“That which was missing”: the archaeology of castration
<p>Castration has a long temporal and geographical span. Its origins are unclear, but likely lie in the Ancient Near East around the time of the Secondary Products Revolution and the increase in social complexity of proto-urban societies. Due to the unique social and gender roles created by ca...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2013
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| _version_ | 1797111416437604352 |
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| author | Reusch, K |
| author2 | Schulting, R |
| author_facet | Schulting, R Reusch, K |
| author_sort | Reusch, K |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>Castration has a long temporal and geographical span. Its origins are unclear, but likely lie in the Ancient Near East around the time of the Secondary Products Revolution and the increase in social complexity of proto-urban societies. Due to the unique social and gender roles created by castrates’ ambiguous sexual state, human castrates were used heavily in strongly hierarchical social structures such as imperial and religious institutions, and were often close to the ruler of an imperial society. This privileged position, though often occupied by slaves, gave castrates enormous power to affect governmental decisions. This often aroused the jealousy and hatred of intact elite males, who were not afforded as open access to the ruler and virulently condemned castrates in historical documents. These attitudes were passed down to the scholars and doctors who began to study castration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, affecting the manner in which castration was studied. Osteometric and anthropometric examinations of castrates were carried out during this period, but the two World Wars and a shift in focus meant that castrate bodies were not studied for nearly eighty years. Recent interest in gender and sexuality in the past has revived interest in castration as a topic, but few studies of castrate remains have occurred. As large numbers of castrates are referenced in historical documents, the lack of castrate skeletons may be due to a lack of recognition of the physical effects of castration on the skeleton.</p> <p>The synthesis and generation of methods for more accurate identification of castrate skeletons was undertaken and the results are presented here to improve the ability to identify castrate skeletons within the archaeological record.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T08:08:34Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:b8118fe7-67cb-4610-9823-b0242dfe900a |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T08:08:34Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:b8118fe7-67cb-4610-9823-b0242dfe900a2023-11-10T10:53:56Z“That which was missing”: the archaeology of castrationThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:b8118fe7-67cb-4610-9823-b0242dfe900aBiblical studiesScience and religionOperaInternational,imperial and global historyArchaeologyHistory of Asia & Far EastMiddle EastEconomic and Social HistoryReligions of antiquityAsiaInterpersonal behaviourMusicSocial cleavagesStereotyping and intergroup relationsHistory of the ancient worldHistory of medicineReligions of the Far EastGeographic regionEuropeSocial statusChurch historyGenderAnatomyNear EastHistory of AfricaSocial anthropologyLate antiquity and the Middle AgesAfricaReligions of the Indian subcontinent.Social mobilityIntergroup conflictStatistics (social sciences)EndocrinologyGlobalHistory of scienceHistory of childhoodNational identityFamiliesChildren and youthMedical SciencesEnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2013Reusch, KSchulting, R<p>Castration has a long temporal and geographical span. Its origins are unclear, but likely lie in the Ancient Near East around the time of the Secondary Products Revolution and the increase in social complexity of proto-urban societies. Due to the unique social and gender roles created by castrates’ ambiguous sexual state, human castrates were used heavily in strongly hierarchical social structures such as imperial and religious institutions, and were often close to the ruler of an imperial society. This privileged position, though often occupied by slaves, gave castrates enormous power to affect governmental decisions. This often aroused the jealousy and hatred of intact elite males, who were not afforded as open access to the ruler and virulently condemned castrates in historical documents. These attitudes were passed down to the scholars and doctors who began to study castration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, affecting the manner in which castration was studied. Osteometric and anthropometric examinations of castrates were carried out during this period, but the two World Wars and a shift in focus meant that castrate bodies were not studied for nearly eighty years. Recent interest in gender and sexuality in the past has revived interest in castration as a topic, but few studies of castrate remains have occurred. As large numbers of castrates are referenced in historical documents, the lack of castrate skeletons may be due to a lack of recognition of the physical effects of castration on the skeleton.</p> <p>The synthesis and generation of methods for more accurate identification of castrate skeletons was undertaken and the results are presented here to improve the ability to identify castrate skeletons within the archaeological record.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Biblical studies Science and religion Opera International,imperial and global history Archaeology History of Asia & Far East Middle East Economic and Social History Religions of antiquity Asia Interpersonal behaviour Music Social cleavages Stereotyping and intergroup relations History of the ancient world History of medicine Religions of the Far East Geographic region Europe Social status Church history Gender Anatomy Near East History of Africa Social anthropology Late antiquity and the Middle Ages Africa Religions of the Indian subcontinent. Social mobility Intergroup conflict Statistics (social sciences) Endocrinology Global History of science History of childhood National identity Families Children and youth Medical Sciences Reusch, K “That which was missing”: the archaeology of castration |
| title | “That which was missing”: the archaeology of castration |
| title_full | “That which was missing”: the archaeology of castration |
| title_fullStr | “That which was missing”: the archaeology of castration |
| title_full_unstemmed | “That which was missing”: the archaeology of castration |
| title_short | “That which was missing”: the archaeology of castration |
| title_sort | that which was missing the archaeology of castration |
| topic | Biblical studies Science and religion Opera International,imperial and global history Archaeology History of Asia & Far East Middle East Economic and Social History Religions of antiquity Asia Interpersonal behaviour Music Social cleavages Stereotyping and intergroup relations History of the ancient world History of medicine Religions of the Far East Geographic region Europe Social status Church history Gender Anatomy Near East History of Africa Social anthropology Late antiquity and the Middle Ages Africa Religions of the Indian subcontinent. Social mobility Intergroup conflict Statistics (social sciences) Endocrinology Global History of science History of childhood National identity Families Children and youth Medical Sciences |
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