Being Male in al-Andalus. A Comparative Osteobiographical Approach to Reconstructing Islamic Identities in Medieval Spain.

Summary

In 711 AD the influx of Arabs and Berbers into Iberia culminated in the formation of the only Islamic state in medieval Western Europe. The uptake of new religious ideology and cultural practices by the inhabitants, which when applied in their unique sociohistorical context, resulted in an Iberian Islamic identity. While much research has explored variation in the lives of women, including debates on their freedom of movement and activity, less is postulated about the lives of men and what it meant to be Muslim and male in al-Andalus. Fortunately, due to the reflective relationship that exists between the body and society, the analysis of human skeletal and funerary remains offers an opportunity to address this lacuna. An osteobiographical approach, which explores both cumulative and individual life histories, can inform about shifts in male practices and lifeways when data are compared between groups. Furthermore, as the practice of certain behaviours is key in identity (re)construction, interpretation of these changes in the relevant social, political and historical context informs about important factors affecting the lives of men in Iberia. This is demonstrated through an analysis of markers of activity, disease, stature and burial rites from Medieval Écija and Coracho, Spain.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Bodies as Narratives: Revisiting Osteobiography as a Conceptual Tool

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15159