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 accomplished by looking at the existence of male and female equality in ancient history with Egypt, Greek, and Mayan societies holding evidence that supports why patriarchy is a social construct rather than an innate biological force.
Examining the differences between these societal structures leads one to find that egalitarian societies are more productive and just, leaving patriarchy as a thing of the past. For thousands of years, it was commonly thought men had dominion over women from the birth of humanity. 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 tools and foundations of future society”. To illustrate this point, is an ancient tool known as the Clacton Spear, estimated to be 450,000 years old. The spear was unearthed in England in the year 1911. The picture to the right of the spear displays a hand axe that was discovered in France. The hand spear was thought to be from the same time period. Experts are now saying that the mere presence of these tools do not automatically dictate the sex of its user.
James M. Adovasio, director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute in Pennsylvania states… ” The Clacton tool… might be a fragment of a digging stick once used to unearth edible roots. Or perhaps it was both a spear and a digging tool, used at different times for different purposes by both males and females. ” The artifacts above describe the probability that while men were out hunting, women were likely busy inventing fibers, clothing, and baskets to carry their young. The writers from “The Invisible Sex” go on to say that, “…
It has come to light that female humans have been the chief engine in the unprecedentedly high level of human sociability. (They) were the inventors of the most useful tools. (They) shared equally in the provision of food for human societies. (They) almost certainly drove the human invention of language… ” The belief that women drove the invention of human language was due to their need to communicate and care for their young. Property and Agriculture Birthed Patriarchy After the Paleolithic Era humans began writing and the erecting civilizations.
Once humans were able to domesticate animals and grow food they no longer needed to be nomadic. Being able to settle down, gave rise to the accumulation of property. Mark Dyble, anthropologist says: “… We’d argue it was only with the emergence of agriculture, when people could start to accumulate resources, that inequality emerged. ” Illinois Valley Community College makes the statement ‘Woman’s work is private while a man’s work is public”. This describes how the presence of agriculture caused women’s work to be behind the scenes and in the home while their male counterparts worked outside.
The very fact that women began doing housework is what lessened the perceived value of their contributions to society (societies valued the growing of food over the keeping of a home). As the differing roles in labor are what caused a shift in the perceived value of each gender’s contribution. It should be pointed out, that Egypt greatly differed from other ancient societies because while they did socially separate the roles of men and women men and women were NOT viewed differently in legal matters! (“… he New Kingdom literary text entitled “The Instructions of Any”, state: “A woman is asked about her husband, a man is asked about his rank. ” “… in the legal arena 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, e. g. , ancient Greece, where women did not have their own legal identity… Egyptian women were able to acquire, to own, and to dispose of property (both real and personal) in their own name.
They could enter into contracts in their own name; they could initiate civil court cases and could, likewise, be sued; they could serve as witnesses in court cases; they could serve on juries; and they could witness legal documents. That women very rarely did serve on juries or as witnesses to legal documents is a result of social factors, not legal ones. The literary text entitled “The Instructions of the (Vizier) Ptahhotep,” indicates: “When you prosper and found your house and love your wife with ardor, fill her belly, clothe her back; ointment soothes her body.
Gladden her heart as long as you live; she is a fertile field for her lord. Do not contend with her in court. Keep her from power, restrain her–her eye is her storm when she gazes. Thus will you make her stay in your house. ” According to “This reference to contending with one’s wife in court clearly indicates that women had legal rights and were willing to fight for them. 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 Amazons Following the egalitarian society of Egypt arose the civilization of ancient Greece. The society itself was patriarchal, but what is interesting is the artifacts discovered about the Amazons. Skewed Perspective As was mentioned earlier, many archeologists and anthropologists were men thus leaving much of history to be analyzed with bias.
There is evidence that the Mayan women had a central role in ancient Mayan society. Conclusion In conclusion, if patriarchy were an inevitable biological force of nature, why does it appear not to have been the first social practice as discovered through our hunter gatherer ancestors? If in fact, patriarchy were an innate biological force, then why does it not appear to be the most productive construct of society today? Modern society continues to dismantle patriarchy and move towards societal structure where both genders are equal hopefully leaving patriarchy to one day be known as ancient history.
