Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Convenors:
Sandra Lorena Lopez Varela, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, slvarela@comunidad.unam.mx
Teresita Majewski, Statistical Research Inc, USA, tmajewski@sricrm.com
This session critically explores the gendered dimensions of production practices, emphasising how both the creation of material culture and the individuals involved in production are shaped by gender. It aims to examine how gendered production is represented in the archaeological record and what it reveals about historical divisions of labour, power, and social structures. By examining how gender identities shape and are shaped by production processes, this session invites contributions that explore the intersectionalities among gender, labour, and identity. It aims to unpack the complex relationships between social roles, economic structures, and the production of material culture, questioning how these dynamics have evolved and been influenced by historical contexts.
The session encourages interdisciplinary contributions incorporating archaeological and anthropological methods alongside heritage management perspectives. These approaches will enable a nuanced understanding of how gendered production has been historically constructed, performed, and transformed, with particular attention given to how socioeconomic factors—such as economic development policies, colonialism, or industrialisation—have shaped gendered production practices through time. It seeks to highlight the often-overlooked contributions of local and Indigenous women, whose involvement in production and material culture is foundational to our understanding of past and present societies. Through this exploration, the session aspires to challenge traditional androcentric narratives and promote a more inclusive and equitable understanding of gendered production throughout history.
Papers:
Corn Beer Makers and Governors of Magdalena de Cao
Gianella Pacheco Neyra, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
This research presents the results of the ethnographic work carried out in the town of Magdalena de Cao, located in the north coast of Peru. It aims to contribute to the understanding of the changes that have been generated in the production, tradition and identity of the Magdalena de Cao ‘chicheras’ (corn beer makers), since the archaeological discovery of the Lady of Cao, a female ruler, considered one the most important Peruvian archaeological findings and the evidence of female power. This situation has generated expectations, the arrival of several institutions related to development projects and new discussions that reinforced the importance of women in society. Social factors and economic factors that influence this process have been analysed.
Gendering the Social Context of Pottery Production in the Lower Brahmaputra Valley: An Ethno-archaeological Study
Preetee Sharma, Dept of History, Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam, India
This paper will discuss the findings of an ethno-archaeological survey of present-day potter communities settled in the lower Brahmaputra Valley of the Indian subcontinent. The study will specifically highlight the gendered aspects of pottery production, which is traditionally a household-based production activity in the region of study. Also, we have two social groups primarily engaged in pottery production within the Brahmaputra Valley, popularly known as the Kumar and Hira potters. The Kumars make wheel made pottery, whereas Hiras are engaged in making hand-made pottery. The segregation of these two groups takes place, firstly, on the basis of craft technique and, secondly, via the gendered exercise of labour. This segregation has been recognised within the Brahmanical caste hierarchy, where Kumars are given a higher position than Hiras. The social context of the potting craft as practised by these two communities as observed and documented during the field survey will be discussed in detail. Further, these nuanced observations will be utilised to critically assess our understanding of the pottery cultures from archaeological contexts. Overall, this paper is an attempt at tracing the gendered aspect of pottery production and how women’s labour is contextualised within the social production processes of Brahmaputra Valley.
Pots, Social Networks, and Gender Roles: Samples from Archaeological Records in the Nsukka Cultural Area
Augusta Onyeka, Cyriacus Chijioke Oji and Obinna F. Emeafor, University of Nigeria, Nigeria
Archaeological investigation faces issues of fragmentation and limitations of evidence for interpretations. Working with fragments, in most cases, leads to the question of who is represented. Genders are usually portrayed in archaeological pieces but are not usually talked about. An example is pottery sherds, leading to questions like, who is making pots? Who is selling them? Who is influencing styles and designs on the pot, and how do we identify that? Given the limitations of archaeological evidence, how does feminist intuition/perspective impact prehistory or historical interpretations of a craft in archaeology? Taking instances from Nsukka cultural area for a better understanding of the role of gender in informing the potter’s ingenuity in pottery production and trade network, this study employs archaeological sampling to classify and diagnose motifs and patterns of the sherds from legacy collections and explore the nuanced ways in which vessel patterns shape diverse genders, subjectivities, and social distinctions between men and women. We also engaged the potter’s communities to better decipher social networks and gender roles. The result would help categorise the pattern of the potter’s aesthetic skill for a better interpretation of pottery in the archaeology of the Nsukka potting community.
Uncovering the Agency of Women on Papuan New Guinea’s South Coast (650-300 cal BP) Through Scanning Electron Microscopy Based Automated Mineralogy Analyses of Pottery
Robert Skelly, Barbara Etschmann, Joël Brugger and Chris Urwin, Monash University, Australia
Fiona Petchey, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Teppsy Beni, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Ethnographic accounts of Melanesian exchange systems, such as the Kula and Hiri significantly influenced the development of anthropology as a discipline. These accounts primarily focus on male agency imbued in seafaring, while the agency of women and their cultural practices are often overlooked. Melanesian ethnography guided archaeological research and shaped resulting narratives. Yet on Papua New Guinea’s south coast, details of women’s cultural practices are documented in ethnography, and the remains of the pottery they made survive well in archaeological contexts. Assemblages of pottery sherds excavated at sites 80 km apart on New Guinea’s south coast are similar in form and decoration. Scanning Electron Microscopy based Automated Mineralogy (SEM-AM) analysis was used to determine whether pots were in fact moving through trade relations as could be assumed based on decorative trends. The results of analyses bring the agency of women in the development of seafaring exchange systems back into view. Nuances of past social entanglements, revealed through SEM-AM analyses, show that seafaring alliances and networks were maintained through kinship. In this instance, pottery-making traditions are found to have spread along the coast through the movement of women and intermarriage rather than as a function of male agency in seafaring trade.
Unforeseen Intersectionalities in Economic Development Programs: Ethnoarchaeological Insights into Regendering Pottery Production in Mexico
Sandra Lorena López Varela, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
Social development programs to combat poverty may unintentionally impact gender roles in pottery production. Since 1998, ethnoarchaeological research in Cuentepec, Morelos, has demonstrated that without gender-sensitive public policies, these programs often reshape traditional gendered labour practices in pottery-making communities. The promotion of creative industries, often valued from the dominant group’s perspective, has failed to significantly improve the living standards of rural communities and has been shown to disrupt local social dynamics. These policies leave impoverished communities with a stark choice: either remain in poverty with their traditional way of life or modernise by adopting a technological and economic system that commercialises every aspect of their culture, as Norberg-Hodge (2016) observed at Ladakh, India. This is particularly true for women potters, whose living standards have not seen the promised progress. Therefore, the research presented here underscores the need for a balanced approach that respects the traditional way of life while also embracing modernisation, one that preserves cultural heritage while promoting welfare.