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Three Cheers for Warrior Women
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!
Carla M. Dole from Berkeley, CA USA
April 12, 2002
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