One Tough Archaeological Mother: The Act of Mothering in the Field

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Celebrating Alice: Recognizing the Many Contributions of Alice Beck Kehoe" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In her recently published autobiography “Girl Archaeologist,” Alice B. Kehoe discusses the hurdles she overcame and trauma she endured as a woman looking to break into a professional space almost completely dominated by men. Her volume adds to the growing body of literature published over the last decade about the trailblazing (and often overlooked) history of women in the field. These works often outline the difficult experiences women had in the field through exacting grit, determination and resilience. Here I want to highlight some of the positive experiences women and mothers have in the field. In this paper I contextualize Kehoe’s and other women’s experiences of motherhood and mothering in the field through the lens of matricentric feminism as a vital, empowering illumination. Framing motherhood in the field of archaeology as a visible, positive, and normalized practice and identity will create a more supportive environment for mothers. A matricentric feminism perspective can help us all move from resilience to empowerment and acceptance for mothers in in the field.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Celebrating Alice: Recognizing the Many Contributions of Alice Beck Kehoe   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50308