How have archaeologists' attempts to interpret sex and gender Essay

How have archaeologists' attempts to interpret sex and gender relations in the past changed over the last thirty years - Essay Example vii). However, this is the core problem with the way in which cultures have been framed through Western belief systems, thus making assumptions about the way that sex and gender are considered within those societies subject to modern standards of understanding. It is important to re-examine the nature of social structures that have been determined through biased assumptions in order to better construct a picture of an ancient societies. Studying Gender through Archaeological Inquiry In studying gender, Gilchrist states (1999, p. x), â€Å"gender is revealed as a metaphor for relations between men and women: gender is an expression of social practice and beliefs about sexual difference†. The nature of defining social structures through gender relations provides for a depth of context that is not often discovered in archaeological pursuit. The nature of interrelationships between men and women is such that it defines family, political structures, social class structures, and all aspects of society that must be framed to understand how a culture lived. Gosden (1999, p. 135) points out that in the continual creation of gender as it exists within society, the nature of people can be seen for their ’composite’ as it is a creation of sets of relationships that define social roles and identities. In studying gender, a central part of that concept can become understood. Joyce (2000, p. 177) states that â€Å"Gender and power are completely intertwined because the social control of individual experience of the body is the most intimate level of discipline practiced by authorities†. In defining the roles that exist within the genders, it is clear that these roles are defined differently depending on location. Settings define the nature of a gender role, whether it be within a public sphere or in a private sphere (Joyce 2000, p. 182). In creating a discussion of gender, the relationships as they are defined by location creates a textually deeper understanding of how a culture interacted. In putting the domestic roles in context with the public roles, a defined space begins to emerge in which male and female participation in cultural life is spatially recognizable. The nature of social order and discipline becomes defined for the way in which it is practiced within relationships of importance, many of which are specified as roles of gender. Studying gender through feminist referencing in archaeology did not being until the 1980s, and more specifically with the first published paper was in 1984 through Conkey and Spector, with the first real collection of essays published in 1991 in reference to a conference that took place in 1988. This collection was published by Conkey and Gero and is titled Engendering archaeology: Women and prehistory. In the process of trying to spark interest in the topic, Conkey and Gero set up a series of projects associated with gender to create paths of inquiry and to frame feminism within the arc haeological discipline (Wylie 1992, p. 15). There are two primary trends in the study of gender through archaeological approach. The first is to use written records as a comparison against archaeological finds. The primary problem with this, of course, is that not all civilizations have