Anklets and the Social Construction of Gender and Age in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Southern Levant

This study examines the role of gendered adornment in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age southern Levant, ¹ drawing on evidence for anklet wearing from burial contexts and iconography in the late second millennium BC. Whereas previous studies of anklets in this region and period focus on their ethnic significance (Tufnell 1958a) or metallurgical properties (Notis et al 1986), little research has been carried out on the role of anklets in the expression of gender and age. Anthropological and sociological theories relating to personal adornment, social identity, and ‘rites of passage’ highlight the importance of body ornaments in marking life stages and expressing gender- and age-specific roles throughout life and into death.