Abstract
Gender variance is likely a cross-cultural phenomenon with deep antiquity that bioarchaeological data can document effectively. Yet, recent reports that have gone viral in mediascapes, the “transsexual” cavemen being one pointed example discussed in this chapter, should give investigators pause. That is, describing ancient socio-sexual lives as such complicates normative notions about the body, gender, and sexuality, but the designation is a fallacy since these terms are modern Western inventions. The use of trans- more generally to describe identities or experiences in the bioarchaeological record points to effacement of recent sociopolitical processes, as well as a disregard for dimensions of sex/gender systems that are contingent and dynamic.
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Notes
- 1.
In invoking this phrase, I recognize that biotechnology now provides the means for manipulating skeletal elements to approximate body ideals. Plastic surgeons can, for instance, “feminize” the skulls of male-bodied individuals as part of the transition process (e.g., Becking et al. 2007). The body’s plasticity is not an issue in this paper, though forensic anthropologists should perhaps initiate a conversation about how such body modifications might complicate their analyses.
- 2.
See http://www.americananthro.org/ConnectWithAAA/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=2602, accessed on 30 May 2017.
- 3.
Section 10.3 maintained that the federal interpretation of “marriage” and “spouse” only applied to opposite-sex unions. The United States vs. Windsor decision paved the way for Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case in which the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage throughout the nation. Of course, Donald Trump’s selection of a Supreme Court justice, to fill the seat left vacant after Scalia’s death, could very well result in the overturning of Obergefell.
- 4.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/gay-caveman-found-prague_n_846246.html; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8433527/First-homosexual-caveman-found.html; and http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/archaeologists-discover-first-ever-gay-caveman-czech-republic-man-buried-pots-not-tools-article-1.114638, all were accessed on 11 April 2011.
- 5.
- 6.
For examples, see http://www.usmessageboard.com/threads/gay-caveman-found-by-archaeologists. 163,154/; http://christwire.org/2011/04/the-gay-caveman-agenda/; http://www.theapricity.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-25878.html; http://scducks.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-69503.html; and http://www.subsim.com/radioroom//archive/index.php/t-182,293.html. All were accessed on 9 December 2015.
- 7.
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HelDc7dxXQo, accessed on 28 October 2016.
- 8.
See http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/06/5000-year-old-transgender-skeleton-discovered/, accessed on 30 October 2016. According to its “PinkNews covers politics, entertainment, religion and community news for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in the UK and worldwide.” Other LGBTQ websites on which the story has appeared include T-HOUSE (http://www.t-houseonline.com/category/news-around-the-world/page/3/) and LGBT Weekly (http://lgbtweekly.com/2011/04/07/5000-year-old-transgender-skeleton-uncovered/). All were accessed on 28 October 2016.
- 9.
For Joyce’s blog see: https://ancientbodies.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/gay-caveman-wrecking-a-perfectly-good-story/. For Hawks’s blog see: johnhawks.net/weblog/topics/meta/communication/gay-caveman-prague-2011.html. For Killgrove’s blog see: www.poweredbyosteons.org/2011/04/gay-caveman-zomfg.html?m=1. All were accessed on 21 December 2015.
- 10.
For examples, see http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/04/10/czech.republic.unusual.burial/ and http://www.livescience.com/13620-gay-caveman-story-overblown.html. Both were accessed on 11 April 2011.
- 11.
Elsewhere in Central Europe, as Jan Turek (2016) explains, archaeologists have unearthed several instances of Corded Ware and Bell Beaker burials containing elderly males with body orientation and grave goods more typical of females’ interments. He goes on to suggest that bioarchaeological evidence may signal an intersectional identity contoured by age and gender. But, his consideration of “transsexuality” is not without conceptual problems. Aside from collapsing sex, gender, and sexuality, Turek suggests these elderly males were “berdaches.” This French word is of Persian origin and implies passive homosexuality, male prostitution, or one’s status as a kept boy (Jacobs et al. 1997, pp. 4–5). Until recently, the term was used interchangeably with two-spirit, but it has since been deemed derogatory by members of the queer indigenous community. The public forum for Turek’s statements are not a blog or viral online news story but a peer-reviewed journal. Hence, academics—writers, peer reviewers, and journal editors—need also to interrogate the presentist assumptions implicit in the scholarly studies they disseminate, as well as engage more deeply with literature authored by feminist and queer writers.
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Geller, P.L. (2019). The Fallacy of the Transgender Skeleton. In: Buikstra, J.E. (eds) Bioarchaeologists Speak Out. Bioarchaeology and Social Theory. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93012-1_10
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