Reassessing the Gender Ideology of the Supra-Regional Corded Ware Culture (original) (raw)

The Corded Ware culture (c. 2900-2200 BC; hereafter ‘CWC’ for the phenomenon itself or ‘CW’ as the adjective) is a widespread prehistoric phenomenon encountered throughout Europe and was characterised by standardised burial practices and material culture. Recent studies incorporating scientific methods have revived the traditional hypothesis, that the sudden appearance of the CWC was caused by mass migrations from the Pontic Caspian steppe. Among other things, this new archaeological culture is typically associated with the introduction of a binary gender system and the establishment of a patriarchal society. However, such a narrative is largely rooted in andro- and ethnocentric, Western assumptions: biological sex is equated with gender, grave goods are taken as a direct representation of identity, and weapons (i.e. the CW ‘battle-axe’) are associated with masculinity. Moreover, burials under barrows are overrepresented in the ‘grand narrative’ of the CWC, while other funerary and depositional contexts are underrepresented.