Women, fertility, and North American archaeology / Cheryl Claassen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Claassen, Cheryl, 1953- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women archaeologists--North America.

Women archaeologists.

Women, Prehistoric.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Knoxville : The University of Tennessee Press, [2026]

Summary:

"Women, Fertility, and North American Archaeology brings together more than three decades of Cheryl Claassen’s groundbreaking work on gender and archaeology. Featuring articles originally published between 1989 and 2023, the volume makes available the full scope of Claassen’s work related to Archaic and Woodland–era women in the Southeastern United States, women working as archaeologists, and the development of a gendered archaeological inquiry.Organized in two parts, the collection begins with essays on the emergence of gender as an archaeological category and on the role of women in a field once dominated by masculine perspectives. The second half of the volume turns to archaeological explorations of women in prehistory, including women's labor, fertility, and ritual practices, and how these facets of life were linked to and influenced by the landscapes and resources of the time.With introductions to each section that discuss the genesis of ideas and provide additional context for each paper, Claassen situates her work within the broader history of the discipline. Illustrated with thirty images and maps and including previously difficult-to-find articles, this volume is an essential resource for archaeologists, students of anthropology, and scholars of gender and women’s studies."-- From JSTOR.

Contents:

Questioning gender: an introduction

The social function of gender

Women in the ancient Americas: archaeologists, gender, and the making of prehistory

Changing venue: women’s lives in prehistoric North America

Engendering Appalachian archaeology

Challenges for regendering southeastern prehistory

Temporal perspectives on gender in the prehistory of the eastern United States

The way we were: a review essay on gender and archaeology

Homophobia and women archaeologists

Black and white women at Irene: a revised view

Gender, shellfishing, and the shell mound Archaic

Mothers’ workloads and children’s labor during the Woodland period

Infanticide and sacrifices among Archaic babies of the central United States

Rock shelters as women’s retreats: understanding Newt Kash

Fertility: a place‑based gift to groups

Rock shelters, boulders, and bleeding rocks: uncovering elements of women’s ritual landscape in the Midcontinent

Ashes for fertility

Native women, men, and American landscapes.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (JSTOR, viewed May 26, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Claassen, Cheryl, 1953- Women, fertility, and North American archaeology.

ISBN:

9798895273388

OCLC:

1589110789

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license