10 October 2015 Mainly Women
Homo Naledi was recently excavated from a South African cave (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34210330)and (http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=homo%).
The women excavators, BBC news
Aside from the importance of the new finds was the fact that it had been excavated mainly by women. I was immediately reminded of the photos of Dorothy Garrod’s excavations at Mount Carmel in Palestine from 1929-1934, which were also largely women staffed digs, including local women.
Dorothy Garrod and her women staff.
Dorothy Garrod was the first woman appointed professor at Cambridge University and the director of the excavations. Her work led to a greater knowledge of prehistory. ww2.arch.cam.ac.uk and trailblazers.com are interesting sites about her and other women archaeologists although the coverage and portraits in the latter are not necessarily comprehensive, sometimes leaving some important information out. (For example, that Mary Leakey, the discoverer of Lucy and the Laetoli footprints from c. 3.5 million years ago amongst other things, in Africa, had a major falling out with her husband Louis Leakey, which i believe led to solo digs before his death, not just after. But i digress, and it is still a good site.)
The Homo Naledi excavation was run by a man, but it is interesting that the television coverage made something of the fact that women were the excavators, when many women have been and continue to be involved in the field anyway! I suppose being ‘entirely of women’ is the unusual thing here. But it is not the first time. I hate this photo below though, it looks like a very patronising hug from the director to one of the diggers.
Digger and director in harmony? Guardian newspaper.
But perhaps i am being harsh and cynical! http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/10/homo-naledi-small-spelunkers-required-how-an-advert-led-to-the-discovery-of-homo-naledi .
Anything that raises the profile of women in the field must be a good thing?
Cullen Archaeology 