Rise Of Patriarchy During The Urban Revolution

Alexius Wethington

Dr. McKinney

HIST 1110-02

9 September 2015

Rise of Patriarchy

During the period of time before agriculture, when humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers in the Paleolithic era, there was a sense of equality between men and women. This statement held true until the beginning of the development of a system of male rule called a patriarchy. Patriarchies developed and became more prominent as a result of the agricultural and urban revolutions. The agricultural revolution was a time of “deliberate cultivation of particular plants and taming and breeding of particular animals” (Page 26 of WOW), while the urban revolution was a time where villages transformed into complex cities. Patriarchy developed because man had the physical strength

necessary to defend their land in the event of an invasion, as well as the upper body strength needed for agricultural work. Women became more of home-making figures who were responsible for the care of children during this time.
During the time of the agricultural revolution, men had to protect their livestock from “raiding from neighboring tribes… This has been seen as the origin of warfare, when for the first time people owned a resource which it was both worthwhile and fairly easy to steal” (Ehrenberg, 23).

Physical strength gave men a better chance of protecting the livestock from theft. During the time of the urban revolution, it became necessary for men to become soldiers and guards to protect their home land. Keep in mind that this was a time period before guns, so war was exclusively hand-to-hand combat. Their upper body strength made them a more logical candidate for this than their female counterparts, as women have less upper body strength than men. Reilley states that “Like the surrounding city wall, the king’s military guard served a double function: It provided defense from outside attack and an obstacle to internal rebellion” (37). This gave warriors, who were prominently men, more power in society. In addition to using their upper body strength for warfare and protecting their land, men used this strength to make advancements in

agriculture.
Another reason patriarchy developed was because men had the upper body strength that was necessary in plough agriculture. Ehrenberg states that: “In societies where plough agriculture is practiced and animals are kept on a significant scale, most of the agricultural work is done by men, with women playing no direct part, or only a very subsidiary role” (20). This is because plough based agriculture is much more labor intensive than that of hoe agriculture. ADD MORE INFO HERE. The final reason that patriarchy developed was that: “women would probably have spent more time in food preparation, child-rearing and textile and perhaps other craft production” (Ehrenberg, 23).
Women transitioned from gatherers to home-makers as the agricultural revolution progressed.

Women did still occasionally do agricultural work, but it was a prominently male role. More children were needed to work the fields, so a major role of women became child-bearing. “With more children, urban women had less time for heavier agricultural work and the long, intensive hours needed for cultivation” (Clay, Paul, and Senecal, 27) Women tended to rely on men for nourishment now that they were responsible for child care in the home. An American anthropologist by the name of Marjorie Shostak was conducting research among the San people of the Kalahari Desert, and she became acquainted with a woman named Nisa. She shared with Shostak what it was like to live in a hunting and gathering society whose culture was that of her ancestors (47). After being informed of the loss of her husband, Nisa asked: “Where will I see the food that will help my children grow? Who is going to help me raise this newborn? My older brother and my younger brother are far away. Who is going to help me now?” (WOW Pg

49).

Works Cited
Clay, Catherine, Chandrika Paul, and Christine Senecal. “Women in the First Urban Communities, 2009.” Worlds of History. Ed. Kevin Reilly. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 27. Print.
Ehrenberg, Margaret. “Women in Prehistory, 1989.” Worlds of History. Ed. Kevin Reilly. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 20-24. Print.
Reilly, Kevin. “Cities and Civilization. 1989.” Worlds of History. Ed. Kevin Reilly. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. 37. Print.

For wow citation, page numbers are 26, 47, and 49