Some Observations on Status of Ancient Egyptian Women up to the End of the Middle Kingdom

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Tourism Guidance Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, University of Sadat City

Abstract

The present article examines the status of ancient Egyptian women until the end of the Middle Kingdom, acknowledging the challenges of studying such a vast historical period. Despite extensive research, knowledge about non-elite women remains limited due to reliance on artifacts from temples and tombs, which often depict women in secondary roles. Economic empowerment played a significant role in women's influence, particularly in weaving during the Old Kingdom. However, a decline in women's roles is evident from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom, marked by fewer administrative titles, a shift towards domestic service roles, economic power loss, reduced participation in agriculture, disappearance from beer production scenes, and a lack of self-presentation texts. This decline is attributed to political disunity and instability during the First Intermediate Period, which weakened central authority and led to a shift towards emphasizing masculinity in societal structures.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics