Gendered Violence in Small-Scale Societies in the Past
Document Type
Book Section
Publication Date
1-1-2020
Publication Title
Gender Violence
Publisher
New York University Press
Publisher Location
New York, NY
Abstract
Rock art depicting decapitated heads (see Schaafsma 2007) or the actual act of cutting off the head painted o ceramic vessels (Brody 1983, 115) is hard to ignore. Such iconography is often used by archaeologists to identify the presence or absence of violence in small-scale societies of the past. Given issues of preservation, the relative scarcity of elaborately designed artwork, and the more mobile nature of small-scale societies, however, iconography is rarely available to identify violence in the past for most cultural groups. The presence of weapon-like tools (Blitz 1988; Taylor 2001) and structures that appear to be fortifications (Wilcox 1979) are also typically cited as an indication of the presence or threat of intergroup conflict. Howver, the cultural symbols and rhetoric around violence today in our own lives is indicative of how rapidly changing human behavior can be. While useful for framing the potential role for violence, vioent imagery, fortified habitation areas, and weapons do not tell the whole story.
Disciplines
Social and Cultural Anthropology
Language
English
Repository Citation
Martin, D.,
Harrod, R. P.
(2020).
Gendered Violence in Small-Scale Societies in the Past.
Gender Violence
New York, NY: New York University Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18574/9781479801794-006