Visible Men and Elusive Women

Abstract

Early gender archaeology formulated two statements: men are visible, women are invisible, and men work in hard materials, women work in soft materials. We discuss these dichotomies in connection with nineteenth-century folklore and an excavated eighteenth-century cottage at a summer-farm. We conclude that much of the gendered order-of-work tasks broke down in pragmatic day-to-day life, especially by women crossing the gender border. However, social chaos was held at bay by ritual acts and magic objects.

Writing histories at Êngkahonovita Ogwêvi: multicultural entanglement at Red Canyon, Wyoming

“…Prior to our investigations, we knew only that Jacob and Amanda Nostrum were of Swedish heritage. During archival research, however, we discovered that Jacob was born at Bishop Hill in Illinois-a utopian community of Swedish religious dissenters founded by his parents and grandparents in 1846 (U.S. Census Bureau 1870; Anderson 1947). Bishop Hill was a designated stop for stagecoach passengers travelling west on their way from Chicago to St Louis (White 2012).…”

“…Inspired by Andersson et al . 's (2011) analysis of materials found at Swedish summer farms, Burnett (2013) argues that the box was placed in the wall to protect the occupants of the house. Similarly, wire nails and a harness buckle clustered around a chimney indicate the purposeful placement of objects used in everyday rituals.…”