Economical Inequalities of Gender and Class in the Ancient Society

Archaeology has a way of inspiring images of exotic times of long ago. Curiosity about the past has excited the hearts and minds of mankind for centuries. Oscar Wilde, a poet and archaeologist, said “[Archaeology] was a means by which they could touch the dry dust of antiquity into the very breath and beauty of life, and fill the new wine of romanticism forms that had been old and outworn” (p54). It’s easy for us to fantasize about a time much different than our own, and often we choose not to see the injustice and inequalities that existed. For the scope of this exposition, the focus will not be on the mysteries of the ancient world. Instead, it will be aimed at the economical inequalities of gender and class in the ancient society, and how archaeological evidence found in Mayan architecture, diet, and burial sites is used to detect these inequalities.

Maya societies were clearly divided into two classes, the elite and the commoners. This distinction was usually made by who had more power and wealth, a person was usually born into both. The Elite had control over the politics and religion in each city (Sharer, “Social Stratification”). The vast majority of people were considered commoners, but how do you tell which ones are commoners, and which are Elites? Architecture gives us the biggest clue to who had this power and wealth, and who did not. “Monument building and elaborate, vaulted tomb chambers indicate the presence of social ranking and ruling elites. It is likely that ancestor worship was acquiring more weight as the rulers became ever more responsible for acting as intermediaries with the gods and ancestors for the benefit of their people” (Fash). One of the biggest archaeological insights into Maya lifestyles is art...

... middle of paper ...

...erests of the few, had an incredibly negative impact on the lives of the many.

Discussion

Archaeologists can learn about gender and class inequalities in a society by not just looking at the facts and data. Archaeology should be a tool to bridge the gap between data and history. Draw on the concepts of geography and anthropology to look at the data and interpret it as what it means for the person and people you’re digging up, not just as hard facts. I think I did a pretty good job of trying to interpret what the significance of the little bit of data we have about the Maya. My strength in this assignment was the section about the burials. I found an abundance of information of burials, so it made it easier to work with. My weakest point was trying to prove women had economic inequality by the use of monuments, or lack thereof. Overall, I think I did pretty well.