History 120
Women through the Evolution
Human evolution is one of the most interesting topics in history. This is mainly due to the fact that evolution helps in explaining the journey taken by humanity from the past to the present. There are different stages which man went through during the evolution. There is the hunter-gatherer period, then the agricultural period which was followed by the industrialized agriculture. During all these stages, there are some major aspects which have been under scrutiny and have proven to be quite interesting. One of these is the role of women during the two periods. This essay seeks to prove that the role of women in these two periods have been misconstrued where they are perceived to contribute less to the issues of the society.
Generally, it is accepted that society in the past was quite patriarchal. That is, the men were seen as the heads and they held almost all the responsibilities. The women were known to assume the supportive role. However, it has been proven by recent evidence that the women actually played a major role in society. Their contributions were different during the two periods. These contributions are as indicated in the paragraphs below, describing the roles and responsibilities that women had in society.
During the hunter-gatherer period, women played a major role in the assembly of food. It has to be noted that the period was characterized by collecting fruits and other wild vegetation for food and also hunting the birds, wild animals, and fishing for food. These activities tended to be divided among the members of the community. The men were supposed to concentrate mainly on hunting and bringing game meat home. As such, they spent most of their time in the forests hunting and setting up traps to capture the animals. This was quite an important aspect of their lifestyles. The women, on the other hand, did not just sit in wait for their men to bring food home. Rather, they also helped by going out and collecting the fruits and other vegetables that could be used to supplement the meat brought home by the men. More often than not, the women would go out in large groups. They would do the work communally where all the women in a particular setting would plan and go out together. If there were any members of their society who could not go out for some reasons such as injury or lactating women, the others would give a share in order to make sure that the family did not go hungry.
Another role that cannot be denied with regard to women during this period is that they were responsible for passing on the teachings and legacy of their society. Being the main caretakers of the community, they used myths and legends to make sure that their traditions were orally transmitted to their children. They also played a major role in making sure that their history did not disappear with their demise from the world. They were responsible for the creative works that are attributed to the period. As it is noted, there were spectacular cave carvings and paintings of which “it is equally possible that they were made by women.”As a matter of fact, it is at times argued that during this period, the women and men lived in an egalitarian society. The argument is that there might not have been any differences in the roles of the two. The men and women could have played the same roles in the society without the divisions along gender-based lines.
The hunter-gathering society gradually evolved into the farming communities. There were various reasons which could have facilitated this transition. First of all, there was the possibility that the environment was not as supportive of the activities of the people. It could not have produced enough for everyone. Furthermore, the people also wanted to have a settled lifestyle. They also developed various ways through which they could farm and practice agriculture. Most of the activities during this period included the domestication of plants and animals which had been identified as proper sources of food for man.
The women equally had a major role to play during this period. First of all, their role helped in the smooth transition from the hunter-gathering societies to the agricultural society. It is noted that during the transition period, women took up some activities such as weaving, cooking and pottery. They took up these activities at a time when men could not get much from their hunting and gathering activities. As such, the women helped in the smooth transition by ensuring food security.
Another factor that has to be considered is that the agricultural period tended to separate the roles of men and women. As agricultural activities kicked in, the women took up activities which made them localized. They remained at home in order to look after the children and also look after their homes. They also tended to the animals and the crops that were grown in the farms. This could be said to be the beginning of the difference between the men and women simply because they took different paths during the evolution. In the long run, they ended up being the people who held the society together. They contributed a lot to the integrity and stability of their families.
In conclusion, the above account has reiterated the roles and responsibilities of women during the hunter-gatherer and the agricultural periods. It has been noted that there has been much misunderstanding where the women were seen as inactive in society. Indication has it that the women did not just stand back and look as the men did all the work. However, they were active in making sure that their society went on and remained stable. This asserts the fact that women cannot be written off when the issues of human evolution are considered. In as much as their roles might not have been very pronounced, yet they practically did much in making sure that the society’s legacy continued. This is the reason as to why women’s contributions in the society cannot be written off.
Bibliography
Green Wood.n.d.Gathering/Hunting Societies. Accessed on 5th Feb. 2013 from http://gem.greenwood.com/wse/wsePrint.jsp?id=id259
Popkin, Barry M. 2002. The Shift in Stages of the Nutrition Transition in the Developing World Differs from Past Experience? Mal. Journal of Nutrition, 8(1): 109-124.
UNCCarolinaPopulationCenter. 2011. What is Nutrition Transition?
Wsu.edu. 2012. Interesting Observations about the Influence of the Agricultural Revolution. Accessed on 5th Feb. 2013, http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/wcsyllabus/answers/ag.html
