Weapons, warfare, and women: the dangerous lives of Early Bronze Age women in central Anatolia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores what the archaeological study of female-identified burials with weapons as grave goods reveals about our understanding and imposition of gender roles in past societies, and in particular, in Early Bronze Age central Anatolia (modern Turkey). By reframing our perceptions of gender roles through a study of weapons, violence and gender and their place in society, we can hope to avoid previous mistakes in past interpretations to better comprehend violence and warfare in early urban communities. Although the deposition of weapons in burials has long been typically considered a marker of masculine identity, this notion is re-examined through the study of the mortuary context of early urban societies of Early Bronze central Anatolia, reflecting instead the role of armed women in times of violence and stress.