College of Social and Behavioral Sciences/Department of Anthropology

Fall 2000, 3 credit hours

Seminar meets Wednedays, 1:50 – 4:20 p.m. in Anthro. Bldg. Room 110

Instructor: Dr. Kelley Hays-Gilpin

Office: Anthropology Bldg. Room 211A, 523-6564

email: kelley.hays-gilpin@nau.eduNOSPAM

home page: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~kah2

Office hours: Tuesdays 1-4 and by appointment

Lab: Bilby Research Center Room 160, 523-4450

Prerequisites: one upper-division or graduate anthropology course, women's studies minor, or anthropology grad program enrollment

Course Description: The seminar will explore and critically evaluate recent efforts to incorporate questions about gender into archaeological theory and practice, including evolution of sex differences, sexual divisions of labor, social constructions of gender, and gender hierarchies. We must deal simultaneously with two kinds of topics: 1) what we know and what we don't know, what we can and what we can't learn about women, men, and other gender categories, and the ideas of "masculine" and "feminine" in prehistory, and 2) how archaeologists develop and use their array of methods and theories to learn about the past and how politics influence this process. Investigation of other kinds of social difference, such as age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and race, in the past will also be addressed. This year students will attend and help host the 6^th Gender and Archaeology Conference, an international gathering of scholars.

Course objectives: 1) to develop critical thinking about social differences, past and present, 2) to develop understanding of the roles of sex and gender differences in long-term human history, 3) to develop writing skills, 4) to host a successful conference.

Course structure: The course will begin with the study of sex differences and social behavior of non-human primates to human evolution. We will then proceed to trace human history from hunting and gathering life ways through farming and the rise of civilization, examining the changing social roles of men and women, as well as children and adults. The instructor will introduce each topic with a brief lecture, then moderate seminar-style discussion. Students will read extensively, write weekly summaries of articles, prepare questions for discussion, complete a term paper, present an oral summary at semester's end, and assist with the 6^th Gender and Archaeology Conference, October 6-8, on the NAU campus.

Textbook and required materials: The required textbooks are Reader in Gender Archaeology, edited by Kelley Hays-Gilpin and David Whitley (1998, Routledge), and Women in Human Evolution, edited by Lori Hagar (1997, Routledge). Additional journal articles and book chapters are also assigned (see schedule of topics and assignments). These will be available in the Anthropology Department and Cline Library.

Recommended optional materials: Students may also wish to read extra material in their own area of interest. Suggested readings are included in the list of assignments, and in a bibliography appended to this syllabus. Full citations of many additional references will be found at www.nau.edu/~wst/access/anth/bib.html For some reason, this may not work as a hot link. This is also linked from "bibliographies" and will be updated this year with the help of this class.

I Introduction to Sex, Gender, and Archaeology

II Sex and the Biological Bases for Behavior: Evidence from Non-Human Primates, Human Evolution

III Polarity or Plurality?: The Social Construction of Gender

IV "Sexual" Divisions of Labor; Hunter-Gatherers, Farmers

V Gender Ideology and Iconography; Realms of the Masculine and Feminine; Representing Women's Bodies

VI Power and Social Hierarchies

VIII New Narratives, New Visions

Assignments

1) complete weekly reading assignments BEFORE class

2) take part in class discussion; lead discussion when assigned

3) Write one paragraph (ideal--5 to 10 concise sentences) to one page (maximum) written summaries of one reading, as assigned (total of 5). May be re-written twice.

4) Check syllabus carefully each week

5) prepare and hand in two questions for discussion each week.

6) take part in 6^th Gender and Archaeology Conference by helping the instructor and graduate assistants with photocopying, collating, driving vans, registration, errand-running, web site production, editing, and any other tasks to be divided up among students and volunteers.

7) term paper, not to exceed 20 pages including references and illustrations

(minimum 6 pages text).

8) 10 minute oral summary, followed by class questions or discussion

9) read draft of another student's term paper and provide constructive criticism

Examinations: none.

Grading system: 30% class participation (attendance, structured activities, and unstructured discussion), 30% term paper, 30% other writing assignments (6 summaries and 1 critique of other student paper), 10% oral presentation of term paper overview and discussion. Grades will be scaled approximately as follows: A >90%, B > 80%, C > 70%, D > 50%, F < 50%.

