Male until Proven Otherwise?

Archaeological finds are often framed within androcentric biases, for example, representing inscribed seals as male-owned and used objects. However, this picture crumbles under critical examination. This article addresses presumptions about sex and seal ownership, focusing on inscribed seals from the Iron Age IIB-III from Jerusalem. Therefore, this article demonstrates how gender-archaeological research can contribute to new perspectives on Levantine stamp seals and material culture. This approach is based on provenanced artifacts found in archaeological excavations and their context and the careful examination of how gender is expressed or remains ambiguous in the inscriptions on these small objects. The presented dataset of inscribed seals and impressions on sealings and jar handles from Jerusalem suggests that women owned and used inscribed seals for a variety of purposes, including commerce and sealing of containers and jars, as well as being buried with them.