ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the archaeological identification of gender in the Villanovan cultural group of Early Iron Age Etruria (conventionally dated c.900-720 BC but probably beginning in the 10th century). Relatively little is known about the settlements, but the tombs and tomb goods are abundant, the latter consisting of a wide range of pottery forms, personal ornaments, utensils, bronze vessels, and other equipment. Since the late 1800s, it has been widely thought that certain tomb goods indicate the gender of the deceased. Most authors have assumed that women were responsible for the preparation of cloth, and thus the deposition of items thought to be used in cloth manufacture (spindle whorls, spindles, distaffs, thread spools, loom-weights) indicates a female burial, and that weapons, armour and razors indicate a male tomb. It was also noticed that certain brooch forms were preferentially associated with spinning equipment and others with weapons, for example the serpentine brooch was only or most often found in association with weapons and razors and has acquired a reputation as a ‘male’ artefact.
