Preview

Predynastic Mortuary Report

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1462 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Predynastic Mortuary Report
restricted the age limit when people could become married. However, for the most part, a common age to get married was fourteen, as this was the age in a girl’s life when she began her menstruation cycle. In the realm of marriage, there was no required legal or religious ceremony. Also, there were no clothing that was special for the bride, no changing of the bride’s name and also no exchanging of rings to indicate the act of marriage itself. This meant that it was only after a girl physically left the protection of her father's house and entered her new home with her husband that she became universally acknowledged as a wife. This meant that the female’s new husband did not become the wife’s new legal guardian in and shape or legal regard. …show more content…
Also, Suzanne Onstine states “the analysis of Predynastic mortuary data indicates that women and men enjoy a similar social status and that their burials showed no clear indication of patriarchy” (Onstine, 2010, p.5). When analyzing art text and archaeological records throughout ancient Egypt, it is evident that the differences in social status between individuals are evident in almost all products of its ancient culture. Men were distinguished by the type of job they held in the textual record. Hower, in comparison, women were also frequently identified by giving the name and titles of their husband or father, from whom, presumably, they derived their social status. The advancement of the equality between sexes in ancient Egypt can be seen in the legal arena where both women and men could act on their own and were responsible for their own actions. This is in sharp contrast with some other ancient societies, for example in Ancient Greece, where women were not allocated the agency towards legal identity, were not allowed to be in possession of property and, in order to participate in the legal system, they had to work in correspondence through a male figure that was socially close in relation to her, which was usually a close make relative such as her brother, husband, father or son. In contrast to this, Egyptian women were able to use their own name when it came to acquiring, owning, and disposing property of their possession. Contracts could also be entered into by using their own name, and they could also initiate civil court cases, and in the same notion, be sued for doing so. In addition, in ancient Egypt, women also had the agency to serve as witnesses in court cases, on juries, and witness legal documents. However,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The societal status of women was ever evolving in the ancient societies. In the Athens, nearly all the women were married. However, they rarely spent time with their husbands. Instead, their husbands would go to hired foreign women entertainers. These women were much more respected than the legitimate women citizens. In the Roman Empire, women had the right to divorce her husband. Upon his death, she would inherit his property, and could live her life as she pleased. In the Minoans civilization, the women were freer when it came to marriage, and it was not necessary required of…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author’s goal in writing this book would be to inform people about ancient women focusing more on Egypt and sounding areas. Women were not very popular in ancient times; therefore people know less about them compared to men. Because of the lack of information many people argue about the status of ancient women, Pomeroy wrote this book to provide as much information about women as she could to inform her readers. Pomeroy also tends to focus on the women who achieved great goals in life as to say that even women in ancient times did great things and were not just treated as dirt.…

    • 1813 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women in Egypt were treated better then women in Mesopotamia, India ,or China. Women in Mesopotamia, for example, could be beaten(as long as the stick was smaller than the husbands thumb) or drowned by their husbands, but women in Egypt divorce, own/inherit property, and participate in business ventures with their husbands.…

    • 6675 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Germanic marriage also suggested a fundamental connection between marriage and property. The bride’s price or dowry was paid to the family for compensation of taking the woman or child, and in this way, women were sold to their husbands with no right to refuse. There was no minimum age for either bride or groom. the two parties would wait to see if she would outgrow her deformities if the female child was flawed while still…

    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Code Of Hammurabi Essay

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Divorce is explained in laws 137 through 140 and was optional with the man, but he had to deal with dowry. Dowry consisted of money, real estate, or household furniture, which would remain the wife's for life. If the couple had children it was passed on to them. If there were no children, he must give her the dowry and let her go. The women got custody of the children and the man had to give her money along with other things so she was able to maintain herself and the children until they grew up. If she had been a bad wife, the husband was allowed to send her away or make her a slave. He was them able to keep the children and the dowry. If the woman was widowed she took her husbands place in the family and raised the children. Last, if the wife was unable to bear children she was to give her husband a maid to bear him children and they were considered hers.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Classical India and China

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The falling age of marriage for Indian women is another illustration of their loss of rights. In 400 BCE about sixteen years was a normal age for a bride at marriage; between 400 BCE and 100 CE it fell to pre-puberty; and after 100 CE pre-puberty was favored. These child marriages also affected women’s religious roles. Because girls married before they could finish their education, they were not qualified to perform ritual sacrifices. Furthermore, wives’ legal rights eroded. As…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hyksos

    • 3863 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Historians and archaeologists have studied ancient Egyptian civilisation for more than 200 years. Although many fascinating discoveries have been made, not all is known about Ancient Egypt and therefore some aspects of its history are based on surmised interpretations and occasionally incomplete factual evidence. When discussing the role, contribution and significance of the ruling queens of Ancient Egypt, it is important to note the bias that authors/scribes placed on most historical documents of this ancient period. Women, especially those of the Royal court and family, do appear in many Egyptian documents and inscriptions. However, only men in Egyptian society could become scribes and therefore male bias can make it difficult to investigate precise details of the lives of women. Through the study of documents, inscriptions and tombs, combined with the latest scientific techniques a picture of the life of the Egyptian women can take shape.…

