Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Work Allocation in a Traditional Society

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

This project analyzes fingerprint impressions found on corrugated ceramic vessels to better understand how societies adapt gendered production in response to cultural change. Previous research on gendered divisions of labor largely portrays these roles as static rather than as dynamic, adaptive processes where roles and boundaries are constantly renegotiated. Today gender and the role it plays in the society occupies a substantial place in public discourse. What constitutes “appropriate” gender roles are constantly being renegotiated, debated, and legislated in the United States. Discussions of how past societies navigated changing gendered divisions of labor contributes greatly to these current debates by providing much needed nuance and context on topics that defy simple answers. This work will be shared in a variety of media ranging from peer-reviewed literature to public talks and workshops. The work will be shared with cultural resource staff from the Pueblos who trace their ancestry to the sites explored in this study. Ultimately, the goal of this information sharing is to foster greater collaboration between local Pueblo communities and the University of New Mexico as well as incorporating more Indigenous perspectives into academic archaeology. The research is being conducted on a sample of ceramic material from five sites in the Middle Rio Grande of central New Mexico (MRG). During an extended time period, diverse groups coalesced into some of the largest communities seen in the region until the industrial era. New architectural, technological, religious, and trade practices emerged to help knit these communities together during a dynamic period of change. Pottery making practices changed alongside these other developments transforming from manufacture for local consumption to surplus production for exchange. This research tests the prediction that as demand for ceramics increased, changes in the gendered division of labor were required to help meet new production needs. To accomplish this, the project analyzes fingerprint impressions found on locally produced corrugated ceramics. These frequently preserve fingerprint impressions, the complex pattern of ridges and furrows on human palmar skin, which can reliably be used for sex estimation. These fingerprint data will serve as a proxy for gender and be compared between sites, time periods, and different ceramic types. New radiometric dates will be used to build a chronological model of gendered labor divisions. The research will generate and refine new analytical methods for addressing questions of gendered labor in the past. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.