Women in Archaeology

Prof. Dr. Sandra L. López Varela (Ph.D. in Archaeology, University of London, 1996) is full-time Professor at the Department of Development and Intercultural Heritage Management of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA 15480).López Varela was Secretary of the Archaeology Division of the AAA and section editor of Anthropology News (2018-2020). After serving as President and Vice President of the Society for Archaeological Sciences (SAS 2009-2011) and as President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Alumni Club-Mexico Division (2008-2010, she was elected to the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), holding the Archaeology Seat (2012-2014). In between 2015 and 2017, she served as Treasurer of the Mexican Society of Anthropology (SMA). Since 2019, López Varela serves as Brain City of Berlin Ambassador.Prof. López Varela’s earlier research, focusing on the study of Maya ceramics and ethnoarchaeological investigations of pottery production technologies, led her to adopt a critical and analytical stance toward economic and development growth policies to combat poverty in Mexico. Results from her investigations received the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel-Forschungspreis Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 2012.Since 2015, she is the principal investigator of the research project Alternative Mexico, an innovative heritage project aiming to promote the preservation of Mexico City’s heritage and its metropolitan area, in collaboration with the public, by using a free mobile application (App) for iOS and Android devices, a website, and social media.Dr. López Varela is general editor of the Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences published by Wiley Blackwell in 2018. Her research has been published by major international publishers, and by top ranking university presses. She has participated in more than 150 international conferences. Dr. López Varela has taught more than 80 undergraduate, master and doctoral courses at national and international institutions.

• Part I. Introduction.- 1. Women practicing Archaeology.- Part II. The Americas.- 2. US Women in Cultural Resource Management: Stories of Courage, Ingenuity, Perseverance, and Intellect.- 3. Women in the Emergence of Archaeology of Mexico and Central America.- 4. Digging in Our Grandmother’s Gardens: Black Women Archaeologists in the United States from the 1930s to the Present.- 5. The History of Teotihuacan through the Eyes of Women Scholars.- 6. Las Mexicanas and their Clay Griddles: Lessons from Ethnoarchaeology for the fight against Poverty.- 7. Las Invisibles: The Unrecognized Contributions of Women to Ecuadorian Archaeology.- 8. Myriam N. Tarragó, a Woman at the Crossroads of Argentinian Archaeology.- 9. Indigenous Archaeologies and the (Re)Action of Women Archaeologists: an Overview of the Brazilian Archaeology Context.- Part III. Europe.- 10. Prehistoric archaeology in Spain from a feminist perspective: Thirty years of reflection and debate.- 11. Women’s Pathways in the History of Spanish Archaeology: a new synthesis.- 12. The professionalization of female prehistorians in France in the Twentieth Century.- 13. Female and Male Archaeologists in Italy from the Unification (1871) to Contemporary Times.- 14. Women's Contributions to Archaeology in Germany since the Nineteenth Century.- 15. Women as Actors and Objects: the Discovery of ‘Venus’ Figurines in present-day Austria.- 16. A safe space for women archaeologists? The impact of K.A.N. on Norwegian Archaeology.- 17. Moving Big Slabs: Lili Kaelas and Märta Strömberg - Two Swedish Pioneers in European Megalith Research.- 18. Women in the Archaeology of the Trans-Urals (Russian Federation).- 19. No Pay, Low Pay, and Unequal Pay: the TrowelBlazers Perspective on the History of Women in Archaeology.- Part IV. Middle East.- 20. The story of Nawala Ahmed Al-Mutawalli, a Woman Archaeologist from Iraq.- Part V. Africa.- 21. Women and the Foundation of Egyptian Archaeology.- 22. Female Archaeologists in West Africa: the case of Senegal.- 23. Tanzanian women in archaeology.- 24. Women politics and Archaeology in Sudan.- Part VI. Asia.- 25. Women in Southeast Asian Archaeology: Discoveries, Accomplishments, and Challenges.- 26. Swimming against the tide: the journey of a Bengali archaeologist.- 27. Women in Japanese Archaeology.- 28. Female Scholars and their Contributions to Chinese Archaeology.- Part VII. Australia.- 29. Women in Australian archaeology: challenges and achievements.