    • 3863 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the fourteenth century marriages were done by arrangement. Marriages were arranged for social, economic and political reasons. Women were not allowed to choose who they wanted to marry. However, sometimes men were able to choose their bride. Marriage was not based on love. Husbands and wives were generally strangers until they first met. If love was involved at all it came after the couple had been married. Even if love did not develop through marriage, the couple generally developed a friendship of some sort. The arrangement of marriage was done by the children's parents. In the fourteenth century children were married at a young age. Girls were as young as 12 when they married, and boys as young as 17. The arrangement of the marriage was based on monetary worth. The family of the girl who was to be married gives a dowry, or donation, to the boy she is to marry. The dowry goes with her at the time of the marriage and stays with the boy forever. But today couples marry each other because they actually love one another. They don’t do it because they have to; they do it because they want to. Also, a girl’s parents doesn’t choose their husband for her they choose their own.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Like many of her previous topics, the author is compelled to limit her claims to the Egypt because it offers the most concrete evidence. By comparing and contrasting Egyptian and Greek domestic patterns, Thompson demonstrates both the unique and the universal elements of the standard Egyptian family structure. For example, papyri evidence demonstrates that “resident mothers,” a staple of the Greek household, were also quite common among native Egyptians. Furthermore, married households were more common than virilocal (i.e. non-conjugal) living situations, which is congruous with the standard Greek household structure as well. However, Thompson also cites key differences that underscore the diversity of domestic life in the Hellenistic world. For example, papyri evidence (i.e., family archives) demonstrates that slave ownership was very uncommon among the majority of Egyptian households. In truth, only a select number of city-dwelling Egyptians adopted the Greek custom of slave ownership. Additionally, Egyptian ritualistic practices pertaining to birth, matrimony, and death were all particularly distinct from their Greek counterparts (in Thompson’s estimation). Specific examples include provisions for women in prenuptial contracts, female property rights, polygamous marriages, mummification, and the development of a distinct familial nomenclature (i.e., parents-in-law). Again, the fact…

    • 1629 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Gender Roles

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gender roles always have been an important topic throughout history, especially in the ancient Greek and Roman time’s genders played an important role. Males dominated all aspects of government and women were treated as subjects rather than a person. Greek and Roman times do not differ on how a person’s gender determined what he or she could do, for except in Roman times women had more rights.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In The 1920s

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In order to find a future spouse, they could “court” whomever their parents chose for them to. Courtships were chaperoned and kept pure. Public display of affection was frowned upon, for that was seen as disrespectful. Life after marriage was simple, the family would grow. With children and a working husband, women cooked every meal and cleaned the house while balancing their children's needs.…

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The common view in ancient societies was often that this was a world of men; that women were inferior. There is often debate on the role of women in society, but in reality, women play an important role in any type of society, whether it be good or bad. Women in ancient Greece, China, and the Roman Empire were able to exercise influence into their culture despite the discrimination toward them. Although each society was different, women shared similar influences in their power, and restrictions in the aspect of marriage. Although most of these ancient cultures viewed women similarly, of these three locations, the women in the Roman Empire had it best.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Egypt

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Enacting laws, delivering justice, and maintaining law and order was the pharaoh’s responsibility; the laws under the pharaoh were based on Ma’at (the female godess of truth and justice). Both men and women were equal under the law, because the gods and goddesses were equal to each other. Both men and women had the right to own and sell property, make contracts, marry and divorce, receive inheritance, and pursue legal disputes in court. Married couples could own property jointly and protect themselves from divorce by agreeing to marriage contracts, which stipulated the financial obligations of the husband to his wife and children should the marriage end. However, women were not usually educated or officials.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reasons behind the traditions and expectations goes further back than just the 1800’s when Americans applied rituals to their daily lives. Religion also prompts the expectations and restraints that society places on itself. Gods and goddesses (depending on the religion) have a significant impact on people's lives as people tend to follow the rules set by their religious beliefs. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology exhibit on women and gender in ancient Egypt depicts goddesses as queens, child bearers, protectors of the gods and some severed merely as characterless consorts to the gods, while the men tended to be gods. Traditionally, it is imperative that women assume an inferior role as opposed to men in a society that is governed by…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the time of the Old Kingdom to the time of the New Kingdom, Ancient Egypt was a society dominated by men. Much of the history of Egypt is expressed through the perspective of Egyptian males. This leaves the perspective of the other half of the Egyptian population, females, unexplored. When women of Ancient Egypt are discussed it is often just the women of power or royalty who receive attention. This leaves many people unaware of the role of the average women in this society. Achieving A reversal of this unawareness is done by explaining the role of the average Egyptian woman in the family, the legal rights of women, and the role of women in the temples.…

    • 891 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics