Empowering Motherhood: addressing gender preconceptions in Portuguese Late Prehistory

Abstract

This text addresses motherhood in prehistory. It attempts to contextualise motherhood in a modern, Western context and reviews the challenges of applying the predominant current model to prehistoric contexts. It seeks to understand how a limited view of motherhood, shaped by patriarchal ideology, relegated women to the home and expose the images that emerged from this approach, impacting the construction of lasting and naturalised prejudices. Future research lines will also be presented, focusing particularly on the Portuguese archaeological context, especially the Chalcolithic period in the south of the country, aiming to highlight the importance of extended care strategies in the social dynamics of past communities.