Dynamic and Diverse Roles and Identities of Women in Ancient Southwest Systems of Violence

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The definition of violence is unique to all societies. Violent behavior is thus recognized in myriad ways and observing it in past societies demands consideration of many forms of evidence. Interpreting individual roles in systems of violence requires that we look beyond weaponry, site destruction, male warrior burials, and lethal injuries. Our perception and interpretation of females as actively engaged in violent interactions in the past is shaped by our own social conditioning, cultural frameworks, and lived experiences. We present examples of women’s diverse roles and identities within systems of violence through a bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains from several Mogollon sites (Grasshopper, Turkey Creek, Point of Pines, and several Mimbres sites). Considering injuries, disease, and skeletal robusticity in relation to mortuary contexts and social structures, we interpret the agency of women in times of conflict and their roles as aggressors, defenders, or supporters of warfare and raiding in the pre-colonial American Southwest. (No images of human remains will be displayed)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41717.0