New Methods for Assessing Sex and Gender Among Ancient Populations

 

Figure 1: Archaeological site where the individual with Turner's syndrome as located (Source: Francis Crick Institute)

There has been much discussion among archaeologists and bioarchaeologists concerning how best to assess sex and gender in ancient populations.  Arguments have been made that it is difficult and unfair to apply modern conceptions of gender on past populations, particularly given the stark differences in time and social structures that existed among past and early human populations.  Approaches utilizing burial goods have most often been used to evaluating gender among ancient populations, but these have come under criticism, resulting in many scholars avoiding the question and area of study all together.  This means that there is a gap in our knowledge concerning sex and gender among early human populations.  Rather than back down from this challenge doctoral student Kakia Anastasiadou, based at the Francis Crick Institute, and scholars at the University of Oxford, University of York, and Oxford Archaeology turned to ancient DNA analyses to help refine the methods and techniques concerning these studies. 

 

In 2024 Anastasiadou and her coauthors published the results of this genetic study in the journal, Communications Biology.  Utilizing genetic data from ancient British populations dating as early as 2500 years ago to more contemporary populations (from 250 years ago) Anastasiadou et al. sought to refine the ancient DNA methods for identifying chromosomal sex.  While there have been various breakthroughs in studying and using ancient DNA there remain some challenges, largely due to the degradation of ancient DNA samples over time and risks of contaminating such samples.  Anastasiadou et al.’s work took these issues into account and identified a workaround that enabled them to better evaluate the ancient DNA samples they studied, enabling them to better identify chromosomal sex among the individuals under study. 

 

Their results were very fruitful.  They made two important discoveries: the earliest case of an individual with Turner’s syndrome (a female who only has one X chromosome instead of two; Figure 1) and the earliest case of an individual with Jacob’s syndrome (a male with an extra Y chromosome).  Both syndromes carry with them specific health risks, but there are no specific means of identifying either of these syndromes via macroscopic/morphological analyses.  This also applies to Kleinfelter’s syndrome (a male with an extra X chromosome), of which they discovered three in their sample. 

 

The team believes this refined ancient DNA method will better enable future scholars to evaluate gender among ancient and early human populations.  This would be completed through a better and more accurate understanding of genetic sex and a comparison of any burial goods or other items found with the deceased.  The team had hoped to complete that with these five individuals, but they were unable to do so due to a lack of burial goods found with any of the individuals.  This was not atypical of their time periods or socioeconomic statuses, though. 

 

References

Anastasiadou, K., Silva, M., Booth, T. et al. Detection of chromosomal aneuploidy in ancient genomes. Commun Biol 7, 14 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05642-z

The Francis Crick Institute. (2024, January 11). First prehistoric person with Turner syndrome identified from ancient DNA. Retrieved from The Francis Crick Institute: https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2024-01-11_first-prehistoric-person-with-turner-syndrome-identified-from-ancient-dna

University of Oxford. (2024, January 11). New technique identifies earliest cases of genetic disorders from ancient DNA. Retrieved from University of Oxford: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-01-11-new-technique-identifies-earliest-cases-genetic-disorders-ancient-dna

Creating a Safe Space: The History of Vogue & Ballroom

Two performers voguing (Source: Vogue Australia)

 

Throughout various blog posts the histories and cultures associated with LGBTQIA+ communities have been addressed, demonstrating a long and rich record spanning throughout time and space.  It is important to showcase these aspects of LGBTQIA+ history, identity, and culture to educate people about the length of time and cross-cultural range that has existed for these groups.  These groups have been celebrated and demeaned at various times and spaces, but through it all they continue to exist as they have always done. Today’s blog post focuses on the cultural phenomena known as vogue and ballroom, an important aspect of Black and Latinx LGBTQIA+ identity and culture, and how it was created to foster a safe space.

 

Vogue is a term that refers to a dance style that originated as early as the 1960s among Black and Latinx LGBTQIA+ groups in Harlem, New York.  This dance style took its name from the popular fashion magazine, in part because the style invokes high fashion and ancient Egyptian poses as part of the stylized dance moves used by performers.  Vogue (noun) or voguing (verb) utilizes a variety of additional techniques, including stylized hand movements, acrobatics, facial expressions, and more.  Vogue performers would use this dance style during competitions hosted at “balls” (short for ballroom), wherein they would compete as both individuals and within teams known as “houses”, a group of performers who would act as a surrogate family and friends.  Competitors would seek to earn trophies and bragging rights for themselves but more importantly their houses through competitions hosted at balls.

 

Balls or ballrooms predate vogue by a little over a century.  Ballrooms began in the mid-1800s.  Men and women would perform during ballrooms, but it was mostly “female impersonators” who dominated such events.  These individuals would be judged on their dress, behaviors, and ability to mimic the female form through their bodies.  Ballrooms acted as locations wherein LGBTQIA+ individuals could exist freely and safely, celebrating and maintaining their identity and culture. 

 

Balls were hosted across the United States, but they exploded in Harlem in the 1920s, coinciding with the rise of the Harlem Renaissance.  The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual, cultural, and artistic movement that promoted Black life, arts, creative works, and more.  The rise of the Harlem Renaissance also empowered LGBTQIA People of Color to resurrect and further explore their art and culture through balls, particularly as traditional ballroom events shunned or discouraged People of Color from participating.  Harlem became the location where all individuals, regardless of race, could perform.  Various prominent members of the Harlem Renaissance were either attendees or leaders in the Harlem ballroom scene.  Langston Hughes, writer and poet, publicly disclosed his attendance at Harlem balls.

