Description
Book SynopsisThe pursuit of gender in the archaeological record is explored in this exciting new collection of essays by renowned archaeologists and gender theorists. These essays place gender in the context of the past, by approaching the data in light of the previous decades of gender research. Issues such as tool-making, hunting, and evolution take on new meaning as the contributors examine the impact of gender worldwide. They do so in terms of the theories, methods, and ways of teaching and learning amassed through archaeological data. These essays provide insight into the study of gender in archaeology and will prove valuable to the scholarship of gender-based theory.
Trade ReviewThis comprehensive volume is the most important work to come out on gender and archaeology for over a decade. The diversity of themes covered is extremely impressive and reflects the extent to which research on gender and archaeology has evolved since the earlier works in the field were published. Researchers and student alike will find in this book a fascinating insight into the research being undertaken out in different regions and on the interest in gender issues, both past and present. -- Stephanie Moser, University of Southampton
Sarah Milledge Nelson is a prominent scholar whose influence both on and within this developing field has been substantial. In this weighty volume (in ideas as well as pages), Nelson and her colleagues focus on issues, approaches, and ideas relating to gender, with feminist theory and practice residing more in the background. * Canadian Journal of Archaeology *
A concise and readable overview of the history and importance of gender as both subject and professional issue within archaeology. Summing up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
"Handbook of Gender Archaeology is a brilliant addition to the archaeological literature. Its editor, Sarah Nelson, commissioned an international group of leading scholars to assess the present state of gender research in their areas of expertise. The result is a treasure trove of twenty-five original essays devoted to theoretical assessments and case studies involving themes that are central to archaeology, such as early domestication, the secondary products revolution, gender identities, landscape studies, mortuary analyses, and much, much more. Individual chapters go beyond review by introducing new perspectives and future directions for research, thus providing readers with models for developing their own projects. The book is indispensable reading for anyone with serious interests in the organization of society, divisions of labor, and the social dynamics of the human past." -- Rita Wright, New York University
Table of ContentsPart 1 Introduction,Theoretical and Thematic Issues 2 Chapter 1: Methods in Feminist and Gender Archaeology: A Feeling for Difference-and Likeness 3 Chapter 2: Feminist Theory and Gender Research in Historical Archaeology 4 Chapter 3: Gender, Things, and Material Culture 5 Chapter 4: Gender and Mortuary Analysis 6 Chapter 5: The Engendered Household 7 Chapter 6: Gender and Landscape 8 Chapter 7: Gender, Heterarchy and Hierarchy 9 Chapter 8: Gender and Ethnoarchaeology 10 Chapter 9: Gender in Classical Archaeology 11 Part 2: Identities,Chapter 10: The Prism of Self: Gender and Personhood 12 Chapter 11: Sexuality 13 Chapter 12: Archaeology, Men and Masculinities 14 Chapter 13: The Archaeology of Non-Binary Genders in Native North America 15 Part 3: Subsistence Strategies Chapter 14: Gender in Human Evolution 16 Chapter 15: Gender Dynamics in Hunter-Gatherer Society: Archaeological Methods and Perspectives 17 Chapter 16: Gender and Early Farming Societies 18 Chapter 17: Women, Gender, and Pastorialism 19 Part 4: World Regions Chapter 18: A Critical Appraisal of Gender Research in African Archaeology 20 Chapter 19: Gender in East and Southeast Asian Archaeology 21 Chapter 20: Gender and Archaeology in South and Southwest Asia 22 Chapter 21: Gender and (the Disciplinary Structure of) Australian Archaeology 23 Chapter 22: Gender Archaeology in Europe 24 Chapter 23: Gender and Mesoamerican Archaeology 25 Chapter 24: Gender Archaeology in Native North America 26 Chapter 25: Gender in South American Archaeology
