The Egyptian Economy and Non-royal Women:
   Their Status in Public Life

William A. Ward, Department of Egyptology, Brown University

To put things in perspective the time periods this article talks about are:
Old Kingdom    2800-2200 BCE
Middle Kingdom    2100-1650 BCE
New Kingdom       1550-1100 BCE
 

Describing the economy:

Egyptian economy was based on agriculture. The economic stability depended on the Nile river fertilizing  the land. The farmers worked the land and made enough grain to feed themselves and pay taxes.  There was a surplus of grain which was then used for foreign trade. Off season, the stable economy afforded the society to put people to work on temples, giving them extra monies to purchase other things the family might need.

What are the women's roles in this economy?
 

Feed, clothe, and nurture the children. Most of these roles were in the home-> private sphere. (Some students thought this article kind of glorified the housewife. )
The way the article is written does not include the servant or slave women in the category of "egyptian women", so we do not here anything about their roles.
Article gives a sense that his definition of economy is totally a public sphere issue. Household not seen as part of economy functioning. Article stressed that women DID AND COULD IN FACT OWN PROPERTY. Which is pretty remarkable, when you think in terms of comparison to the U.S. in the early nineteenth century when women could not own property.
Women engaged in making extra income as well through weaving. During the Old Kingdom women were more likely to hold positions of public power- the likeliness of this dwindled throughout the centuries. Where divorce was concerned, if it happened both parties took what they had brought to the marriage and the things acquired post marriage were divided- man gets 2/3, women gets 1/3.

Thursday:
Quiz 2- Unit 3. This will be an individual quiz only.
Readings including introduction.