IUP Forensic Archaeology Field School

This week’s post was written by first-year graduate student Sofia Arias about her summer work with IUP.

Pretty drive to the site.

This summer, I was able to be a Graduate Assistant for the Field school in Germany in partner with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to help identify missing in action WWII soldiers. This experience allowed me the opportunity to see what it is like to lead a crew one day as well as learn new methods in general. Methods on the site included test units, shovel test pits, ground penetrating radar (GPR), total station, pedestrian surveys and artifact cleaning/analysis.

Sofia and Ella (another GA) on site.

A typical workday for us was getting up at 6 am, going to breakfast at 6:30 am then leaving to go to the field by 7 am. Being able to work at the site was so beautiful with the huge trees and birds singing all day. Around noon we would eat lunch for about 45 mins. I have never eaten so many PB&J’s than I did on this trip! On some hot days, the local historian/archaeologist Andi would bring us Radlers chilled in the nearby creek. We’d wrap up the workday around 4:30 pm then head back to the town. We would all get back, shower than group up to go get food in the town. It was such a small town we would usually all see each other during the evening. After dinner, it was more than likely you’d end your night with ice cream from the parlor down the street. This was the usual routine everyday Monday through Friday.

This was my first time out of the country which was exciting. Being immersed in another culture across the world was so amazing to experience. The group of students were very fun to be around and go on excursions with. Some of the weekend trips we did include going to Heidelberg, Rothenburg, doing a cave tour and brewery tour.  My favorite part of this trip was seeing all the architecture and nature in Germany. I’m so thankful for this opportunity—I learned a ton about leading fieldwork and got to work with some awesome people along the way.

Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences at IUP

Is it a Boy or a Girl? The Binary Issue

A binary system is one which has two answers: 0 or 1, yes or no, female or male.  In western cultures sex and gender are of ten considered binary.  This is not accurate.  Before going into the nonbinary systems that exist in both sex and gender, it is important to differentiate between the two.  Sex is the genetic identity that is based on chromosome.  The most common categories for sex are male (XY) and female (XX) and traditionally it is accepted that sex is binary.  Gender is the socially constructed roles that people are expected to follow.  In western cultures like our own, these are feminine and masculine or girl or boy.  They are generally based on our sex (or how our sex is presented physically) and we are trained from birth to follow those roles.  Baby boys are represented by blue and are given trucks, dinosaurs, and action figures to play with.  Girls are represented by pink and given make-up, domestic themed toys, and dolls to play with.  In fact, when someone has a child, the first question is often is it a boy or a girl?  There are large social impacts that this binary system has on people but that is for a different discussion.  This post will focus on the forensic and archaeological implications of assuming binary when examining skeletal remains.

This task force aims to solve cold cases that contain trans or nonbinary individual (http://transdoetaskforce.org/)

In a survey conducted this year on forensic anthropologists showed that 30% of them had handled transgender cases and 42% considered sex binary (TRANScending Jane and John Doe).  The problem with considering sex to be binary is that it ignores the 2% of people who are intersex which occurs when an individual has a different chromosomal pattern than XY or XX such as

Intersex flag (https://pridenation.lgbt/)

XO or XXX.  The forensics and medical system consider intersex as a pathology or non-normal condition.  This designation is problematic because it puts that sex on the backburner.  Pretty much all studies regarding sex estimation do not even consider intersex to be a category.  2% of the population seems pretty small but that is also the percentage of natural redheads which is not considered a pathology but a viable and normal hair color.  In a forensic sense, only designating an individual as male or female and not even considering gender, could easily prevent their identification.  The Trans Doe Task Force and a few other organizations work on cases (specifically cold cases) that involve individuals who do not conform to our binary system.  They attempt to correct gender categorizations in the forensic documentation and aid in the identification and resolution of the case.

The consideration of nonbinary gender and sex extremely important in forensics but also in archaeology.  Too often to archaeologists impose their own binary system of gender and gender roles onto past cultures.  This assumption of customs severely hinders the accuracy of the interpretation and makes cases of obvious nonbinary burials or lifestyles seem abnormal.  Many cultures around the world have more than one gender.  In some Native American cultures intersex or nonbinary individuals were considered to have two-spirits and many have specific names and roles for those people.  When examining burials, it is important to consider not only the sex characteristics of the skeleton but also the context in which the individuals was buried.  And the sex of the skeleton does not always indicate the gender of the individual.

Sex estimation scoring system for the pelvis (Walker 2005)

Sex estimations using skeletal remains are also rather variable and not as binary as one might think.  Each trait has varying levels of masculinity and femininity and even the designations consist of male, probable male, indeterminate, probable female, and female.  I personally saw some of the contradictions and variations of sex estimations in my thesis collection.  Some individuals have crania that were quite gracile (likely indication a female) but the pelvis was quite distinctly masculine.  Not all traits examined will agree and that determination does not always indicate their place in society.  Gender cannot be determined by the skeleton and in cases of intersex individuals, sex might not even be determinable.  Because of the prevalence of nonbinary individuals throughout history, new methods of estimating sex need to consider the possibility of intersex and also gender nonbinary systems when interpreting remains.  As well, archaeologists and other researchers need to be aware of their own biases when interpreting gender roles of past cultures.

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Sources: TRANScending Jane and John Doe

Geller, Pamela L.

2005    Skeletal Analysis and Theoretical Complications. World Archaeology 37(4): 597-609

Jones, Greyson

2014    Not a Yes or No Questions: Critical Perspectives on Sex and Gender in Forensic Anthropology. MA Thesis. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, University of Windsor, Ontario.