Patriarchy In Ancient History
Introduction
Currently there exists a dwindling social system that people still follow today; many whom follow it without knowing what that system is or even what it is called. That system is Patriarchy. Patriarchy is defined as: a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men, and/or, a social system in which family members are related to each other through their fathers. Common examples of patriarchal based beliefs creep up in statements such as “Men are the head of household” Or “Men should be the breadwinner”. This paper will examine the origin of patriarchy in ancient history in order to negate a popular claim that patriarchy is an inevitable biological event that will always naturally occur in humanity. This is …show more content…
In order to determine the origin of patriarchy we must look at the start of humanity itself. There is an early record marking the start of humankind, of humans living before the existence of cities and civilizations and even before the existence of writing. This period of time is called the Paleolithic era. Today, archeologists and anthropologists are reexamining the assumption that men were always dominant and are finding that it is more than likely that men and women were equal prior to the start of civilization. Mark Dyble, an anthropologist who led the study at University College London, says: “…equality between the sexes may have been a survival advantage and played an important role in shaping human society and evolution.” The thought that men and women are equal started to rise in the 1960’s with women becoming involved in archeology and offering their much needed female perspective in the male dominated profession. An article published online in the Paramus Post states, “In a new book, "The Invisible Sex," written with anthropologist Olga Soffer, and science writer Jake Page, says that, “contemporary scientists paint a different picture of the Paleolithic past: There was no significant division of labor. Stone Age humans pretty much did the same jobs - at least some of the time. And when the women did remain behind, they spent much of their time inventing the …show more content…
This distinction between the legal status of women in ancient Egypt and their public or social status is of major importance in understanding how the Egyptian system actually worked.”
Other evidence for the economic role of women in Egypt can be found in documents that reveal Egypt’s dealings with both men and women can be found in the Papyrus Wilbour, a long text recording "taxes" due on farmland; Of the 2,110 parcels of land for which the name of the owner is preserved, women are listed as owners of 228, just over 10 percent; the land frequently is described as being worked by their children. However, these women originally acquired this land, what is significant is that they hold title to the land.
Through glancing at instances where equalitarian societies were present in ancient history as with Egypt, we see that there must be factors outside of biology that initiated the domineering presence of patriarchy in history.
The
Currently there exists a dwindling social system that people still follow today; many whom follow it without knowing what that system is or even what it is called. That system is Patriarchy. Patriarchy is defined as: a family, group, or government controlled by a man or a group of men, and/or, a social system in which family members are related to each other through their fathers. Common examples of patriarchal based beliefs creep up in statements such as “Men are the head of household” Or “Men should be the breadwinner”. This paper will examine the origin of patriarchy in ancient history in order to negate a popular claim that patriarchy is an inevitable biological event that will always naturally occur in humanity. This is …show more content…
In order to determine the origin of patriarchy we must look at the start of humanity itself. There is an early record marking the start of humankind, of humans living before the existence of cities and civilizations and even before the existence of writing. This period of time is called the Paleolithic era. Today, archeologists and anthropologists are reexamining the assumption that men were always dominant and are finding that it is more than likely that men and women were equal prior to the start of civilization. Mark Dyble, an anthropologist who led the study at University College London, says: “…equality between the sexes may have been a survival advantage and played an important role in shaping human society and evolution.” The thought that men and women are equal started to rise in the 1960’s with women becoming involved in archeology and offering their much needed female perspective in the male dominated profession. An article published online in the Paramus Post states, “In a new book, "The Invisible Sex," written with anthropologist Olga Soffer, and science writer Jake Page, says that, “contemporary scientists paint a different picture of the Paleolithic past: There was no significant division of labor. Stone Age humans pretty much did the same jobs - at least some of the time. And when the women did remain behind, they spent much of their time inventing the …show more content…
This distinction between the legal status of women in ancient Egypt and their public or social status is of major importance in understanding how the Egyptian system actually worked.”
Other evidence for the economic role of women in Egypt can be found in documents that reveal Egypt’s dealings with both men and women can be found in the Papyrus Wilbour, a long text recording "taxes" due on farmland; Of the 2,110 parcels of land for which the name of the owner is preserved, women are listed as owners of 228, just over 10 percent; the land frequently is described as being worked by their children. However, these women originally acquired this land, what is significant is that they hold title to the land.
Through glancing at instances where equalitarian societies were present in ancient history as with Egypt, we see that there must be factors outside of biology that initiated the domineering presence of patriarchy in history.
The