Gender is fundamental to the organization of labor. Cross-culturally, women are often the producers of textile arts. Several researchers have argued that men take over the means of textile production when a society is dominated by a market economy. However, in non-state level societies lacking market economies there are cases where men assume the role of primary textile producer. Examining these gender shifts illuminates how gendered textile production affects the social status of men and women. Archaeological and ethnographic data suggest that in such contexts, as among middle-range societies in the American Southwest, weaving may have taken on ritual or symbolic significance that increased opportunities for the weaver to accumulate social capital that was more important than economic capital. In this article, connections between the gendered division of labor, textile traditions, and the accumulation of social capital within non-state societies are examined using Hopi peoples as a case study.
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