Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

34 1.\"'WEENTEXTANI)ARTIJ-"Ac[

theHebrewBible,wecanturnnowtothecomplicatedproblemoffind-
ingthose women, reconstructing theirroles, and then theorizing the
dynamicsoftheirrelationshipswitheachotheraswellaswiththeirfami-
liesandothermembersoftheircommunities.Therecanbenoquestion
about the valueofarchaeologyfor these tasks.Indeed, it isprecisely
because oftherelativeinvisibilityofwomenintheHebrewBible-for
example,women'snamesaccoumforlessthan 8 percentofthepersonal
names^6 -thatarchaeologybecomescriticaltothetask. We lookto the
materialcultureforinformationthattheincompleteandandrocentricbib-
licalrecorddoesnotprovide.

ENGENDERINGARCHAEOLOGY:PROBLEMSANDPROSI'ECrs

Turningtoarchaeology-inparticulartothearchaeologyofthehouse,
hold,inwhichvirtuallyallwomenandmenlivedandworkedinancient
Israel'sagmriansenlements--forinformationaboutwomenandtheirlives
inancientIsraelisessential,butitiseasier saidthandone.Therearesev-
eralfactorsinvolvingthewayarchaeologyispracticedinthelandsofthe
Bible andalsoin thewayarchaeologicalmaterials areinterpretedthat
makeitdifficuhto usearchaeologicalmaterialsdirectlyforthistask. In
ordertoconsiderthepracticeofarchaeologywithrespecttothearchaeo-
logicalmaterialstobeusedforgender-sensitivestudy,itisimportantfirst
tounderstandwhatismeantby"household."
Thehouseholdisnotsimplya structureinwhichpeoplelived.Itis
thatandmore;itinvolvespeopleandtheir"hardware"(theirdomicileand
allitsassociatedinstallationsandartifacts),anditinvolvestheactivitiesand
interactionsofdailylife.7Thehouseholdisfundamentaltohumansociety,
for it is thebasic unit ofsociety, thelevel at which premodern social
groups articulate directly with the environment in order to survive.
Althoughstudiesofancient Israelitesocietymayconsiderthehousehold
thetertiaryaspectofsociety,withthetribeornationasprimaryandthe
clansecondary,8Iwouldarguetheopposite:thehouseholdisprimaryand
fundamentalbecauseitinvolvesthedailylifeofeverymemberofsociety
andbecauseitisthesiteoftheeconomicproductionnecessaryforpeople

6 KarlaG.Bohmbach,'NamesandNamingintheIliblicalWorld."inWomellil/Scnptllre:
A DictionaryoJNamedandUnllamedWomenintheHebrewBibte,theAfXXlJphaiDewero-
em/oillealIJooks,(mdtheNewTestament(ed.C.Meyers,T.Cr;lVcn.andR.S. Kraemer;
Boston,HoughtonMimin,2000),33-34.
7 AmosRapopon,"Sp:ltialOrganizationandthe BuiltEnvironment,"inCompalliOll
EIIC)'CiOfX-diaofArcbaeolO8)J(ed.1'.Ingold;London:Routledge,19(4).461.
8 E.g.,NormanK.Gottwald. TheTribesoJI'ahweb:ASociologyoJtbeNeUglo'!of
LiberatedIsrael, 125Q-I050B.C./!.,(M;lIyknoll,NY;Orbis.1979),237-92.