THE WOMAN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOURSE OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2021-02-18

The archaeological discourse of the pre-historians of the Iberian Peninsula reflects a mosaic of very different theoretical positions and praxis. In the 21st century the woman is practically invisible from the main research themes related to the ancient peasant societies (6th to 3rd millennia BCE, Neolithic and Chalcolithic). This invisibility is in some way inexplicable when there are major advances in laboratory and field analytics and also in conceptual frameworks. The explanation for this situation can be explained by the theoretical positions, by the archaeological invisibility of the gender relations or even by the reduced expression of the social differentiation of women in these societies. It is especially relevant the differences between the Portuguese and Spanish panorama: in Portuguese archaeological discourse the woman is more hidden. It is intended to analyze and discuss this invisibility relating with the social contexts of the archaeologists and also with the need to change the research agenda.


Author(s): Sousa, Ana Catarina (UNIARQ, Center for Archaeology of the University of Lisbon)