Researchers apply a method to determine gender from fingerprints that suggests pottery making was not a primarily female activity in ancient Puebloan society. Despite the importance of reconstructing the division of labor between men and women in ancient societies, physical evidence for such reconstructions is fragmentary. John Kantner and colleagues analyzed preserved fingerprints on pottery from around 1,000 years ago, using fingerprint ridge breadth measurements to distinguish between male and female prints. Analysis of 985 sherds revealed representation of both male and female prints, with the ratio varying over time, suggesting that domestic pottery making was not a gendered activity. The timeframe of the pottery production was marked by the development of Chaco Canyon, in modern New Mexico, as a highly influential political and religious center. Chaco Canyon development coincided with a shift toward gender equity in pottery making, suggesting that high demand for pottery in Chaco Canyon may have spurred more people, both male and female, to produce pottery. According to the authors, the results challenge previous assumptions about gendered divisions of labor in ancient societies and suggest a complex approach to gender roles throughout time.
Article #19-01367: "Reconstructing sexual divisions of labor from fingerprints on Ancestral Puebloan pottery," by John Kantner, David McKinney, Michele Pierson, and Shaza Wester.
MEDIA CONTACT: John Kantner, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL; tel: 904-620-4650, 505-690-0648; e-mail: j.kantner@unf.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences