As previously mentioned anthropology is a holistic discipline, meaning that all of the anthropological subfields must be taken into consideration in order to understand what it means to be human. This is particularly the case when attempting to understand human biological and cultural lives in the past. Archaeologists and bioarchaeologists must have a solid understanding of sociocultural anthropology in order to better accurately interpret the archaeological record. By understanding how living people interact with each other within specific physical and cultural environments one can make more precise interpretations about the material cultural evidence of the past. This lesson is particularly important when it comes to Megan Cifarelli’s interpretation of burial goods found at the site of Hasanlu in modern day Iran (Figure 1). Cifarelli claims that she has evidence of third gender/transgendered individuals present at this site, which has stirred up controversy within various scholarly circles. This blog post will provide you with the background of the Hasanlu site, the evidence Cifarelli is citing to support her claims of transgender identities at the site, and the reasons why the controversy exists.
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| Figure 1: Map of the Middle East and Hasanlu location (Image Source: Megan Cifarell) |
The Hasanlu site is located in northwestern Iran. It existed throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages (1800-800 BC), and it was situated among various important and influential state level societies (e.g., Mesopotamia, Assyria, and more) during its existence. There is substantial evidence at the site that demonstrates it was a socially stratified society, perhaps a chiefdom or city-state itself. The site was excavated in the mid-20th century by and American and Iranian team of archaeologists, who discovered a series of cemeteries and individuals hastily buried during the fall of the city (purportedly the result of an invading army). The site showed no evidence of looting, providing archaeologists a unique opportunity to study both mortuary traditions and daily life among the Hasanlu residents, particularly around the time of its destruction.
Magen Cifarelli is one of many scholars who has taken advantage of these archaeological contexts to study the people of Hasanlu. Her work built on previous studies focused on personal adornments, which are credited as being optimal to study identity. It was clear from previous studies that these were remarkable objects that provided information concerning socioeconomic status differences among the people, and they were also interpreted as excellent markers of gender. Earlier studies hinted at some anomalous individuals concerning gender differentiations, specifically individuals who had both masculine and feminine personal adornments. These were discarded as either errors in interpretation (due to limitations in the skeletal analysis of sex) or cult members who worshipped the principal deity, Ishtar, who purportedly could and did manipulate individuals’ sex.
Cifarelli, however, opted to reexamine the evidence, taking a more critical look at how specifically personal adornments could be used to differentiate gender. She analyzed the burial goods of 100 burials from period IVb, which was considered the height of the occupation at Hasanlu, and statistically tested the results for specific patterns. She found that there were statistically significant differences between males and females in what personal adornments they had on their persons. Women’s personal adornments stressed beauty (being used to fasten clothing in locations that would accentuate the body), whereas men’s emphasized occupation (e.g., weapons and armor to demonstrate military positions). She found something else, though. She discovered that 20% of the burials demonstrated mixed artifact assemblages, meaning that both masculine and feminine artifacts were present in the burials. This led her to conclude that a third gender category existed among the residents of Hasanlu.
Figure 2: Hasanlu Gold Bowl with Transgendered Individual in Bottom Left Corner (Image Source: Megan Cifarelli)
She did not, however, stop at just the burial evidence, particularly as several of the individuals with the associated mixed artifact assemblages could not be skeletally classified by sex (due to age or ambiguous traits). She also pointed out that there was iconographic evidence of third gender categories among the Hasanlu citizens. The famous Hasanlu Gold Bowl has a bearded woman engraved on it. This individual is dressed in women’s attire and seated, both of which are suggestive of a man dressed and behaving as a woman. She speculates this is further evidence of a third gender category among the people at this site.
