Description
Book SynopsisAre All Warriors Male? is a lively inquiry into questions of gender on the ancient Eurasian steppes. The book''s contributors are archaeologists who work in eastern Europe, Central Asia, and eastern Asia, and this volume is the result of their field research in this vast. As little has been written about the evidence of gender roles in ancientor modernpastoralist societies, this book helps to fill an empty niche in our understanding of how sexual roles and identities have shaped and been shaped by such social and cultural circumstances. Are All Warriors Male? is a groundbreaking work that challenges current conceptions about the development of human societies in this great cauldron of humanity.
Trade ReviewThe 'warrior woman' concept has captured the scholarly and popular imagination at least since Herodotus' excursus on the Amazons. Most treatments of this subject, however, have tended to focus on historically documented contexts. This edited volume of essays by leading scholars presents the archaeological evidence for the prehistoric social configurations of Eurasian steppe peoples. It is a timely and rigorously researched treatment of ancient societies in which the domain of war was not always exclusively male. -- Bettina Arnold, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
This important book dramatically expands the archaeological analysis of gender. Geographically, it harnesses the rich conceptual apparatus concerning gender and social roles to the study of the vast Eurasian continent, which has slowly emerged as one of the most intellectually vibrant domains of ongoing archaeological work. Analytically, the volume's tight focus on the gendering of martial violence is equally groundbreaking. By revealing 'man the warrior' to be as trite as the long-abandoned 'man the hunter,' the book's contributors elevate the archaeological study of gender, warfare, and violence into new and sophisticated realms of inquiry. -- Adam Smith, University of Chicago
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Introduction: The Nature of Nomads, Cultural Variation, and Gender Roles Past and Present Part 3 Part I: The Warrior Culture: Myth and Identity Chapter 4 1. Reconsidering Warfare, Status, and Gender in the Eurasian Steppe Iron Age Chapter 5 2. Arma Feminamque Cano: Warrior Women in the Indo-European World Chapter 6 3. Tillya Tepe: Aspects of Gender and Cultural Identity Part 7 Part II: Horses and the Gendering of Identity on the Steppe and Beyond Chapter 8 4. Women's Attire and Possible Sacred Role in 4th Millennium Northern Kazakhstan Chapter 9 5. He Who Eats the Horse, She Who Rides It? Symbols of Gender Identity on the Eastern Edges of the Eurasian Steppe Chapter 10 6. Horses and Gender in Korea: The Legacy of the Steppe on the Edge of Asia Part 11 Part III: Marriage, Families, and Death on the Steppe Chapter 12 7. Women and Children in the Sargat Culture Chapter 13 8. Sorting Out Men and Women in the Karasuk Culture Chapter 14 9. The Gender of Luxury and Power among the Xiongnu in Eastern Eurasia
