The rebel potters: A vision of gender relations, female oppression, and patriarchy based within ecuadorian archaeology

Abstract

Objective/context: In the light of Engels’ proposal on the origin and consolidation of patriarchy, this article proposes a re-reading of some iconographic elements of the period of Regional Development of the coast of Ecuador. The anthropomorphic figurines of the Tolita/Tumaco, Bahia, and Jama Coaque cultures, famous for their aesthetic value, present evidence of asymmetrical gender relations that have so far not been observed or thematized in literature. Methodology: The article is based on the iconographic analysis that the author has been conducting for over a decade. The iconography is contrasted with Engels’ theory from a feminist approach. It includes a reflection on different historical and contemporary episodes that reveal a patriarchal and machista system prevailing in Ecuador, about which the author also presents an introspective vision from her own experience as an academic. Conclusions: The early iconography of the Ecuadorian coast shows a substantial change between the Formative and Regional Development periods. The increase in social stratification and the accumulation of wealth probably led to the establishment of a patriarchal ideology, justified through iconography as a means of mass transmission of messages. Originality: This article provides in-depth coverage, for the first time, of the discussion on inequality in gender relations in pre-Hispanic Ecuador and material evidence of an ideological discourse tending to naturalize such inequality, through an ideal of subordination of female characters to male ones.