A Feminist Critique of Recent Archaeological Theories and Explanations of the Rise of State-Level Societies
Author(s)
Key, Carol Jane; MacKinnon, J. Jefferson
Abstract
Historical studies of the state and its development are gaining attention in many social-science disciplines. Most theorizing about the state has been built on models of development after the colonial period. There has been insufficient attention to the effect of the development after the colonial period and of the development of state institutions on women, particularly in periods of transition from one level of a societal organization to another. This paper will attempt to analyze the social position of ancient Maya women before and during the rise of the Classic state and its subsequent collapse, and in the Maya Post-Classic and European contact periods. The analysis determines differences in state-level organization and how they affected gender relationships based on archaeological and historical evidence.
