25 April de 2025

Onsite session organised by the Archaeologists/Herstory project at the 90^th SAA annual meeting, at Denver, 25 April 2025.

Abstract: Women’ contributions to archaeology have generally been overlooked in the history of the discipline. From art collectors to illustrators, to professors, women have played a forgotten role in the development of archaeology. In this session, we propose to reflect on the contributions of women who influenced the field from the early nineteenth to the late twentieth centuries. In particular, we aim to explore two issues, the first being intersectionality—that is, how women’ integration into the discipline was shaped by the intersection of their gender, sexual identity, and other factors such as class, status, ethnicity, race, religion, and nationality. The second issue the session proposes is to discuss women’s roles in archaeological work understanding it as a multifaceted practice. Archaeology, therefore, should not be perceived as solely centered on fieldwork but rather as a praxis encompassing a wide range of activities. Topics to discuss include the roles women played behind the scenes in the functioning of archaeological societies; their participation in the preparation, organization, and documentation of archaeological fieldwork, including drawing and photographing finds and monuments; and their contributions to the dissemination of archaeological knowledge to the public. Participants are also invited to discuss the roles of women who may have been involved in roles that implicated a wider contact with the public for example in museums, universities, commercial archaeology, and heritage offices. The session’s overarching goal is to bring visibility to the often-overlooked contributions of female archaeologists to the development of the discipline.