Feminist Archaeologists’ Interpretations of the Past Essay

Introduction

Feminist archaeologists study vital information regarding the past societies through analyzing a social aspect of gender relations and ideologies. Feminist archeology examines the roles and activities of women in the past societies. Feminist archaeologists participate in theoretical issues that place women as the main focus of their analysis. Feminist researchers play a significant role in developing new interpretations of social values, cultural norms and gender ideologies. They use feminist theories for interpreting the past societies.

Feminist archaeologists oppose the irrational practice of viewing the values and customs of the past societies. Gender inequality continues to oppress many women in the society. Feminist archaeologists actively participate to address gender inequality. They take part in establishing methodologies that are significant in anthropological archeology. Feminist archeology adopts feminist theories in interpreting information on the past societies. This study aims to promote the significance of women’s roles in the society. The goal of the feminist archeology intends to challenge the manner in which the modern world makes use of archeological information. Feminist theorists continue to pose vital questions that address gender inequality and discrimination.

Body

Feminist archeology explores gender issues of the past period in order to establish relevant information. According to Brettell and Sargent, feminist archaeologists contribute greatly to the interpretation of archeological information (56). Feminist archaeologists promote new methodologies in examining gender roles and use new questioning approach to challenge the conceived ideologies of the past societies. They give privilege of considering first all the social issues regarding women and men in a contemporary perspective. Feminist archeology brings a revolution that supports women who suffer from the overwhelming influence of masculinity. Feminist archaeologists offer new ideas which have immense effects on the gender practices and ideologies in the modern society.

Hamilton views that feminist archaeologists have challenged the traditional ideas of gender and sexuality (98). They have established an important discussion in feminist archeology. They want to promote gender equality as an approach of eliminating oppression that they face in the society. Women across the world continue to encounter oppression. Male archaeologists dominated early archeological studies because society ignored women’s contribution to the science. Male archaeologists unintentionally engendered the early archeological studies by ignoring and overlooking women’s contribution in the field of archeology.

Feminist theorists have made a great impact which has helped to promote the welfare of all the people in the community. Feminist archaeologists emphasize on autonomy, equality and independence that are vital aspects of ensuring effective gender roles. They strive to understand the roles that women and men played in the past societies. Feminist archaeologists have sufficient evidences from their investigations regarding the social issues that take place in the communities. They analyze the major problems of the previous periods.

Feminist archaeologists adopt microscopic, chemical and skeleton methodological analyses to investigate their findings. They work together to promote awareness to focus on addressing gender inequality in the past societies. The feminist theorists attempt to enhance the roles that women play in the social community. Thus feminist archeology identifies men as the ones who dominate social, religious and political positions in the past. Feminist archaeologists examine the past historical information through using physical evidence (Eugenides 107). Such theorists claim that men are physically stronger than women. Physical strength enables males to involve in activities, such as fighting, and hunting. On the other hand, women play quite different roles, such as taking care of children and performing household duties that restrict their mobility. Women become passive objects, and men therefore consider them as insignificant. Feminist researchers gather important information that shows the way in which women are vulnerable.

Feminist archaeologists examine how men become more influential than women in the society. Struck, White and Angell present that nature gave men more physical strength than it did to women (35). Men became dominant figures and influenced cultural processes, institutions and structures to enforce or support the masculinity. Feminist researchers reveal that men abuse their powers by resorting to domestic violence against women. Feminist archaeologists demand a reformation of the laws that aim to promote equality among men and women. Women economically depend on men, and this is the cause of their oppression. Feminist theorists want the government to implement social, cultural, structural and institutional reforms that aim to promote equality, independence, and autonomy among people. They call for the need to empower and raise women’s status. Feminist archeology does not oppose masculinity but intend to create a better society in which people respect each other without discrimination or violence.

Feminist archaeologists raise vital questions that ensure effective gender roles. Women’s oppression is a serious issue that can come to an end when the law economically empowers women. The contribution of the female archaeologists aims to create a better community that will respect the dignity and the rights of all the people regardless their gender. Feminist theorists want to transform the masculine attitude into the egalitarianism for the improvement of the entire society. Feminist archaeologists enhance the revitalization of women’s status that men excluded in the past societies (Brettell and Sargent 59). In the past period, men considered women as unchanging, domestic and unimportant in the history. In contrast, feminist archaeologists gather vital information that explains the significance and capability of women in the society.

Feminist archaeologists engage in important efforts that focus to challenge the male domination attitude. They pose critical questions to develop new significant gender roles. Feminist archaeologists have a definite agenda that focuses on understanding the conditions under which women lived in the past societies (Eugenides 103). Feminist archeology adopts a unique coherent approach which other archeological methodologies lack. Promoting women’s roles could not be possible in the past societies because men dominated the social institutions and structures that looked down upon women. Feminist archaeologists intend to change the interpretation of the past ideological issues regarding gender roles. In the past period, men were responsible for governing societal roles that favor them while oppressing women. Feminist theorists research on vital information to get examples what women experienced in life. The principles that feminist archaeologists use correspond to the natural law that does not allow people to exploit each other.

Conclusion

The idea that the feminist archaeologists emphasize is appropriate because all the human beings are equal and there is no need of oppressing the others. Feminist researchers take part in self-reflexivity and ensure to restore the sanity and dignity of the marginalized and oppressed people in the society. They examine the gender roles that women and men played in the past societies. Upon analyzing the major issues of the past societies, the feminist archaeologists develop recommended policies that the government, private individuals, different stakeholder and entire people should observe. Such researchers desire to ensure that both men and women enjoy equal rights, and opportunities in all aspects of life. Feminist archaeologists believe that gender equality can exist when both males and females are capable to take advantage of equality in education, work, politics, society, business, science and other spheres of life.

Works Cited

Brettell, Caroline B. and Carolyn F. Sargent. Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective. 6^th ed, 2012. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Print.

Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex: A Novel. 1^st ed. New York: Picador, 2007. Print.

Hamilton, Sue. Archeology and Women: Ancient and Modern Issues. Walnut Creek, Calif: Left Coast Press, 2007. Print.

Struck, William., E. B. White and Roger Angell. The elements of style. 4^th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. Print.