Gender from Prehistory to 600 BCE - AP World History: Modern

In prehistory and early history, women worked a variety of jobs including gathering, agriculture, and midwifing. They were not confined to their homes as that would have made much work, such as farming, impossible. There was very little cultural bias against women working, so they did not have to pretend to be male in order to work, as became a necessity in later eras. Women have sometimes been soldiers and fighters, but female warriors are the exception rather than the rule.

Female members of prehistoric communities were often gatherers, responsible for ensuring members of the community could eat regularly, especially when the hunt wasn't successful.

They worked very hard, and certainly didn't lives we would consider full of leisure today.

In prehistoric societies women needed to be outside the home to work, which required women to have a family member as a male escort would make the idea that they could not leave without a male escort impracticable.

Feet binding was a practice for extraordinarily wealthy women in post-medieval China; in any prehistoric society it would have been impossible.

In any society, a minority of women fight as soldiers and warriors but in prehistoric societies, as in contemporary ones, men comprised the majority of soldiers.

Women in Mesopotamian society were generally less powerful than men; however, they enjoyed certain rights and privileges which were uncommon elsewhere in the world. Women had the right to own property and businesses, for example.

In human society, during the Paleolithic Era, men and women served different functions within their tribes. Men were generally responsible for hunting, whereas women were generally responsible for gathering as well as caring for children and preserving tribal harmony. In Paleolithic society, although there was a clear delineation of roles, men and women were largely equal in status. It was not until the Neolithic Revolution that men began to take more and more control over human society.

During the Paleolithic Era women had generally served different roles to men, but were considered equal members of society. The transition to the Neolithic Era, however, reduced the status of women. Agricultural settlements and the growth of cities meant that, for the first time, societies had surpluses and territory to protect. Many societies coalesced around the strongest and most aggressive individuals who could best protect the community from invasion. This led to the rise of men as dominant leaders of society and the decline in the status and equality of women.

Women in ancient Egyptian society enjoyed substantial rights that would have been unfamiliar to women in most of the rest of the world. Women could seek a divorce, own property and businesses, and practice and preach religion. The status of women in paleolithic, mesolithic, and neolithic societies was sometimes better than we might expect, it was only after the rise of civilizations and the rule of might that the status of women began to decline around the world.

The Neolithic revolution was marked by innovations in agriculture. As a result, not all people needed to be farmers; instead, they began to specialize in different jobs. The answer choice "job specialization" is correct.

This period led to an increase in the food supply (rather than shortages), an increase in the world population (not a decrease), and increased trade (rather than decreased). Furthermore, work done outside the home—such as herding—was typically performed by men and began to be valued more highly than work done inside the home, which was typically performed by women, leading to increased gender inequality.

In prehistory and early history, women worked a variety of jobs including gathering, agriculture, and midwifing. They were not confined to their homes as that would have made much work, such as farming, impossible. There was very little cultural bias against women working, so they did not have to pretend to be male in order to work, as became a necessity in later eras. Women have sometimes been soldiers and fighters, but female warriors are the exception rather than the rule.

Female members of prehistoric communities were often gatherers, responsible for ensuring members of the community could eat regularly, especially when the hunt wasn't successful.

They worked very hard, and certainly didn't lives we would consider full of leisure today.

In prehistoric societies women needed to be outside the home to work, which required women to have a family member as a male escort would make the idea that they could not leave without a male escort impracticable.

Feet binding was a practice for extraordinarily wealthy women in post-medieval China; in any prehistoric society it would have been impossible.

In any society, a minority of women fight as soldiers and warriors but in prehistoric societies, as in contemporary ones, men comprised the majority of soldiers.

Women in Mesopotamian society were generally less powerful than men; however, they enjoyed certain rights and privileges which were uncommon elsewhere in the world. Women had the right to own property and businesses, for example.

In human society, during the Paleolithic Era, men and women served different functions within their tribes. Men were generally responsible for hunting, whereas women were generally responsible for gathering as well as caring for children and preserving tribal harmony. In Paleolithic society, although there was a clear delineation of roles, men and women were largely equal in status. It was not until the Neolithic Revolution that men began to take more and more control over human society.

During the Paleolithic Era women had generally served different roles to men, but were considered equal members of society. The transition to the Neolithic Era, however, reduced the status of women. Agricultural settlements and the growth of cities meant that, for the first time, societies had surpluses and territory to protect. Many societies coalesced around the strongest and most aggressive individuals who could best protect the community from invasion. This led to the rise of men as dominant leaders of society and the decline in the status and equality of women.

Women in ancient Egyptian society enjoyed substantial rights that would have been unfamiliar to women in most of the rest of the world. Women could seek a divorce, own property and businesses, and practice and preach religion. The status of women in paleolithic, mesolithic, and neolithic societies was sometimes better than we might expect, it was only after the rise of civilizations and the rule of might that the status of women began to decline around the world.

The Neolithic revolution was marked by innovations in agriculture. As a result, not all people needed to be farmers; instead, they began to specialize in different jobs. The answer choice "job specialization" is correct.

This period led to an increase in the food supply (rather than shortages), an increase in the world population (not a decrease), and increased trade (rather than decreased). Furthermore, work done outside the home—such as herding—was typically performed by men and began to be valued more highly than work done inside the home, which was typically performed by women, leading to increased gender inequality.

In prehistory and early history, women worked a variety of jobs including gathering, agriculture, and midwifing. They were not confined to their homes as that would have made much work, such as farming, impossible. There was very little cultural bias against women working, so they did not have to pretend to be male in order to work, as became a necessity in later eras. Women have sometimes been soldiers and fighters, but female warriors are the exception rather than the rule.

Female members of prehistoric communities were often gatherers, responsible for ensuring members of the community could eat regularly, especially when the hunt wasn't successful.

They worked very hard, and certainly didn't lives we would consider full of leisure today.

In prehistoric societies women needed to be outside the home to work, which required women to have a family member as a male escort would make the idea that they could not leave without a male escort impracticable.

Feet binding was a practice for extraordinarily wealthy women in post-medieval China; in any prehistoric society it would have been impossible.

In any society, a minority of women fight as soldiers and warriors but in prehistoric societies, as in contemporary ones, men comprised the majority of soldiers.

Women in Mesopotamian society were generally less powerful than men; however, they enjoyed certain rights and privileges which were uncommon elsewhere in the world. Women had the right to own property and businesses, for example.

In human society, during the Paleolithic Era, men and women served different functions within their tribes. Men were generally responsible for hunting, whereas women were generally responsible for gathering as well as caring for children and preserving tribal harmony. In Paleolithic society, although there was a clear delineation of roles, men and women were largely equal in status. It was not until the Neolithic Revolution that men began to take more and more control over human society.

During the Paleolithic Era women had generally served different roles to men, but were considered equal members of society. The transition to the Neolithic Era, however, reduced the status of women. Agricultural settlements and the growth of cities meant that, for the first time, societies had surpluses and territory to protect. Many societies coalesced around the strongest and most aggressive individuals who could best protect the community from invasion. This led to the rise of men as dominant leaders of society and the decline in the status and equality of women.