Engendered Archaeologies

Introduction

Feminist principles made a formal entry into archaeology in the late 1970s, as scholars – the majority of whom were women – began to draw attention to the androcentric biases implicit in archaeological interpretations of the past. Further, these writers noted the degree to which similar patriarchal biases shaped the political economy of the discipline itself, to the general disadvantage of women. In the years to come, these early sociopolitical concerns would be expanded upon by subsequent feminist and queer archaeologists, who in addition identified heterosexist biases in the discipline. These authors called for a better representation of women, men, and others in the past (which had its own political implications in the present) and a commitment to improving the presence of women and sexual minorities among the practitioners of archaeology. This “double politics of representation” has often been acknowledged as the main – or even the only – contribution of these...