Women's Leadership and Ritual Specialization in Coast Miwok and Kashia Pomo Cultures

Summary

This is an abstract from the "AD 1150 to the Present: Ancient Political Economy to Contemporary Materiality—Archaeological Anthropology in Honor of Jeanne E. Arnold" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Employing theoretical and interpretive frameworks influenced by the research of Jeanne E. Arnold, I examine the roles of women in the ritual organizations of these two Native California cultures. I address the antiquity of these ritual systems and the ways that their secret societies promoted regional integration. The ritual and political specialists known as maien (Coast Miwok) and walipo (Coast Miwok and Kashia Pomo) are the focus of my discussion. I examine the similar beliefs and practices in these ritual systems, and women’s leadership in social control in these cultures. I conclude by placing the roles of elite women in the broader context of sociopolitical organization in Coast Miwok and Kashia Pomo cultures.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• AD 1150 to the Present: Ancient Political Economy to Contemporary Materiality—Archaeological Anthropology in Honor of Jeanne E. Arnold   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38655.0