User:Crimsonmucha/Queer Archaeology

Queer archaeology is the study of archaeology through the lens of queer theory. Queer archaeology is related to feminist archaeology, although it has a different vantage point. Queer archaeology, as a form of post-processual archaeology, incorporates a post-structuralist viewpoint and challenges dominant interpretations in archaeology. Archaeology is traditionally practiced and interpreted through normative, dominant ideologies about family, sex, and gender. Queer archaeology challenges these dominant notions and attempts to reconfigure discourse about and uses of the past in ways that depart from traditional archaeology in a progressive sense.

Queer archaeology often deals with lesbian, and gay, and general LGBT perspectives in the human past, but is not limited to these perspectives. The Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology defines queer archaeology as an approach to the recovery, interpretation, and presentation of archaeological data and knowledge in a way that actively and explicitly challenges the heteronormativity of scientific practice by seeking to take the perspective of anyone who feels marginalized sexually, intellectually, or culturally. It is not a system of theory to explain something; rather, it is an alternative to normative archaeological discourse.

Historical Background

Queer archaeology is a recent development in archaeology, developing alongside third-wave feminism of the 1980s and 1990s. In general, the presence of queer studies in anthropology was slower to develop than in other social sciences. Historically, archaeology was created and practiced by men. Even now, archaeology is largely a male-domnated field of study. The past has ultimately been interpreted in a heterosexual manner, often with a normative view of family as a focus. The realm of women’s studies and more specifically, queer theory, recognizes that much of the English language and therefore, Western culture in general is constructed in terms of binary opposition. These parse the world into a series of opposite categories: male/female, heterosexual/homosexual, and so on. Queer theory challenges these structural binary categories and normative interpretations of the world. Queer archaeology, therefore, uses queer theory to reevaluate and critique the dominant ways in which archaeology has represented and continues to represent the past, present, and future.

The Association for Queer Anthropology

The Association for Queer Anthropology (AQA) includes many prominent gay and lesbian archaeologists. Its description on the website is as follows:

The Association for Queer Anthropology (AQA), formerly known as the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (SOLGA), is a section of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and was founded in 1988. AQA promotes communication, encourages research, develops teaching materials, and serves the interests of gay and lesbian anthropologists within the association.

The AQA began in the 1970s during the turbulent women’s and gay rights movements as the Anthropology Research Group on Homosexuality (ARGOH). The group has grown, developed, and transformed over the years. From its beginnings, the intent of the group has been to change discrimination against gay and lesbian anthropologists in academia and especially the academic job market. In 1974, the first scientific panel on homosexuality was held in Mexico City, with Margaret Mead, one of the attendees and speakers, openly expressing her bisexuality. ARGOH sought recognition within the AAA and in 1987 became SOLGA. After more than a decade, the Executive Committee of the AAA finally granted official status to SOLGA in 1998. The various name changes throughout the years of the group denote ongoing shifts from a perspective focused on research (ARGOH), to a group based in identity politics (SOLGA). In 2010, after a year of deliberation, the group changed its name to the Association of Queer Anthropology (AQA).

The group seeks to abolish discrimination of gay and lesbian anthropologists and allow for queer anthropology to be legitimated and expanded upon. The group is also seeking to diversify in terms of ethnicity and nationality, as most of its members are white Americans.

Controversies and Problems

As a new development in the discipline of archaeology, there are many difficulties that queer archaeology encounters. One of these difficulties includes achieving credibility and recognition for queer interpretations of academic archaeology. Although queering of academic fields is becoming more widely accepted there are still hardships and milestones to overcome. There is a general distaste for identifiably same-sex writing that Kath Weston describes as the result of willful ignorance, a fear of professional repercussions, and a paucity for documents from earlier periods, as well as reluctance on the part of ethnographers. Much of the work in queer studies has been performed by women, and although women--both heterosexual and lesbian--have made advances is the field of academia, the glass ceiling still exists for all women, thus affecting general scholarship in queer archaeology.

Misinterpretations

It is common to misinterpret queer studies and by association queer archaeology as being done by LGBT people for LGBT people. This may be due to the fact that the word "queer" itself “acquires its meaning from oppositional relation to the norm” and therefore is considered antagonistic or irrelevant to a non-queer audience. However, the field of queer archaeology is actually open to all aspiring and professional archaeologists. Dowson notes, “Archaeologists have ignored sexuality largely because of the presumption of heterosexuality as the norm.” Similarly, archaeological finds of human remains, housing structures, and the like have been historically characterized in terms of Western notions of family: that of a heteronormative, mother and father construction with the possibility of their own biological offspring.

Examples of Queer Archaeology

Chelsea Blackmore’s work on Maya civilization in at the Northeast Group site in Chan, Belize provides an example of how a template of queer theory imposed on archaeological work is not confined to discussions of sexuality and gender. Blackmore discusses how commoner identity in Maya culture is fluid by class, economic, and political standards. Her work on Mayan commoners at this site helps to “deconstruct and denaturalize assumed binary oppositions” by using queer archaeology.

Another example of queer archaeology is by Greg Reeder. He reinterprets 1964 findings at the ancient Egyptian tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep. In this tomb, two male skeletons were positioned in a way usually reserved for husband and wife. Although one interpretation was that the two were either close friends or twin brothers, Reeder argues that the two were in fact lovers. This example of queer archaeology helps to show how reevaluating previously discovered archaeological sites and artifacts is a very useful endeavor. It has the potential to more accurately read the human past.

Bibliography

"About AQA." The Association for Queer Archaeology. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

Blackmore, Chelsea. "How to Queer the Past Without Sex: Queer Theory, Feminisms and the Archaeology of Identity." Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 7.1(2011):75-96. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

Boellstorff, Tom. "Queer Studies in the House of Anthropology." Annual Review of Anthropology 36.1(2007):17-36. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

Darvill, Timothy C. "Queer Archaeology: Definition." The Concise Dictionary of Archaeology. Oxford University (Oxford University Press), 2003. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

Dowson, Thomas A. "Why Queer Archaeology? An Introduction." World Archaeology 32.2 (2000):161-165. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.

Hays-Gilpin, Kelley. "Feminist Scholarship in Archaeology." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 571.1(2000): 89-106. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.

Reeder, Greg. "Same-Sex Desire, Conjugal Constructs, and the Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep." World Archaeology 32.2(2000):193-208. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.

Weston, Kath. "Lesbian/Gay Studies in the House of Anthropology." Annual Review of Anthropology 22.1(1993):339-367. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Nov. 2012.