For a team of archaeologists digging in southwest Spain, the discovery of a Bronze/Iron Age stela—a funerary stone slab with carvings depicting an important individual—would have been exciting enough. But to find a stela that challenges longstanding interpretations of how the carvings represent gender and social roles in prehistoric times was beyond the teams' wildest dreams.
  • OptionalEnglish
    15•1 year ago

    Prior to this discovery, archaeologists had interpreted features such as a headdress and necklace on a stela as representing a female form, while the inclusion of weaponry such as swords would be interpreted as male “warrior” stelae.

    But this latest discovery, including both “male” and “female” elements, challenges these assumptions.

    This led the archaeology team to consider that the social roles depicted by these carvings were more fluid than previously thought, and not restricted to a specific gender.

    Change can be slow, huh.