Benefits Of Mummification

Throughout history, men typically dominated societies. Men have always appeared to have more respect and rights than women, depending on certain civilizations. In societies like Egypt, men were frequently pharaohs and today, are considered to be great rulers. Women were often expected to take the job of motherhood in Egyptian society. Although this was their anticipated responsibility, women, usually upper class and royal, were still permitted to get an education, to possess property, own businesses, have a job and be involved in military control. Women could also rule as pharaoh, which was an infrequent occurrence but did sometimes happen. Hatshepsut, for example, is one of the few women who became a pronounced leader in the ancient

The understanding of gender roles in society has been very fluid in the evolution of mankind. In ancient civilizations, the roles that you were given within a society were centered primarily around gender. These gender roles did vary from civilization to civilization, but were generally comparable. In most ancient civilizations, the roles of women were confined to the household. This was evident in most societies, but a stand out among these was Ancient Egypt. In which, Egypt was one of the only civilizations where women were even remotely equal to men. When comparing to other societies during the ancient time period, women were most respected in Egypt.

Ancient Egypt was a captivating and intricate civilization. Over the years, historians have found it easier to study this civilization, rather than other historical civilizations, because the Egyptians went through great lengths to record their history. Besides being decent record keepers, they were very religious, and “ahead of their time,” due to their technological and economic breakthroughs. Because of the aspects of this culture, it has to be one of the greatest civilizations of the world.

When you look back in history to the development and the contributions of both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations, you see that there was a lot accomplished, as well as a lot created. The earliest forms of writing developed in Mesopotamia, while Egypt was referred to the “Gift of the Nile” by traveler Herodotus (McKay,42). Development of cities was another major marker, especially in the “old world”, of how people eventually determined civilizations and what they represented. According to McKay, civilizations were determined by people who considered themselves more “civilized”, urban people mostly. Made up of cities, written rules of law, and social justice codes, Mesopotamia and Egypt would develop into two of the largest civilizations in history.

Known as one of the earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt both share set amounts of similarities along with a share of striking distinctions. Environmentally, these two civilizations were formed in similar surroundings, yet their weather patterns show distinctions. Politically, both governments derived from a monarch, yet their laws and punishments distinguished the two’s court systems. Economically, they both shared prosperous success in similar manners. Socially, although the two lands followed a hierarchy, the value of women contrasted. Culturally, they both believed in a higher order of creation; however, their views of them were polar opposites. Intellectually, these two societies developed skilled abilities and creations that

Egyptian women were fortunate in that they were equal to men as far as the law was concerned. They could own property, borrow money, initiate divorce, and many other things unheard of in the Greek civilization. The Egyptian royal line was matriarchal, meaning that royalty was passed down from mother to son. The Greeks, in comparison, were patriarchal, meaning control was passed from father to son. It was also necessary for a man to marry a woman of royalty in order to become a Pharaoh. Because of this, it was common for brothers to marry sisters. Sometimes, women were even known to become a Pharaoh. There are at least four documented female Pharaohs with the most notable being Hatshepsut (1479-1458 B.C.) (McKay 2009). Hatshepsut, though a very powerful ruler, was often times depicted in men’s clothing and with a false beard (McKay 2009). This shows that even though women were much more important in Egyptian society, there was still a stigma around women leaders.

In Egypt, although men were the dominant gender in society, women were treated with great respect, which led to a very stable and successful society. The Egyptians believed that the goal of life was happiness and viewed home and family life as the main source of it. Egyptian law basically treated women as equals for the most part. Women were allowed to hold positions of power, own property, own slaves, receive an education, and even borrow money. Although Pharaohs were normally men, certain circumstances allowed for women to hold the same title. The Egyptians believed that marriage and family were very important aspects in life. They believed that unconditional love and kindness were vital in a marriage and thought that husband and wife should always treat each other with respect. In regards to family, unlike many cultures that viewed children as another mouth to

Egyptians paid great respect to women at least in the upper classes, in part because marriage alliances were vital to the preservation and stability of the monarchy. The Egyptians believe that the royal family was immortal. The word family brings every member of the family to the same circle of respect and power. The man like in the Mesopotamian civilization was the head of the family. That is also seemed in today’s daily life in most cases. A statue of Pharaoh Mycerinus and his queen represents the wife presenting her husband and not the husband presenting his wife as the powerful one.

The civilizations of the Nile River valley, the Mesopotamia valley, and Indus Valley marked human progress toward fixed settlements and the development of a rich culture. These civilizations shared many characteristics that contributed to their success. What made these civilizations unique were the contributions that each one gave to the world. They contributed their own ideas and accomplishments in the areas of religion, science, and mathematics. These contributions defined each civilization and how they would be remembered, as well as, their importance to the world.

Legally, women in Ancient Egypt permitted to have nearly an equal amount of independence and privilege to the natural rights as men. In Egypt they treat their ladies much nicer than any of the other major civilizations of the ancient world. In contrast to those of other ancient civilization, Egyptian women seemed to appreciate the equal legal and economic rights as the Egyptian man. Compared to Mesopotamia, the ladies of Egypt were given the right to partake in court from all aspects. The women are capable of being a judge at court or they could act as eyewitnesses, and they can even bring their own cases to the court. Like men, Egyptian women had the right to own and manage their own private property, they are capable of disowning children, and

Even though they both did not share an equal status with the males in their respective societies, ancient Egyptian women did enjoy more freedom and equal treatment, as opposed to ancient Roman women. Despite the fact that Roman women were not confined to their homes, they were throughout their lives subject to the authority of the men in their lives, unlike Egyptian women who did not require a male guardian to act on her

Moving ahead into the great civilization of Ancient Egypt, women and men had typical gender roles. Women were still seen as child bearers and domestic housekeepers and men taught their sons and became heavily involved in civic affairs (“Ancient Egypt”). The treatment of men and women was essentially equal in that woman did maintain civil rights, were given their own tombs upon death, and were even permitted to leave their husbands if necessary (“Ancient Egypt”). This was mainly because all property was passed from generation to generation through women- not men- giving them higher status and importance since Egyptians saw their land as sacred.

In Ancient Egypt, women were looked at as equals to men. Women were in charge of bearing and raising children, but also managing, owning, and selling private property. This private property can be anything such as slaves, land, portable goods, servants, livestock, and money. Women are also allowed to acquire possessions, either as a gift or left from their deceased husband. Typically, Egyptian women got married around the age of 14 and started to bear children right away. Men were in charge of taking care of families, and held a majority of political roles. Both men and women were allowed to work, take ownership of their own belongings, and were equally looked at by

It is difficult to fully understand the role of women in ancient Egyptian society because the understandings of the society and government are still incomplete. There are also two other major problems, those being that there is very little source material on women, and the material that has been found was biased by the ideas and minds of previous Egyptologists. The only source material that has survived from great kingdoms of Egypt is material that has been either found in tombs on the walls and sarcophaguses, or carved on major government and religious document. None of the writings on papyrus and other delicate materials survived. This material, which has survived, is the writings of the Egyptian literate male elite. In their

Ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt are two of the earliest and greatest civilizations to ever exist. They both show the transition from a Paleolithic society into a settled civilization. Nevertheless, Mesopotamia has been a worldwide centre of awe and amazement . The first written language created by the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia became the first means of of written communication for humankind.The spread of agriculture created a new way of life and evolved man from nomadic hunters into civilized people . Most important of all, the creation of the wheel opened up a new way for transportation to be carried out. Between both civilizations, it ancient Mesopotamia left the greatest impact on posterity.