Gender roles and identity at Chiribaya Alta, Peru

A multiple correspondence analysis of mortuary contexts

Bibliographic Data

ID24214296
AuthorsEmily A Schach, Jane E Buikstra
Year2026
Volume83
Pages101795
Publication date2026-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Anthropological Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0278-4165 • E-ISSN: 1090-2686
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jaa.2026.101795
OpenAlexW4388750147
LanguageEN
References cited69

Gender is an important structuring social identity, but archaeologists continue to struggle with non-binary ways to approach gender in the past. This study uses grave good presence and absence to examine the nature of gender roles and gender identity at Chiribaya Alta, Peru. Multiple correspondence analysis, which groups burials based on grave goods and then uses sex as a supplementary burial, is a good way to examine gender without assuming it is a binary system. This analysis indicates that normative gender roles are reflected in grave good assemblages, with males associated with keros (beer cups), textile bags, and panpipes. In contrast, females are associated with textile production tools and textile kerchiefs. Despite these normative expressions, the existence of seventeen individuals buried with objects that are not normative for their gender shows that Chiribaya gender identity was flexible at the individual level.

Andean archaeology · funerary practices · Gender identity · gender roles · Grave goods · harpoons · Keros · Late Intermediate Period · mortuary assemblages · Multiple correspondence analysis · Musical Instruments · panpipes · sex estimation · weaving tools · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access