Gender and Space in Campsites of Dukha Reindeer Herders

Summary

The division of labor by sex and gender among small-scale societies is well known, but how differences in gender roles are reflected in variation in human spatial behavior has received considerably less attention. Understanding how and why individuals of different gender use space is critical to the development of middle range theory linking gendered human behavior to its archaeological correlates. Over five field seasons, we have collected data on the spatial distribution of people and activities within the interior and exterior spaces of campsites of nomadic Dukha reindeer herders in Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia. In all, our sample includes more than 20,000 high precision spatial data points collected by observational mapping and photogrammetry. In this paper, we examine how cultural models, division of labor, and other factors structure the distributions of male and female activities in Dukha camps. We end with a discussion of the relevance of our findings for archaeological gender studies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18770