Women's Roles In Mesopotamia And Egypt

Paleolithic people were mainly hunters and gatherers. While the men hunted, women would take care of the children. Also, they would gather plants that they could eat. Women would scrape the the hides of animals the men had killed [Gifford-Gonzalez 247]. Women were seen as equal to men. They had the freedom to choose their partners, and to divorce them [Strayer 21]. They also so could freely engage in sex without being shamed for it. The Neolithic world was agricultural. People used farming to create a stable source of food. They needed people to take up the role of farming in order to grow the food. Women were the ones who took those roles. Women were seen a mostly equal to men similar to how it was in the Paleolithic era. They had the same …show more content…
Even though Egypt was patriarchal, women weren’t completely under men. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were both patriarchies, they both treated women differently. In Egypt women were respected more and were seen a human beings. Unlike in Mesopotamia where women were mainly treated like objects. The government in Mesopotamia tried to control the lives and bodies of women, but in Egypt women enjoyed more freedoms. They were able to have more control over their lives. Life for women in the Paleolithic era is similar to women in Egypt because women had more of choice in how they would live their lives. However, Paleolithic women lived in a society that was more equal than Egypt. In Paleolithic society, men and women were equal. Neither one of them was above the other, but Egyptian society men had more power than women. One thing that Mesopotamia, Paleolithic, and Neolithic cultures have in common is that women had similar roles. They were all had the role to stay home, and take care of children. In Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures women roles were more complex. They had multiple roles that were important for the survival of the family. In Paleolithic societies, they worshipped mainly female