Gender and Chinese Archaeology

The roles of women in Chinese archaeology, with only a few exceptions, have at worst been overlooked, and at best consigned to conventional Marxist theory that prescribes formulaic frameworks for understanding gender—until now. Renowned archaeologist Katheryn M. Linduff and fellow researcher Yan Sun have brought together a fascinating collection that reexamines gender in ancient Chinese cultures. Acknowledging and negotiating the complications that challenge their efforts, the authors analyze and begin to reconstruct the roles of women in various regions of China from the late Neolithic to the early Empire period. Topics range from mortuary ritual, social status and structures of power, economic influences on cultural practice, textile production, and art in these early Chinese societies. This book is a must for students, professors, and practitioners of archaeology that seek a more complete examination of the archaeological record, for scholars in the fields of Asian Studies, Art History, and Chinese History more generally, as well as for those interested in the roles of women in ancient Chinese society.