1) Attendance is required. Missing more than one class will endanger your grade. Missing more than two will result in a lower grade.

2) Incompletes will only be given for medical emergencies (student or immediate family)

3) Statement on plagiarism and cheating: Students are advised to read and understand the relevant section of the Student Handbook concerning academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and cheating. The minimum punishment in this course for academic dishonesty will be zero points for the assignment. Due dates for every assignment will be assigned in class, and late assignments will not receive full

credit. Any term paper project using human subjects, including interviewing, is subject to approval by NAU's Internal Review Board.

4) see attached statements of university policies re: safe working and learning environment

5) the success of this course depends on constructive, cordial student interaction and cooperation. Discussions will be polite. Criticism will be constructive. Students will not monopolize conversation nor interrupt when another is speaking.

Numbers in [square brackets] refer to chapter numbers in Reader in Gender Archaeology. Numbers in {recurved brackets} refer to chapter numbers in Women in Human Evolution. Full references for other readings are provided; these are available in the library, the Anthropology Department, or both.

Week 1: Aug 30. What are prehistory, archaeology, gender, and feminism and how are we going to explore the relationships among these topics throughout the semester? as well as information on the conference.

Week 2 : Sept.6. Introduction to recent studies of gender and "engendering the past" by archaeologists

Read:

• [1] Introduction: Gendering the Past, Kelley Hays-Gilpin and David S. Whitley
• [2] Archaeology and the Study of Gender, Margaret W. Conkey and Janet Spector
• [3] Women's Archaeology? Political Feminism, Gender Theory, and Historical Revisionism, by Roberta Gilchrist
• [4] The Interplay of Evidential Constraints and Political Interests: Recent Archaeological Research on Gender, Alison Wylie

suggested:

• Hays-Gilpin manuscript on Feminist Thought in Archaeology

write: two questions for discussion.

Week 3: Sept. 13. Sex and the biological bases for behavior: non-human primates

Read:

• {3} Is Primatology a Feminist Science?, Linda Marie Fedigan
• {7} A Pound of Biology and a Pinch of Culture or a Pinch of Biology and a Pound of Culture? The Necessity of Integrating Biology and Culture in Reproductive Studies, Susan Sperling and Yewoubdar Beyene

suggested (each will be required for somebody in the group):

• Baboons with Briefcases vs. Langurs in Lipstick: Feminism and Functionalism in

Primate Studies, Susan Sperling, 1991, in Gender at the Crossroads of Knowledge, Micaela diLeonardo, ed., pp. 205-234.

• Social Organization of Pan paniscus in the Lomoko Forest, Zaire. Alison Badrian and Noel Badrian. 1984. In The Pygmy Chimpanzee: Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, pp. 325-368.
• The Evolving Female, edited by M.E. Morbeck, A. Galloway, and A. Zihlman
• The Female Chimpanzee as a Human Evolutionary Prototype, W. C. McGrew, 1981, in Dahlberg, ed., Woman the Gatherer, pp. 35-74.

• Chapters 1-3, 5-6 in Martin and Voorhies' 1975 Female of the Species.

Write: summary #1 of one article/chapter and two questions for discussion

Week 4: Sept. 20. Sex and the biological bases for behavior: human evolution

Read:

• [5] Woman the Gatherer: The Role of Women in Early Hominid Evolution, Adrienne Zihlman
• [6] An Axe to Grind: More Ripping Yarns from Australian Prehistory, Sheila M. McKell
• [7] Brain Evolution in Females: An Answer to Mr. Lovejoy, Dean Falk
• {4} Mothers, Labels, and Misogyny, Rebecca Cann

Suggested:

• {1} Sex and Gender in Paleoanthropology, Lori D. Hagar

Write: summary #2 of one article/chapter and two questions for discussion

Week 5: Sept. 27. Polarity or Plurality?: Sex and the social construction of gender

Read:

• Supernumerary Sexes. M. Kay Martin and Barbara Voorhies, 1975. Chapter 4 in Female of the Species, pp. 84-107.
• Amazons of America: Female Gender Variance, Walter L. Williams, 1986. In Brettell and Sargent, eds. (1997:202-219). Reprinted from The Spirit and the Flesh.
• Epilogue, Henrietta Moore, 1991, in Gero and Conkey eds., pp. 407-411.