 

In the 1960s a series of changes came about as a direct reaction to the continued discrimination against People of Color contestants at ballroom events.  One of those changes was the creation of vogue.  It is unclear where and when vogue first originated.  Some believe Paris Dupree created vogue.  Others credit Black gay and trans individuals who were incarcerated at Rikers Island as establishing this dance style.  There are still others who claim it was Willi Ninja, the “Godfather of Voguing,” who was the first to vogue.  Ultimately, vogue came about as a form of expression that enabled Black and Latinx performers to express themselves.

 

Vogue became popular at events that were exclusive to Black and Latinx performers.  The first of these events was hosted in the 1970s by Crystal and Lottie LaBeija.  Houses would use vogue in a variety of ways: 1) to demonstrate one’s femininity and 2) to “shade” or engage in nonviolent conflict with fellow performers and houses.  The individuals and houses that performed the best by demonstrating the best feminine moves and those “threw the best shade” would go home with the prize. 

 

Over the decades vogue underwent a series of transformations.  The original vogue moves, known as the “old ways”, focused on sharp lines and angles. This eventually gave way to the “new ways,” wherein runway walks, acrobatics, twirls, and exaggerated hand movements were emphasized.  In the mid-1990s vogue underwent a third transformation, known as “vogue fem”.  This style focuses on feminization related to styles of make up, dress, and body movements.

 

Ultimately, vogue and ballroom continue to exist for the very reasons they started: to act as a safe space for LGBTQIA+ People of Color performers to not only exist safely but thrive in who they are and what they want to be.  As Tsione Wolde-Michael put it: “voguing shows the courage of black and Latino LGBTQ communities to make an art form that goes beyond creative expression. Vogue offers a sense of identity, belonging and dignity in a world that does not fully value their lives.”

 

 

Works Cited

Gender & Sexuality Center. "Voguing and Ballroom." 5 February 2026. Carleton College. Electronic. 28 April 2026.

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. "The Art of Voguing." 21 February 2023. Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Electronic. 28 April 2026.

Morgan, Thaddeus. "How 19th-Century Drag Balls Evolved into House Balls, Birthplace of Voguing." 28 June 2021. History.com. Electronic. 28 April 2026.

Wolde-Michael, Tsione. "A Brief History of Voguing." n.d. National Museum of African American History and Culture. Electronic. 28 April 2026.

The Gods’ Wrath: Ancient Greek Explanation of Werewolves

 

Figure 1: Artistic rendition of King Lycaon being transformed into a wolf by the god Zeus 

 

Humans have had a fascination with monsters for millennia.  This is because monsters and tales concerning monsters serve specific purposes with each cultural group.  They can explain horrible phenomenon that people cannot understand or seek to explain (e.g., mind altering diseases), or they are safe and socially sanctioned ways to explore deviance and/or share lessons about right versus wrong behavior.  Despite the seemingly universal nature of monsters many cultural groups may share similar monster tales but have very different origin stories attached to it.  As previously discussed there are several ideas concerning the origins of werewolves, which addressed evidence from 30,000 years ago in Europe.  In that post a mention was made toward what the ancient Greeks and Vikings had to say about the origins of their werewolf myths, and today’s blog post will explore what the Greeks believed concerning these monsters.

 

The Greeks are the group wherein the first documented evidence of werewolves, or men having the ability to change into animal form, exists.  They have thousands of myths about the gods cursing men and transforming them into all manners of creatures (be it as punishment or to save them from a horrible fate in their human form).  It is important to note because of this that the Greeks did not necessarily believe in werewolves in and of themselves.  The Greeks believed man could be turned into any number of beast, and they referred to this as skin-shifting or skin-turning.  While they did not believe in werewolves their tales concerning men who transformed into wolves are some of the first documented evidence of werewolves and feed into the present-day werewolf lore.

 

Some of these tales involved the transformation into wolves.  The myth of King Lycaon is a well cited example wherein the King offended the paramount god Zeus by either attempting to trick him into eating a young child or eating a young child himself (the specifics are unclear in the stories but all of the variants revolve around the cannibalism theme).  Zeus was so offended by the King’s actions that he cursed him and transformed him into a werewolf (Figure 1). 

 

This is, however, not the only werewolf myth that exists among the Ancient Greeks.  There was another wherein an enslaved man claimed that he saw a warrior turn into a werewolf.  This transformation occurred while the pair were walking during night to the home of a young woman the enslaved man was seeing.  During their walk the warrior stopped and transformed into a wolf in front of the enslaved man and ran away.  The enslaved man rushed to his beloved’s home and told her about what he just witnessed.  She, however, is too preoccupied with her own tale involving a wolf, and the heroic act of another individual in her household who just stopped a wolf from killing their livestock.  She explained to her beloved that the wolf was struck with a spear before running off.  The next morning the enslaved man returns to his station and discovers his warrior companion wounded with a puncture wound in the same exact location as that of the wolf.

 

Again, it is important to point out that the Greeks did not believe specifically in werewolves.  They believed the gods could and would transform men (and women) into any manner of beasts, with wolves just being one option.  There are various Greek myths about humans being turned into dolphins, insects, and even plants.  These tales very much influenced subsequent cultural groups and their myths and legends.

 

 Bibliography

Beresford, M. (2013). The White Devil: The Werewolf in European Culture. London: Reaktion Books Ltd.

Cooper, B. (1977). The Werewolf in Legend, Face, and Art. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Cybulski, A. (2004). Introduction. In A. Cybulski, Werewolves: Fact or Fiction (pp. 7-17). Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press.

Davidson, S. (1976). The anthropological implications of the vampire and werewolf in Europe and the affiliations of such beliefs with related phenomena worldwide (Master's thesis).

Douglas, A. (1992). Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf. New York: Avon Books.