It was 1960 when the prominent archaeologist and feminist Sally Binford said, “I’m not here to cook; I’m here to dig.” Yet 65 years later, gender inequality in archeology persists.
Despite an increase in the number of female archeologists in Turkey and around the world, women continue to face obstacles both in the field and in universities. Professor Çiler Çilingiroğlu, a member of the Ege University archeology department, tells Inside Turkey that during digs, women are often assigned documentation and menial duties, while men are selected for tasks that require physical strength.
“Female students are often encouraged to take on indoor tasks like chores around the dig house or drawing,” says Çilingiroğlu, who has worked on significant projects in Turkey like the prehistoric sites of Çatalhöyük and Karaburun. She adds that some projects take it as far as having female students clean or cook.
As an undergraduate in Ege University’s archeology department, Sude Naz Toktay’s first dig was in the south-eastern Turkish province of Şanlıurfa. The project at Gürcütepe consisted of a small group, which required multitasking, she says. But according to Toktay, gender roles still made themselves visible.
“Female students were encouraged to take on cleaning and cooking duties, while male students would go to the shops or the market,” she says. “This pattern became more and more apparent over time. At one point, I asked ‘What are you doing here?’ Nobody stopped me when I asked to go to the market, but three men accompanied me, whereas two men would usually take on this task on their own.”
Not being able to take part in every step of a dig prevents an archaeologist from becoming self-sufficient, Çilingiroğlu says. Women’s exclusion from certain tasks also makes it harder for them to acquire key skills for the job.
“Although archeology includes more than just digs, they are one of the most crucial skills,” Çilingiroğlu says. “The only way to learn this method is to work directly on the field. This job cannot be learned fully without picking up a trowel, holding a shovel, carrying a wheelbarrow, inspecting the layers of the earth for changes in colour and texture or writing a dig report.”
Discrimination at dig sites not only keeps women off the field but also puts pressure on women to “prove themselves”. A 2023 report by the Ar-ka Project research group on rights violations experienced by dig workers includes the following quote from a participant: “They didn’t properly let the girls out on the field. Those who did make it out there would turn into soldiers to prove themselves.”
An example of this, says Çilingiroğlu, is that women in the field often avoid talking about their periods. “This stems from a constant need to demonstrate your worth,” she says. “Men sometimes push their bodies to show their resilience and strength. That can also lead to physical and mental health issues.”
Discrimination is not the only issue faced by female archeologists on the field. In a 2022 study Çilingiroğlu conducted with her colleague Berkay Ateş, she found that four out of 10 archeology students who conduct field work experience sexual harassment.
“We knew that cases arise during field work, but we didn’t realise how common it was,” Çilingiroğlu said. “This is a high ratio and shows that we cannot render dig sites safe enough.”
Despite the prevalence of harassment on dig sites, the study suggested that 90 per cent of incidents remain unreported and that those which are reported rarely yield results. The cover-up of incidents also lays the groundwork for future incidents. The indifference of dig site management encourages assailants and fails to give the victims a sense of security.
Çilingiroğlu explains that survivors who report abuse are banned from the job, while their supporters are alienated or punished as the assailant is sanctioned or even rewarded.
“In this context, nobody would dare open their mouth and speak out. The less these are talked about in the public sphere, the more this issue continues and becomes a source of shame for archeology.”
Female archeologists also struggle with barriers in academia alongside the challenges of field work. Although they are widely represented in universities, they are outnumbered by men in managerial and decision-making posts.
“Women are able to become department heads but men are in the majority in positions like president and faculty chair,” Çilingiroğlu says. “This is not due to a lack of proficiency, but because of the power male solidarity holds in these matters.”
Toktay recalls the unfair treatment her dig chair faced in Gürcütepe and says that “she was challenged constantly.”
“As female students, we are expected to watch our attire and behavior much more than our male peers,” Toktay adds. “It’s not an issue for men to go out, but we are asked ‘where have you been?’ when we come in late at night. It’s framed as protectiveness but stems from discrimination.”