Suggested (pick one):

• any chapter from Will Roscoe, The Zuni Man-Woman, 1991.
• any chapter from S.E. Jacobs, W. Thomas and S Lang, editors, Two-Spirit People, 1997
• any chapter from W. Roscoe, editor, Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America, 1998.
• Patricia C. Albers, From Illusion to Illumination: Anthropological Studies of American Indian Women, 1989, in S. Morgen, ed., pp. 132-149.

• Carolyn Epple, Coming to Terms with Navajo Nadleehi: A Critique of "Berdache," "Alternate Gender," and "Two-Spirit." American Ethnologist 25:267-290. 1998.

Write: summary #3 of one article and two questions for discussion

Week 6: Oct. 4. "Sexual" divisions of labor: hunter-gatherers AND final preparations for Conference.

• [9] Lithic Technology and the Hunter-Gatherer Sexual Division of Labor, Kenneth Sassaman
• The Evolution of Hunting, Sherwood Washburn and C.S. Lancaster, and, Hunting: An Integrating Biobehavioral System and Its Evolutionary Importance, William S. Laughlin. in R.B. Lee and I. DeVore, eds, Man the Hunter, pp. 293-320.
• Woman the Gatherer, Sally Linton (Slocum), 1971, (in Women in Perspective, S.E. Jacobs, ed.; reprinted in Toward an Anthropology of Women, R. Reiter, ed. 1975, 36-49).
• !Kung women, Patricia Draper, 1975, in Toward an Anthropology of Women, Reiter, ed., pp. 77-109.

suggested:

• Woman the Hunter: The Agta, A. Estioko-Griffin & P. B. Griffin, 1981, in Dahlberg, ed., pp. 121-151; reprinted in Brettell and Sargent, eds., pp. 219-228.
• Genderlithics: Women's Role in Stone Tool Production, Joan M. Gero, 1991, in Gero and Conkey, eds., pp. 163-193.
• Chapter 7 in Martin and Voorhies' 1975 Female of the Species, pp. 178-211.

Week 7: Oct. 11. "Sexual" divisions of labor: farmers

Read:

• [8] Male/Female Task Differentiation among the Hidatsa: Toward the Development of an Archaeological Approach to the Study of Gender, Janet Spector [skim]
• [10] The Development of Horticulture in the Eastern Woodlands of North America: Women's Role, Patty Jo Watson, and Mary C. Kennedy

suggested:

• Violence Against Women in the La Plata River Valley (A.D. 1000 – 1300), Debra L. Martin, 1997, in Troubled Times: Violence and Warfare in the Past, edited by D.L. Martin and D. W. Frayer.

• Changes in Activities with the Shift to Agriculture in the Southeastern United States, Patricia S. Bridges, 1989, Current Anthropology 30:385-394.
• Don’t Blame Men for the Patriarchy: A Conversation with Ken Wilber. New Age Journal, July/August 1995:79, 137-140

Write: two questions for discussion

Week 8: October 18. Gender iconography and ideology: realms of the masculine and

feminine

• [11] Where Have All the Menstrual Huts Gone? The Invisibility of Menstrual

Seclusion in the Late Prehistoric Southeast, Patricia Galloway

• [12] Spinning and Weaving as Female Gender Identity in Post-Classic Mexico,

Sharrisse D. McCafferty and Geoffrey G. McCafferty

• [13] Identifying Gender Representation in the Archaeological Record: A

Contextual Study, Liv Gibbs

suggested:

• By the Hunter, For the Gatherer: Art, Social Relations and Subsistence Change in the Prehistoric Great Basin, David Whitley, 1994. World Archaeology 25(3):356-373
• Anasazi Iconography: Medium and Motif, K. Hays-Gilpin, 1996. In Interpreting Southwestern Diversity: Underlying Principles and Overarching Patterns, edited by P.R. Fish and J.J. Reid, pp. 55-67, Arizona State University Anthropological Research Papers No. 48, Tempe.
• Decoration as Ritual Symbol: A Theoretical Proposal and an Ethnographic Study in Southern Sudan, Mary Braithwaite, 1982. In Symbolic and Structural Archaeology. I. Hodder, ed. Pp. 80-88. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

write: one paragraph to one page term paper proposal, two questions for discussion

