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Women Appear in the Plains

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Abstract

Androcentrism marked archaeology on the American Plains, women excluded from major projects and archaeology focused on lithics supposedly made by men, with sherds used to establish chronologies and regions. In the 1970s, women scholars initiated feminist studies and became more numerous in the profession. On the Canadian Plains, two 1980 books shifted attention to the formation of Métis, which can be seen as contributing to feminist diversity theory. Postcolonialism, incorporating collaboration with First Nations, became important after 2000 and adds to diversity theory as well as pointing the real-world political-economic consequences of traditional archaeological pictures of Plains “prehistory.”

Résumé 

L’androcentrisme a marqué l’archéologie dans les plaines américaines, les femmes étant exclues des projets importants et l’archéologie étant centrée sur les objets lithiques soi-disant fabriqués par les hommes avec des tessons utilisés pour déterminer les chronologies et les régions. Dans les années 1970, des femmes universitaires ont entrepris des études féministes et sont devenues plus nombreuses dans la profession. Dans les plaines canadiennes, deux livres en 1980 ont attiré l’attention sur la formation des Métis, et peuvent être considérés comme ayant contribué à la théorie féministe de la diversité. Le post-colonialisme, en intégrant la collaboration avec les Premières nations, a pris toute son importance après 2000 et renforce la théorie de la diversité tout en soulignant les conséquences politico-économiques du monde réel des images archéologiques traditionnelles de la « préhistoire » des plaines.

Resumen

El androcentrismo marcó la arqueología en las Llanuras Americanas: las mujeres fueron excluidas de los proyectos importantes y la arqueología se centró en la industria lítica elaborada supuestamente por los hombres, cuyos fragmentos se utilizaron para establecer cronologías y regiones. En la década de los 70, las mujeres académicas cursaron estudios feministas y se hicieron cada vez más numerosas en la profesión. En las Llanuras Canadienses, dos libros de 1980 centraron la atención a la formación de Métis, que puede considerarse como una aportación a la teoría de la diversidad feminista. El postcolonialismo, que incorpora la colaboración con las Primeras Naciones, cobró importancia después del 2000 y contribuye a la teoría de la diversidad, además de apuntar las consecuencias político-económicas del mundo real que ofrecen las imágenes arqueológicas tradicionales de la «prehistoria» en las Llanuras.

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Correspondence to Alice Beck Kehoe.

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Kehoe, A.B. Women Appear in the Plains. Arch 7, 154–169 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-011-9158-8

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