Rita P. Wright facts for kids

Rita P. Wright is an American anthropologist. An anthropologist is a scientist who studies human societies and cultures. She is a retired professor from New York University.

Professor Wright studied at Wellesley College and Harvard University. She earned her Ph.D. in 1984. She is an expert in ancient societies from the Near East. She also specializes in the Indus Civilisation. This was a very old civilization in what is now Pakistan and India. She also studies gender roles in history.

Awards and Recognition

Professor Wright has received important awards for her work.

• In 1988, she was given the MacArthur Fellows Program award. This award is sometimes called a "genius grant." It recognizes people who show amazing creativity.

Her Important Books and Papers

Rita P. Wright has written many books and articles. These works help us understand ancient cultures better. Here are some of her key publications:

The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy and Society

This book, published in 2009, is about the Indus Civilisation. It explores how cities were built and how people lived. It also looks at their economy and society.

• The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy and Society, Cambridge University Press, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-521-57652-9

Gender and Archaeology

Professor Wright edited this book in 1996. It explores how archaeologists study gender in the past. It looks at how men and women lived in ancient times.

• Gender and Archaeology, Editor Rita P. Wright, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996, ISBN: 978-0-8122-1574-8

Other Notable Works

She has also written about many other topics. These include water supply in ancient cities and the role of women in pottery making.

• "Third Millennium Changing Times" (2009) - Archaeological Dialogues 16(2):142-148.
• "Gendered relations" in Ur III Dynasty: Kinship, Property and Labor". Gender through Time. Editor Diane R. Bolger, Rowman & Littlefield, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-7591-1092-2
• "Exploring Unknown Lands and Bringing New Worlds into Gender Studies", Are all warriors male?: gender roles on the ancient Eurasian Steppe, Editors Katheryn M. Linduff, Karen Sydney Rubinson, Rowman & Littlefield, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-7591-1074-8
• Water Supply and History: Harappa and the Beas Settlement Survey (2008). Co-authoried, R. Wright, R. Bryson and J. Schuldenrein. Antiquity, Vol. 82, 315:37-48.
• "Gender Matters -- A Question of Ethics", Ethical issues in archaeology, Editors Larry J. Zimmerman, Karen D. Vitelli, Julie Hollowell-Zimmer, Rowman Altamira, 2003, ISBN: 978-0-7591-0271-2
• "Prehistory of Urbanism" (2002) - Encyclopedia of Urbanism, M. and C. Ember, ed., Grolier Press.
• Craft and Social Identity (1998) (with Cathy L. Costin, eds.). Washington D.C. American Anthropological Association, Archaeology Division Monograph 8.
• "Women's Labor and Pottery Production in Prehistory", Engendering archaeology: women and prehistory, Editors Joan M. Gero, Margaret Wright Conkey, Wiley-Blackwell, 1991, ISBN: 978-0-631-17501-8