Customer Reviews

Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must admit that I was delighted to find this book, not just because the title intrigued me, but, more importantly, because I first became familiarized with Davis-Kimball's work when I was teaching a Women's Studies class and this was the first "print" copy of her findings that I came across. Even those who don't know who Jeannine Davis-Kimball is, probably do know something about what she has done. Davis-Kimball was the first person to uncover hard archeological evidence that the Amazons of Greek legend did, in fact, exist. But unlike common misconceptions that attempt to place the Amazons everywhere in the world from Southern Europe to the South American jungles, the "real" Amazons were nomads from the outer reaches of the Russian world; Davis-Kimball's excavations at Pokrovka uncovered female burials with large caches of weapons. Kimball goes on to link the importance of the findings with evidence from the ancient Greeks, and then goes on to trace her work on the larger canvas of world history. Academic, but accessible, this is a highly recommended work from a woman who has led a fascinating life.

Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball discovers her passion for archaelogy late in life and desires to excavate the Kurgans of the Eurasian people. When fellow archaeologist Leonid Yablonsky invites her to join an American-Russian team working at Pokrovka on the Russian-Kazakstan border, she gets her chance. As the dig progresses, Davis-Kimball, Yablonsky and the rest of the team unearth the remains of male warriors, men buried with children, warrior women, priestesses, warrior-priestesses, and hearth women. The roles of these ancient individuals are assigned based on the grave goods buried with them. Dr. Davis Kimball writes: "It could not have been more fortuitous for me that the Early Nomads believed their possessions had to be included in their graves." This is the focus point of the book. Starting with the finds at Pokrovka, Dr. Davis-Kimball follows every possible thread in time and space, to give us as complete as possible a picture of the Eurasian people in general and the lives of the women in particular--not just the warrior women, but the priestesses and hearth women as well.

Dr. Davis-Kimball states that the Indiana Jones myth of archaeology must be dispelled, and then she goes on a series of travels and adventures (all wonderfully written) that would have daunted even that fictional hero, who I don't think could have faced the KGB with the intelligence and patience she does. Her travels take her from Northern Ireland to western China. She travels in history from about 4000 B.C.E. to the modern day. She visits dozens of museums, many countries, and even lives with a modern day family of nomads.

It seems that Dr. Davis-Kimball was motivated to write a book about women, and specifically about warrior women, only after she realized that warrior women's graves had been excavated for over 50 years by other archaeologists, and then the women were all but forgotten. She writes:"I was frustrated by the lack of interest exhibited by many historians and archaeologists regarding the status of women in the societies they studied." And: "I understood that women of high status were hidden in the shadows of traditional interpretations. It was time to launch a treasure hunt." Her gift to the world is to simply tell the truth about what she, and others, have discovered.

For those who saw the NOVA documentary about "The Mysterious Mummies of China", (the caucasoid mummies discovered in China's Xinjiang province), Dr. Davis-Kimball was invited to be part of that documentary team, and there is an excellent chapter in her book that tells the story behind the documentary.

Dr. Davis-Kimball is gracious in giving credit to others. There must be several hundred names in this book of the people she has worked with, or whose work she has studied. There is even a touch of romance as she writes praisingly of her husband (an engineer) who was part of the team at Pokrovka, and who accompanies her in her numerous travels.

And finally, this book was an inspiration, that growing old does not mean growing stale, and that, even late in life, a person can become what he or she truly wishes to be.

Equal parts archaeology, adventure, autobiography, travelogue, this is history at it's readable best.

