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Abstract
It is important to acknowledge that a majority of research done in archaeology and anthropology or most sciences has had a strong androcentric bias. In my own personal experiences I noticed growing up taking history classes that always taught women in the past were primarily responsible for their household and children or other typical roles women were constantly simplified to. There were always the occasional exceptional women in society that we hear about who “pushed boundaries” or “broke barriers” stepping into male roles, but what about taking a second look at the past without a Western androcentric bias. In some ancient societies, like the Mayans, there were not as many strictly structured gender roles. Through interpreting the variety of roles women played and flexible gender roles in Classic Mayan culture, one can better develop less myopic interpretations of the influence women had on the past and their roles in societies.
Publication Date
2014
Subject Major(s)
Anthropology
Current Academic Year
Junior
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Bernard Means
Sponsorship
Virginia Commonwealth University. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
Is Part Of
VCU Undergraduate Research Posters
Rights
© The Author(s)