Gender in Archaeology: Bassey Wai Andah Fifth Memorial Lecture

The study of gender has emerged from Anglo-American feminist movements. Often, these movements are associated with a secularism that is not embraced in many parts of the world, including Nigeria. This publication problematises the notion of gender equality in terms of non-Western and Indigenous cultures. Argues that for archaeology, one implication is that to speak in terms of gender equality - with females and males as distinct but equal - simply imposes particularly Western 21st-century convictions upon other cultures. The Anglo-American bias of gender archaeology needs to be redressed by scholars who come from a different tradition and can thus identify the biases that are invisible to many Anglo-American scholars.

This is the published version of the Bassey Wai Andah memorial lecture, which was delivered by Claire Smith at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, on 25th March, 2004.