"Women Warriors" is fascinating -- the story of a woman archeologist, Jeannine Davis-Kimball, who, in her sixties, became an archeologist in Central Asia. It's partly autobiographical, with descriptions of her travels in Kazakstan, Mongolia, and Western China, and partly science, with descriptions and photographs of her findings. --- These, all things considered, are startling: burials of women with weapons, arrow heads, elaborate costumes, and devices, like bronze mirrors, for divination. Also gold (sometimes lots of it) as well as bronze castings decorated in the so-called "Animal Style." Davis-Kimball argues (modestly enough, I think) that these finds suggest that at least some women had high rank and status in their nomadic societies, and were probably warriors and priestesses. contrary to long-held assumptions by historians that these steppe societies were ruled by men and by male, horse-riding warriors. --- She also has a bibliography, so that anyone who wants to read the original technical papers can find them. "Women Warriors" is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the history of religions, of gender, and of Central Asia.

My copy of Warrior Women looks as if I've owned it for years. Its pages are marked with hand written notes and many paragraphs are underlined using a felt tip pen. The book is enjoyable for three reasons.

First, it is filled with intriguing archeological theories and case studies showing how women, living across the land from China to Ireland, were part of ancient history as warriors and priestesses. The topic of massive, elaborately decorated headdresses is particularly fascinating because I learned that headdresses are "one of the oldest cultural elements ever found." Davis-Kimball uses this icon to help reinterpret and discuss women's historical fate over the centuries. The archeological facts and new ideas the author presents flow easily chapter by chapter.

Second, the book is an inspiration for modern women. Many of us have had varied lives and layers of experiences so it's inspiring to read how Davis-Kimball takes on many challenges and finds her "career as an archaeologist rather late in life." It's fun, as a reader, to be able to look over her shoulder and share her field work and sucess.

Third, the layout of the book is appealing. I especially appreciated the sidebars, footnotes and glossary. For example, the sidebar titled "The Nomadic Way" is a like a two page mini story. It defines the term Nomadic and is enjoyable to read on its own merit or return to again and again as a reference point. Words in the glossary are presented in bold, easy to read type. Some words and names, that we may be familiar with, are defined according to their meaning within the text. Such as
"AMAZONS Female warriors in Greek Mythology who aresaid to have orginated in northern Turkey."

After reading Warrior Women I'm ready to hop on an airplane and head for Central Asia and Mongolia!

I have read the other reviews, and think the person who said that this was not archeology missed the point. This book was intended for lay people and young adults who want to know new developments and the opinions about them of practicioners, but who are not up for academic jargon. This was not intended as a thesis or scholarly tome. For the niche the author selected, it did a fine job. The only reason I did not give the book 5 stars is that I found the asides that took up 2 pages were annoying in their placement, as they frequently interrupted the main narrative in the middle of a sentance. I would have prefered that those asides be given a short chapter after the chapter they interrupted instead. I agree with the review that said these short 2 page interruptions were interesting -- I just think the book would have been even better and easier to read if they had been placed differently. This is probably the editor's fault, not the author's. I have recommended In Search of The Immortals to those who want another slant not so heavily into amazons. In Search of the Immortals is a survey of work among the preserved dead globaly (both intentionally preserved and naturally preserved) and the chapter on Eurasia makes many of the same observations as this book.

This is a fascinating book written by an equally fascinating woman. After raising six children and working as a nurse in Idaho and cattle rancher in South America, Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball went back to school and earned a bachelor's degree in art history from California State University at Northridge at 49, becoming the first woman in her family to obtain a degree. Her interest in past civilizations motivated her to obtain a master's degree and then a Ph.D., and when she went on an archealogical dig in Israel for a "lark," she discovered her true life's passion.

Her book is certainly no dry technical dissertation on archeological finds! Dr. Davis-Kimball is a gifted writer who knows how to tell a story and convey a bit of history, anthropology, and her own observations of human behavior in a very entertaining manner. Her book reads like a novel with an interesting storyline and detailed character descriptions of the people who accompany her on her explorations, as well as the nomads she lives with and studies. When she begins her career as an archeaologist, she notes that the western views of ancient peoples have relegated women to motherhood and tending the household. She finds that her learned colleagues are quick to characterize graves with weapons as male, something she begins to dispute in light of Russian evidence that there were once women warriors in the nomadic tribes. Dr. Davis-Kimball's research eventually proves this fact and she takes the reader along in the caravans of trucks she and her group take to remote locations in Russia and China where they camp weeks on-end like nomads themselves, digging in temperatures that soar above 100 degrees during the day and below freezing at night. Much of her research incorporates the cultures of the nomadic tribes that still wander Siberia and Asia today, as their traditions and way of living is virtually the same as centuries ago, and she was fortunate to be welcomed into the tribal group and allowed to participate in tribal rituals as well as their daily life.

