A Consideration of Gender Roles and Relations in the Aegean Bronze Age Interpreted from Gestures and Proxemics in Art

This monograph analyses human figures that appear in Aegean Bronze Age art, considering the roles and relations between genders, and interpreting differential status or power implications. Susan E. Poole studies a comprehensive range of figures that appear on wall paintings, glyptics (seals, seal impressions and finger rings), and some three-dimensional objects. The gestures and postures displayed in the body language are examined, together with placements and orientations between the figures. The author considers the way figures occupy their surrounding space, possible gender distinct activities, the seating of figures, and processions. A structural iconographic method is used to interpret the material, together with ethological, sociological and linguistic approaches, and a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis is applied. The research includes a rich corpus of images from a wide range of sources to illustrate observations.