Week 9: Oct. 25. Gender Iconography and Ideology: Representing Women's Bodies

• [14] The Paleolithic Mother-Goddess: Factor Fiction?, Pamela Russell
• [15] Women, Rituals, and Social Dynamics at Ancient Chalcatzingo, Ann Cyphers Guillen

• Father Earth, Mother Sky: Ancient Egyptian Beliefs about Conception and Fertility, Ann Macy Roth, 2000, In Reading the Body, edited by Alison Rautman, pp. 187-201.

Suggested:

• Diversity of the Upper Paleolithic "Venus" Figurines and Archaeological Mythology, Sarah M. Nelson, 1990. In Brettell and Sargent, eds., 1997:67-73.
• Female Figurines in the European Upper Paleolithic: Politics and Bias in Archaeological Interpretation, Margaret Beck, 2000, in In Reading the Body, edited by Alison Rautman, pp.202-214.
• No Possible, Probable Shadow of Doubt, Alice Kehoe, 1991, Antiquity 65:129-131.
• The Uses of Archaeology for Women's History: James Mellaart's Work on the Neolithic Goddess at Catal Huyuk, Ann Barstow, 1978, Feminist Studies 4:1:7-18.
• Rewriting the Past to Save the Future: A Review of The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future, Beth Grindell, 1993, Arizona Anthropologist 10:119-129.

Write: summary #4 of one article from this week or the last few weeks and two questions for discussion

Week 10: November 1. Power and Hierarchies: Origins of Gender Hierarchy and Gender in Complex Societies

Read:

• [16] Skeletal Evidence for Sex Roles and Gender Hierarchies in Prehistory, Mark Nathan Cohen and Sharon Bennett
• [17] Gender Hierarchy and the Queens of Silla, Sarah M. Nelson
• [18] Women, Kinship, and the Basis of Power in the Norwegian Viking Age, Liv Helga Dommasnes
• The Roots of Inequality, Barbara Bender, 1989. In Domination and Resistance, edited by D. Miller et al., Unwin Hyman, pp. 83-95

Suggested:

• Women in States, Irene Silverblatt, 1988, Annual Review of Anthropology (Inka)
• The Aztecs and the Ideology of Male Dominance, June Nash, 1978, Signs 4(21):349-362
• Gender, Space, and Food in Prehistory, Christine Hastorf, in Gero and Conkey (eds) 1990, pp. 132-159. (Pre-Inka)
• Weaving and Cooking: Women's Production in Aztec Mexico, Elizabeth Brumfiel, 1990, in Gero and Conkey, eds., pp. 224-251.
• Images of Production and Reproduction in Pre-Hispanic Southern Central America, Rosemary Joyce, 1993. Current Anthropology 34(3):255-274 . (Maya)

write: two questions for discussion

Week 11: Nov. 8. Power and Hierarchies: Gender in Historic America

Read:

• Colonization and Women's Production: The Timucua of Florida, Ruth Trocolli, 1992. In Exploring Gender Through Archaeology: Selected Papers from the 1991 Boone Conference, Cheryl Claassen, ed., pp. 95-102.
• Gender and Historical Archaeology: Eastern Dakota Patterns in the 19th Century, Mary K. Whelan, 1991. Historical Archaeology 25(4):17-32 .

Suggested:

• Gender, Activity Areas, and Homelots in the 17th Century Chesapeake Region, James G. and Julia A. King, 1991. Historical Archaeology 25(4): 109-131.
• The Archaeology of Women in the Spanish New World, Bonnie McEwan, Historical Archaeology 25:4:33-41.
• Moon, Sun, and Witches: Gender Ideology and Class in Inca and Colonial Peru, Irene Silverblatt, 1987, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Write: Summary # 5 of one article from this week or last week and 2 questions for discussion.

