It is an unfortunate assumption on the part of many (usually male) archaeologists that women do not hold positions of power within their culture. This assumption clouds the historical record—obscuring actual historical women warriors, priestesses, and leaders—and reinforces modern gender roles that are limiting for women. Fortunately modern bone-testing methods to determine the sex of archaeologically disinterred remains are starting to clear away these misapprehensions. Also, most reputable modern scholars no longer assume weaponry in a grave invariably indicates the deceased can only be male, or that a woman or women interred with a man or men must be in some way subordinate to them. Furthering this beneficial effect is the entrance of many female archaeologists into the field, with a correspondingly fresh new viewpoint on the "fragility" of the female gender.

My purpose in writing this thesis is twofold: first, to demonstrate powerful women have not only existed culturally (as opposed to "token" women warriors or queens), but also have been just as capable and strong as men. Second, I wish to reveal the (sometimes unsubtle) gender bias on the part of researchers, archaeologists, and others when interpreting and reporting archaeological finds. I perform this investigation because I not only believe more information is always good, but I also wish to reclaim the powerful woman warrior/priestess/leader archetype for modern women. In closing, I offer women and men some thoughts on our current somewhat limiting societal gender roles, attempt to broaden our understanding of their oddly pervasive nature, and speculate on how to potentially expand our thinking on archetypes for modern women.