Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration," at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, statues that symbolize oppression and dominant political power have been removed, destroyed, defaced, or reinterpreted. In recent years, statues and monuments to women are arriving in the midst of a larger and significant global reckoning about historical authority and representation, especially in women’s achievements in passing legislation for the right to vote. In this session, we explore questions such as: What forces and motives--political, mythological, or otherwise--have driven the installation of monuments and statues to women? What are, and have been, the impediments? What patterns of erection, installation, or commemoration to women, or various representations of women, or women figures, have occurred over time from antiquity to the 21st century? What is the past, present, and projected future of monument statuary to women in different countries and cultures? What forces affect these projections? Is the movement of “Breaking the Bronze Ceiling” sustainable?

Other Keywords
commemoration • Public Archaeology • Monuments • Cemetery • Gravestones • Gender • Landscape • Memorialization • Roman • women

Geographic Keywords
Northeastern United States • Eastern Ontario, Canada and northern New York State, USA. • North America, United States • Europe and the US • US - Texas

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-7 of 7)

  • Documents (7)
Documents
  • Commemoration of Molly Brant: a Canadian and American dichotomy in memorialization of an Indigenous woman (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Susan M. Bazely.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Mohawk matriarch Molly Brant (c. 1736-1796) asserted considerable influence over her people and homeland in the British colony of New York (later part of the United States of America), before and during the American Revolutionary War. She maintained a dignified presence in whatever...

  • A Feminist Intersectional Perspective On Symbolic Meanings Of Statues Of Women (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Suzanne M Spencer-Wood.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. A feminist intersectional theoretical perspective reveals that Western patriarchy's intersecting androcentrism and racism have been ideologically legitimated, promoted and sanctified by the great predominance of statues commemorating real, powerful white men, often on horses to...

  • The Rebecca Nurse Monument and George Jacobs Headstone: Using Landscape Archaeology to Discover a Commemorative Environment (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Alaina K Scapicchio.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers, Massachusetts is home to the first monument commemorating a victim of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The 1885 memorial to Rebecca Nurse is located in her historic family cemetery and has functioned as a grave marker because she received no...

  • Revealing Layers of Silenced History: Monuments and Statues of Women (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Sherene Baugher. John H. Jameson.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. International examples of statues symbolizing oppression and dominant political power are common in today’s media headlines. Statues and monuments to women are starting to play a significant role in discussions about historical authority, representation, silenced history, and...

  • Warrior Queen and Sacred Goddess: The Name Boudicca, "Victorious Woman," on Gravestones and Roman Writings, from Iberia to Gaul to Britannia to Germania. (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only David Furlow.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. How does archaeology record the name of a warrior queen, goddess, and ordinary woman? Photos record the evolution of a sacred name across Europe. Variations of the Celtic name Boudicca ("Victorious Woman" or "Victoria") appear on gravestones and in Roman writings across a...

  • The Waving Girl of Savannah: A Bronze Salute to Real Life Values and Legend (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only John H Jameson.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Florence Martus, the “Waving Girl,” and the personified bronze statue erected to her memory, is an international symbol, local memorial, and modern tourist attraction with an inspiring story of real life and legend. The noble ideas expressed by the Waving Girl monument, said the...

  • Women’s Lives Matter: Deconstructing BLM’s toppling down actions from a feminist perspective (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Laia Colomer.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Monuments and Statues to Women: Arrival of an Historical Reckoning of Memory and Commemoration", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. In Spring 2020 we witnessed radical acts of public engagement with cultural heritage: political activists from the Black Lives Matter-movement tumbled down monuments and statues of eminent men due to their racist colonial past. The actions were a bustle about the deep-rooted...