, 1906–1978 200 VISIBLE THEN, INVISIBLE NOW 201 FEMINIST IDEAS 204 THEN AND NOW 205 NOTE 207 REFERENCES 207 10 FIELDWORK IS NOT THE PROPER PRESERVE OF A LADY 210 INTRODUCTION 210 TRAVELS, EXPEDITIONS AND THE FIRST WOMEN SCIENTISTS 212 HARRIET BOYD AND GOURNIA 213 THE GOURNIA MONOGRAPH 217 THE MINOAN GODDESS 219 FINAL REFLECTIONS 221 NOTES 222 REFERENCES 223 11 THE STATE OF DENMARK 226 FRAILTY, THY NAME IS WOMAN? 226 WORDS, WORDS, WORDS 228 IF ONCE A WIDOW, EVER I BE A WIFE 230 THE REST IS SILENCE 232 TO BE OR NOT TO BE 233 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 241 NOTES 241 REFERENCES 243 12 GREEK WOMEN IN ARCHAEOLOGY 246 INTRODUCTION 246 HISTORICAL AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 247 THE ‘HEROIC’ AGE OF GREEK ARCHAEOLOGY 249 SEMNI KAROUZOU 254 CURRENT SITUATION 261 UNIVERSITY VERSUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICE: GENDER AND PRESTIGE IN GREEK ARCHAEOLOGY 263 ‘INVISIBLE’ WOMEN, GENDERLESS EPISTEMOLOGIES: WHY IS IT SO? 264 CONCLUSIONS 266 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 267 NOTES 268 REFERENCES 269 13 FROM PICTURES TO STORIES 276 INTRODUCTION 276 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT 276 METHODOLOGY 279 Problems with the interviews 280 TOWARDS A HISTORIOGRAPHY OF FORMER FEMALE PhD GRADUATES: THE STORIES BEHIND THE PICTURES 283 Senta Rafalski-Giering (1911–1996) 285 Being a (female) student during the Nazi regime 285 Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994) 287 The research work of Marija Gimbutas 288 Eva-Maria Bossert (b. 1925) 290 The role of women on excavations 291 Concluding remarks 292 CRITICAL REFLECTIONS 292 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 295 NOTES 295 REFERENCES 298 14 THE IMPACT OF MODERN INVASIONS AND MIGRATIONS ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLANATION 304 CONCLUSIONS 318 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 319 NOTES 319 REFERENCES 319 INDEX 322

Archaeologists are increasingly aware of issues of gender when studying past societies; women are becoming better represented within the discipline and are attaining top academic posts. However, until now there has been no study undertaken of the history of women in European archaeology and their contribution to the development of the discipline.
Excavating Women discusses the careers of women archaeologists such as Dorothy Garrod, Hanna Rydh and Marija Gimbutas, who against all odds became famous, as well as the many lesser-known personalities who did important archaeological work. The collection spans the earliest days of archaeology as a discipline to the present, telling the stories of women from Scandinavia, Mediterranean Europe, Britain, France, Germany and Poland. The chapters examine women's contributions to archaeology in the context of other, often socio-political, factors that affected their lives. It examines issues such as women's increased involvement in archaeological work during and after the two World Wars, and why so many women found it more acceptable to work outside of their native lands.
This critical assessment of women in archaeology makes a major contribution to the history of archaeology. It reveals how selective the archaeological world has been in recognizing the contributions of those who have shaped its discipline, and how it has been particularly inclined to ignore the achievements of women archaeologists.
Excavating Women is essential reading for all students, teachers and researchers in archaeology who are interested in the history of their discipline and its sociopolitics.

"The first part of the volume unravels the history of women's role in the development of archaeology, and is composed of studies of the interaction of women in particular countries. The second part explores the individual women's lives, focusing on issues such as the tension between their archaeological work and their socio-political situation, with particular reference to the suffragette and feminist movements. It also highlights the problems women have encountered in gaining access to the accepted institutions of the archaeological community." "This critical assessment of women in archaeology makes a major contribution to the history of archaeology. It reveals how selective the archaeological world has been in recognizing the contributions of those who have shaped its discipline, and how it has been particularly inclined to ignore the achievements of women archaeologists."--Jacket