Week 12 : Nov. 15 Children of Prehistory

Read: Pick three

• Babes in the 'Hood: Concepts of "Personhood" and the Spatial Segretation of Infants from Adults in Archaeological Burial Practices, Louise M. Senior, 1994. Paper presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Anaheim. Unpublished manuscript.
• A Child is Born. The Child's World in Archaeological Perspective, Grete Lillehammer, 1989. Norwegian Archaeological Review 22:2:91-105.
• Archaeology of Childhood, Blythe Roveland, 1997. Anthropology Newsletter 38:4:14-16.
• Tiny Arrowheads: Toys in the Toolkit, Bob Dawe, 1997. Plains Anthropologist 42:161:303-318.
• additional references will be available before class

Write: term paper draft due, bring 2 copies. Two questions for discussion.

Week 13 Nov. 22

New Narratives, New Visions

Read:

• [19] The Ancient Californians: Rancholabrean Hunters of the Mojave Lakes Country Emma Lou Davis
• [20] What This Awl Means: Feminist Archaeology at a Wahpeton Dakota Village. Janet Spector
• [21] Boys will Be Boys: Masculinist Approaches to a Gendered Archaeology, A. Bernard Knapp
• {2} Good Science, Bad Science, or Science as Usual? Feminist Critiques of Science, Alison Wylie

Suggested:

• Have We got a Theory for You! Feminist Theory, Cultural Imperialism and the Demand for "The Woman's Voice," Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman, 1983. Women's Studies.
• What this Awl Means, the rest of the book by Janet Spector

write: peer review due of 1 fellow student's paper, two questions for discussion

Week 14 Nov. 29

student presentations

Week 15 December 6

Final version of term papers due December 13 at 5 pm.

MORE INFORMATION

THE WEB SITE FOR THE GENDER AND ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE IS LINKED FROM MY HOME PAGE, OR CAN BE FOUND DIRECTLY AT http://www2.nau.edu/gender2000/

Examples of term paper topics: the goals of this term paper are to develop and refine research and writing skills, and to learn something interesting that can be shared with the group. Any research involving human subjects requires an Internal Review Board approval.

Library Research:

prehistory: The earliest known human burials with grave goods are of Neandertals. Were male and female Neanderthals differentiated by their grave goods? First, can we tell this from the existing literature? If we do have published information on grave goods, what does differentiation by sex or lack of differentiation by sex tell us about gender (as a social construct) in these early humans? dare we say early human "society"? If there is not published information, write a research design to show why this question is important and how you would find answers.

ethnoarchaeology: Many Plains tribes have two art styles used in hide painting, a geometric style used by women and a representational style used by men. What is the distribution of this gender dualism in art on the Plains? Does it correlate with a particular kind of social organization or division of labor, or with the historical relationships among particular groups? Is there anything to

be learned here that can be used to help archaeologists interpret prehistoric art? Other similar ideas: is there gender dualism in Pueblo art? if so, how far back does it seem to go in Anasazi art? if not, was there gender dualism in the past and when did the dualism disappear or become more complicated? again, why is this of interest?

Critique a Text:

Compare an old introductory archaeology text with a new one and explain what changes there have been in regard to gender (also inclusion of children's activities)--are there still biases? Does only language change or are there substantive changes? Do illustrations change or stay the same even when language changes?

Critique a "popular press" version of prehistory--Time-Life Emergence of Man series )1972), Early man (1965), also National Geographic--especially examine illustrations (who is active, who isn't, body posture--are all the women kneeling while men stand poised for the kill?, etc.) Contrast w/Nancy Tanner's "On Becoming Human."

Original Research:

If you are involved in ongoing archaeological research, and your project has some potential to address the kinds of questions we are asking in this course, you may use your own data and research design. Beware of taking on more than can be handled in a short, 1 semester paper!

You may also possible do a "modern material culture" study about gender and activity areas, dress, subsistence behavior, domestic inventory, etc. vary by gender in our society and is there an application of the method or conclusions to archaeology? for this, you have to get beyond just showing that men and women in our society do things differently. You would need to document and explain a link to larger issues of power, access to resources, social structure, the influence of who has dependent children, and so on.