What is Queer Archaeology?

 As we mentioned in previous posts, archaeology is a way to get at the real story and tell the stories of those not written about in the history books. Archaeology helps round out our views of the past by studying the marginalized, the underrepresented. However, there is a problem. Archaeology, as a profession, lacks diversity in some regards. The majority of archaeologists are heterosexual cisgender white people. And while the majority of archaeologists are now women, true diversity still has yet to be achieved within the profession. Now, what does this have to do with studying marginalized people from the past? Why does this matter? Well, our current normative views help shape our notions of the past. As hard as we may try to remain unbiased, having diversity in the profession can only help us broaden our perspective on the past. 

Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, ancient Egyptians,
traditionally interpreted as "brothers" or "good friends" 
despite the fact that they are depicted in a pose often
used to depict husbands and wives. (photo courtesy of 
Binghampton University).

Queer archaeology is a way for us to question the approach and biases of archaeology as a discipline. It gives us the ability to challenge  normative assumptions and broaden our perspective on the past. The term queer means different things to different people. Queer, simply put, can be defined as anything that is at odds with what is considered to be the norm. Queer archaeology is not just about gender or sexuality, but seeks to study all of those that fall outside of what is considered to be the norm. This is why it is important to have more diversity in the field. Queer archaeology is not about designing projects that specifically look for these differences, but rather it is about being open to them by viewing the past through a diverse and queer lens. Queer archaeology is not a restrictive set of rules but is more of a critique and a conceptual framework from which to work off of in order to broaden our perspective. 

So why does a broader perspective matter? For one, many societies have had more fluid ideas about gender and sexuality than we do today. Without diversity in the profession we start to believe that heterosexual and cigendered people have always been the norm. We start to believe that men have always had political authority. We start to believe that women have always been relegated to  domestic duties. Archaeology is well positioned to challenge these assumptions because we study the marginalized and otherwise forgotten. We have the ability to prove that what we consider to be the norm hasn't always been so, thus lending legitimacy to those that are currently discriminated against and marginalized in our society. Queer archaeology can help us dispel assumptions of the past that have been used to enact legislation under the guise of "traditional societal values" which disenfranchise those that fall outside of today's norm. Archaeologists are not only well positioned to study this, but it is their ethical duty to do so and to make this information publicly available. After all, the past often informs the present, so we need to make sure that we are accurately interpreting the past.