Gender and Archaeology: Contesting the Past

by Gilchrist; Roberta

• ISBN13: 9780415216005
• ISBN10: 0415216001
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1999-12-02
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Is gender determined by biology, society or experience? How have notions of gender and sexuality differed in past societies? Addressing such questions,Gender and Archaeologyis the first critical introduction to the field of gender archaeology as it has evolved over the last two decades. It examines the impact of feminist perspectives on archaeology and shows the unique insights that gender archaeology offers on topics like the sexual division of labor, issues of sexuality, and the embodiment of gender identity. A substantial case study of gender and space in the medieval English castle lucidly draws together and illustrates these issues. Comprehensive and accessible,Gender and Archaeologyis sure to further debate in the field.

Author Biography

Roberta Gilchrist is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading, and Archaeologist to Norwich Cathedral.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	viii
Preface	x
Acknowledgements	xii
Glossary	xiii
Gender archaeology: beyond the manifesto	1	(16)
Strange bedfellows: feminism and archaeology	17	(14)
Gendered hierarchies? Labour, `prestige' and production	31	(23)
Experiencing gender: identity, sexuality and the body	54	(25)
Performing the past: gendered time, space, and the lifecycle	79	(30)
The contested garden: gender, space and metaphor in the medieval English castle	109	(37)
Coda: the borders of sex, gender and knowledge	146	(4)
Further reading	150	(4)
Bibliography	154	(23)
Name index	177	(5)
Subject index	182