This Reader in Gender Archaeology presents nineteen current, controversial and highly influential articles which confront and illuminate issues of gender in prehistory. The question of gender difference and whether it is natural or culturally constructed is a compelling one. The articles here, which draw on evidence from a wide range of geographic areas, demonstrate how all archaeological investigation can benefit from an awareness of issues of gender. They also show how the long-term nature of archaeological research can inform the gender debate across the disciplines. The volume: * organizes this complex area into seven sections on key themes in gender archaeology: archaeological method and theory, human origins, division of labour, the social construction of gender, iconography and ideology, power and social hierarchies and new forms of archaeological narrative * includes section introductions which outline the history of research on each topic and present the key points of each article * presents a balance of material which rewrites women into prehistory, and articles which show how the concept of gender informs our understanding and interpretation of the past.

This new edition of the first comprehensive feminist, theoretical synthesis of the archaeological work on gender reflects the extensive changes in the study of gender and archaeology over the past 8 years. New issues—such as sexuality studies, the body, children, and feminist pedagogy—enrich this edition while the author updates work on the roles of women and men in such areas as human origins, the sexual division of labor, kinship and other social structures, state development, and ideology. Nelson provides examples from gender-specific archaeological studies worldwide to examine such traditional myths as woman the gatherer, the goddess hypothesis, and the Amazon warriors, replacing them with a more nuanced, informed treatment of gender based on the latest research. She also examines the structure of the archaeology in her attempt to understand and change a discipline that has made women all but invisible both as researchers and objects of research. Honored as a Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Book, Nelson's work will continue to be the benchmark for archaeologists interested in gender as a subject of research and in the profession.

Gender and Archaeology is the first volume to critically review the development of this now key topic internationally, across a range of periods and material culture. ^l Roberta Gilchrist explores the significance of the feminist epistemologies. She shows the unique perspective that gender archaeology can bring to bear on issues such as division of labour and the life course. She examines issues of sexuality, and the embodiment of sexual identity. A substantial case study of gender space and metaphor in the medieval English castle is used to draw together and illustrate these issues.

This Reader in Gender Archaeology presents nineteen current, controversial and highly influential articles which confront and illuminate issues of gender in prehistory. The question of gender difference and whether it is natural or culturally constructed is a compelling one. The articles here, which draw on evidence from a wide range of geographic areas, demonstrate how all archaeological investigation can benefit from an awareness of issues of gender. They also show how the long-term nature of archaeological research can inform the gender debate across the disciplines. The volume: * organizes this complex area into seven sections on key themes in gender archaeology: archaeological method and theory, human origins, division of labour, the social construction of gender, iconography and ideology, power and social hierarchies and new forms of archaeological narrative * includes section introductions which outline the history of research on each topic and present the key points of each article * presents a balance of material which rewrites women into prehistory, and articles which show how the concept of gender informs our understanding and interpretation of the past.

This major new textbook explores the relations between gender and archaeology, providing an innovative and important account of how material culture is used in the construction of gender. Throughout this lively and accessible text, Sorensen engages with the question of how gender is materially constituted, and examines the intersection of social and material concerns from the Palaeolithic Age to the present day. Part One discusses a range of important general issues, beginning with an overview of the recent role of gender and gender relations in our appropriation of past societies. After introducing the debate about feminist or gender archaeology, Sorensen examines archaeology's concern with the sex/gender distinction, the nature of negotiation, and feminist epistemological claims in relation to archaeology. In Part Two, the author focuses on the materiality of gender, exploring it through case studies ranging from prehistory to contemporary society. Food, dress, space and contact are examined in turn, to show how they express and negotiate gender roles. This illustrated textbook will be essential reading for students and scholars in archaeology, anthropology, material culture studies and women's studies.

Written by a distinguished group of feminist archaeologists, In Pursuit of Gender examines the role of gender in archaeology, an area that has long been neglected. The chapters in this volume represent sites and cultures that have been interpreted or reinterpreted from the perspective of gender, exploding old assumptions about women and the roles they held. Greatly illuminating the subject of gender from the perspective of their own regional traditions, the authors take the reader through an authoritative and comprehensive discussion of gender archaeology in Asia, Africa, North and South America. Societies represented include hunter-gatherers, early horticulturalists, incipient and well-developed states, historic communities, as well as ethnoarchaeological explorations. The chapters are characterised by a greater specificity in methods, and the emergence of a social archaeology that considers the agency of both men and women. In Pursuit of Gender advances the study of gender in archaeology with detailed data, a world-wide scope and carefully reasoned conclusions that move into new territory, paving the way towards further research in gender-based theory.

First reference work to explore the research on gender in archaeology.