There is substantial sociocultural evidence of third gender categories in past and modern contexts. Various groups around the globe have three or more gender categories, which demonstrates that this is not a new or rare cultural phenomenon. Cifarelli points out that the reason why this cultural norm has not been more widely addressed in archaeological contexts is the ethnocentrism present among archaeologists, particularly Western archaeologists. Because there remains a stigma against transgendered individuals in Western societies Western archaeologists may be hesitant or averse to reaching such conclusions when confronted with the evidence. She encourages archaeologists across the world to be more open in their interpretations and consider the cultural norms, beliefs, and values of the people being studied versus imposing one’s own cultural beliefs and values onto those under study. This standard is slowly taking over many contemporary archaeologists and anthropologists, who are moving toward a more culturally relativistic approach in archaeological interpretation. This will hopefully bring about a more truthful and nonjudgmental understanding of cultural groups of the past.
References
Cifarelli, M. (2014). Personal ornaments at Hasanlu, Iran. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 23(2), 297-316.
Cifarelli, M. (2015, February). Gender and Jewelry at Hasanlu. Friends of Asor.
David, A. (2018, December 30). Ancient Civilization in Iran Recognized Transgender People 3,000 Years Ago, Study Suggests. Retrieved from Haaretz: https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-ancient-civilization-in-iran-recognized-transgender-people-study-suggests-1.6790205
Luntz, S. (2019, January 16). Ancient Persians Recognized At Least Three Genders. Retrieved from IFLScience: https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/ancient-persians-recognized-at-least-three-genders/
Marcus, M. (1994). Dressed to Kill: Women and Pins in Early Iran. Oxford Journal of Art, 3-15.
6 comments:
Magen Cifarelli was a logical woman whose research focused on the remains of the site of Hasanlu. Cifarelli precisely pointed out the personal characteristics and the delagacy in the presentation of gender among Hasanlu's artifacts. By accepting the ideas and theories of this diversity that was found years ago archeologists have discovered remarkable evidence to acknowledge different people in the world. They recognize the existence that a third generation was already in effect many generations ago.These collection of artifacts brought up the assumption that male and females shared co- occurring objects that showcased that they had similar traits to both sexes and may have considered themselves transgender. Cifarelli found that 20% of the burials showed signs of mixed evidence that expressed qualities of both genders within one another. These remains shared accompanied a similar combination of artifacts that acknowledged the existence of a third generation. Exchange of views about gender roles and who people identified themselves by are being challenged causing a controversy about one’s cultural standpoint. In western societies this concept has been
hard to accept but everyone should be able to have their own viewpoint on the information discovered. By archeologists bringing this topic to people's attention this will help encourage individuals to understand and interpret the information in their own way.
This blog post is interesting becaus the use of the word "transgendered" the lives of the past are still being discovered and how they lived is hard to find specifics. This group is seen to have a third gender, which makes sense in the facts that are given of archaeologists and interpretations made. If ancestors of the past had these cultural norms as well and it is openly in anthropology books, maybe these beliefs will be understood more of today. This is a topic that I could read more on because of all the controversy and maybe connections to other ancient societies.
Qwynn Marquez
Reading this blog made me really ask myself the question "what does it mean to be human?" The blog mentioned that if we gain understanding of how living people interact with each other whether in a physical or cultural setting we can better understand cultural evidence of the past. But why do we really study the past? humans are dynamic and thus always changing. The way we talk, dress, eat, and the decisions we make are relative to how we feel in the moment. Therefore, no matter how much we study "human" there will always be more to learn.
Jameaka Mannings
I agree that an open mind needs to be used when findind new civilizations. Finding evidence of transgrender is a surprise but needs to be documented.
Elaine Christopher
This blog helps connects with the connections of ancient societies and ancient history. Searching and finding the meaning of "transgendered" from the past and discovering history of the past as opposed to the present and the living.
- Jada Watkins
It is very interesting to find the discovery of a third gender withing the Hasanlu people. From reading a few other blog post it turns out a lot of these ancient burials a lot of people were buried with mixed gendered artifacts. Cifarelli is impressive with her studies and analyzations done to study the Hasanlu site.
-Keira Robinson
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