Along with the story of her excavations and stays with nomadic tribes, she includes sidebars throughout the book on various topics from the Sheila-na-gigs and women warriors of Celtic Ireland to the status of prostitutes in ancient Greece. The book is a celebration and proof that women have indeed been warriors and priestesses and held positions of power and influence throughout history, and then as times changed, been relegated to less important roles or executed for trying to exert themselves as warriors.

Warrior Women is an interesting look at some little-known cultures. The combination of personal experience with archaeological data makes it an engaging read, and it's written in a straightforward manner that makes it accessible to people who have no previous knowledge of the topic. I do have to agree with the reviewer who said the asides could have been better placed so as not to interrupt the main text.

The first half of the book, recounting the author's own excavations and discoveries, is solid enough. More explanation of how conclusions were arrived at would have been welcome, although I can understand the author not wanting to get too technical in a book intended for a popular audience. Perhaps notes at the back of the book or an annotated bibliography might have been included for the use of people who wanted to study the material in greater depth.

The second half of the book presents some problems. I'm always extremely wary of reading too much into similar-looking iconography from different cultures and times, so I would have appreciated firmer data on the petroglyphs' meaning. As presented, it seems like the interpretation here is largely a matter of the author's opinion.

The main stumbling block, though, is the mention of the Great Mother Goddess. Although never stated explicitly, the phrasing suggests the idea of one overarching (in a monotheistic sense) mother goddess. This idea has been discredited by the archaeological community, but the author mentions only briefly in passing (in the discussion of Catal Huyuk) that controversy even exists. The appearance of believing a tenet of what can best be called fringe archaeology leaves all Davis-Kimball's archaeological interpretations open to doubt. The interpretations concerning her own field (the steppe peoples) are probably solid, but I'd rather see more corroborating evidence when she ventures farther afield.

Despite these caveats, this is a worthwhile book that's guaranteed to teach the reader something new. But, like all popular discussions of scholarly subjects, it should not be read in a void.

I think I found out about this book when I was looking up information about Amazons. It is very informative and I liked the way the book was organized. I lent this book to my Physical Anthropology teacher and she likes it.
I do have to admit that I was unsure about the Mother Goddess information - I don't think that there was one religion focused on a Mother Goddess at that time - but everything else looked well researched.
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in women in military roles and it's history (in ancient times that is).
It's definitely worth your time.

When I first picked up this book, I thought that I would find information about Warrior Women from all over the world. I really liked this book, don't get wrong, but I wanted to hear more about Women Warriors from all OVER the world. Instead, the majority (nearly half) was about the author's own excavations and finds (that were very fascinating) and then most of that half was about the Steppe nomads. I was just hoping for more info on other places. She devotes a small percentage of time to Amazons (connected to the nomads). And she went on to speak about some almost nomad like caucasian mummies they found in China. She did a great job on what she wrote of the celtic heroines, I just wish she would've written more. It was a good, informational read, but it was lacking.

This book is a companion to the PBS documentary, Secrets of the Dead - Amazon Warrior Women. This book is part narrative of Davis-Kimball's journeys through archeology and part non-fiction history of women warriors. I learned quite a bit about women's history. The book not only focuses on the mythical Amazon and their possible historical basis in the steppes of Russia, but also includes information on warrior women in other parts of the world, including China, Ireland, and the Celts. I was absolutely fascinated by the amount of information including in this book.