Not “Fitting the Mold”: Latina Archaeologists Confront Intersecting Inequalities

Abstract

In this article, we seek to engage concretely with feminist and antiracist dialogues by exploring experiences of Latina archaeologists living and working in the United States, a group whose contributions, experiences, and challenges in the field have remained undertheorized to date. In this qualitative analysis of nine semi-structured interviews conducted in 2023 with Latina archaeologists, we consider historical structural factors that have suppressed representation of Latinas in archaeology; through their stories, we explore barriers and experiences that uniquely affect this group within the discipline, including familismo (familialism), cultural taxation, disenfranchisement, and harassment. Although much work remains to be done to move archaeology toward restorative justice, our goal by centering the experiences of Latinas is to add to conversations that have already emerged in archaeology and anthropology about the extractivist colonial legacies of our discipline and the various impacts of sexism, gender-based violence, white supremacy, and other hegemonic practices. We conclude with suggestions for how the archaeological discipline can change for the better and become more inclusive and equitable, not only for Latinx scholars but also for those from other historically marginalized groups.