On the importance of difference: re-envisioning sex and gender in ancient Mesoamerica

Abstract

Abstract Models currently employed to investigate gender ideologies and practices in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica tend to rely on binary constructions. As a result, if applied uncritically to archaeological case studies, they may obscure variability and marginalize the importance of difference in the lives of past peoples. I propose that models such as gender hierarchy and complementarity have been strongly impacted upon by processes of conquest and colonization, which may render them inappropriate frameworks for investigating ancient societies. I conclude that we should turn our attention away from debating the relative merits of these models and focus instead on the exploration of pre-Columbian identity. By considering the ways that identity served to articulate individuals into groups, as well as distinguish the individual from the group, we can avoid creating grand narratives about past gender ideologies and appropriately situate the role of gendered difference within its larger social context. Keywords: Identitygender complementaritygender hierarchy, feminist theory, Mesoamerica Acknowledgements This paper is the outgrowth of a much longer-term dialogue I have engaged in about the nature of gender ideologies in Mesoamerica and their relation to both biological sex and sexuality. Earlier formulations of these ideas were presented at the 2005 Society for American Archaeology conference in Salt Lake city and at the 2004 Chacmool conference at the University of Calgary, ‘Que(e)ry Archaeology: The Fifteenth Anniversary Gender Conference’. I owe the organizers of the session I participated in at this latter conference – Kathryn Reese-Taylor and Meaghan Peuramaki-Brown – thanks for including me. I also thank Thomas Dowson for encouraging me to continue developing my ideas about gender complementarity, and for suggesting I contribute a paper to this ‘debates’ issue of World Archaeology. Thanks must also be extended to Pamela Geller, who has long served as a sounding-board for my ideas on this subject. Finally, I thank Wendy Ashmore, Greg Borgstede, Elin Danien, Matt Liebmann, Rachel Scott, and Bob Sharer for their thoughtful feedback and commentary on early drafts of this paper. All errors found herein, however, are my responsibility alone.