Esplorazioni in terra incognita: Harriet Boyd Hawes archeologa a Creta/Exploring terra incognita: Harriet Boyd Hawes archaeologist in Crete
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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13138/2039-2362/3064Abstract
Harriet Boyd Hawes (1871-1945) è stata un’archeologa, docente e infermiera di guerra originaria di Boston. È stata tra le principali protagoniste delle prime campagne di scavo a Creta grazie alla scoperta dell’insediamento minoico di Gournia nel 1901. A partire dagli anni ’90 del Novecento diversi studi, in ambito soprattutto statunitense, ne hanno reso noto l’importante contributo scientifico, nonché il radicale impatto per la storia delle donne in archeologia. In Italia, ad oggi, non figurano contributi scientifici su Harriet Boyd Hawes. Il presente lavoro, attraverso lo studio di materiale prodotto dall’archeologa e sull’archeologa, si concentra sulla scoperta di Gournia, ponendo l’accento sul contesto storico professionale, non sempre favorevole alle donne, entro cui operarono le pioniere dell’archeologia e sui principali elementi di innovazione della maggiore pubblicazione di Boyd Hawes. La sua biografia risulta inoltre esemplificativa del limite insito nella ricerca di perfetti “modelli di ruolo” nella ricerca storiografica sulle donne.
Born in Boston, Harriet Boyd Hawes (1871–1955) was an archaeologist, lecturer, and army nurse. Following her discovery of the Minoan settlement of Gournia in 1901, she became one of the leading figures of the initial excavation campaigns in Crete. Since the 1990s several American studies have raised interest in her life, her major scientific contributions and the revolutionary implications of her actions on the history of women in archaeology. To this day, scientific contributions concerning Harriet Boyd Hawes don’t exist in Italy. This essay focuses on the discovery of Gournia, by examining materials created by and about the archaeologist, and on the historical and professional context in which the pioneers of archaeology worked, a background which was not always favourable to women. The essay also emphasizes the innovative elements contained within her major publication and highlights how her life story is an example of the inherent constraints in the search to find perfect "role models" in historiographic research on women.
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