Gender and Material Culture in Archaeological Perspective (Studies in Gender and Material Culture)

Material culture is not a subject which has to date attracted much attention from historians, whose usual source material is the written word. This volume shows just how illuminating the study of artifacts, and documentation concerning the acquisition and meaning of artifacts can be for the study of history in any period. Ranging from the use of clothing as votive offerings in ancient Greece to the function of reproductive technology in the 20th century, the scope of this volume is excitingly dismissive of traditional chronologies and disciplinary boundaries. Gender historians will not be surprised to find the historical meaning of many artifacts to be permeated by gender difference. Front Matter....Pages i-xxiv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Material Culture of the Homosexual Male: A Case for Archaeological Exploration....Pages 3-19 Sisters are Doing it for Themselves? Gender, Feminism and Australian (Aboriginal) Archaeology....Pages 20-32 A Sexist Present, a Human-less Past: Museum Archaeology in Greece....Pages 33-55 Gender: Enabling Perspective or Politically Correct Term? An Analysis of how Gender and Material Culture are Viewed by 1990s Academia....Pages 56-68 Front Matter....Pages 69-69 Gender and Craft Innovation: Proposal of a Model....Pages 71-87 Time, Skill and Craft Specialization as Gender Relations....Pages 88-109 Time, Gender and Production: A Critical Evaluation of Archaeological Time Concepts....Pages 110-122 Who Lights The Fire? Gender and the Energy of Production....Pages 123-133 Front Matter....Pages 135-135 Long Handled Weaving Combs: Problems in Determining the Gender of Tool-Maker and Tool-User....Pages 137-152 The Use of Space in a Gender Study of two South African Stone Age Sites....Pages 153-168 Gender, Material Culture, Ritual and Gender System: a Prehistoric Example Based on Sickles....Pages 169-184 Lithic Functional Analysis as a Means of Studying Gender and Material Culture in Prehistory....Pages 185-205 Front Matter....Pages 207-207 Fat is a Feminist Issue: On Ideology, Diet and Health in Hunter-Gatherer Societies....Pages 209-221 The Anthropology and Archaeology of Mesolithic Gender in the Western Baltic....Pages 222-237 The Gendering of Children in the Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Mokrin....Pages 238-249 Classic Maya Diet and Gender Relationships....Pages 250-264 Back Matter....Pages 265-275 Material culture, the substance of much archaeological research, has only recently been studied as evidence of gender relations. Case studies, drawn from many different periods and areas, develop concepts and theories as diverse as the social context of production and artefact use to the construction of food as a gendered social medium. The international contributors critique traditional approaches and consider feminist and non-heterosexual gender perspectives. Material culture, the subject of much archaeological research, has only recently been studied as evidence of gender relations. Case studies drawn from many different periods and areas develop concepts and theories as diverse as the social contexts of production and artifact use to the construction of food as a gendered social medium. The worldwide contributors critique traditional approaches and consider feminist and non-heterosexual gender perspectives. Archäologie - Forschungsgeschichte - Kulturgeschichte - Soziologie - Ideologie - Theorie - Methode - Handwerk