The Woman in Ancient Egypt

Week 2：
Fayza Haikal:
Women's contributions depend on social class, economic power, and closeness to the Pharaoh;
Knowledge is based on the documentation and the hazards of excavation;
新王国以来，大量文献体现了妇女能从事各类工作，例如： nbt pr, anHt n niwt (citizen),
queen: "Wife of the God" or "Votare as of the God." "Hand of the God"

Mariam F. Ayad:
1.woman exercising power; 2. women's economic independence; 3. female literacy
Hatshepsut
2. The God's Wife of Amun
The first appears: Ahmose conferred this title on his Chief Royal Wife, Ahmose-Nefertari
Hatshepsut 时代中断
在第三中间期时，第 23 王朝的 Osorkon 三世重新使用了这个头衔，但他把该头衔给了自己
的女儿 Shepenwepet I
3. A Female Vizier?
Nebet of the end of the Sixth Dynasty（大多数学者并不认可）
4. On Women's Economic Independence
古王国时期：有宗教和行政头衔
新王国时期：有一定的经济自主权
拉美西斯时代以后：有处理财产的权力

5. On Female Literacy
中王国时期：sSt/sHAt
公主王后的女官会读写
女性拥有书写；
女性早在第六王朝时就有自传铭文了；

Lucia Nixon:
Much archaeological research is based with respect to gender.
1.women and men are portrayed in reconstructions of life in the Stone Age; 2. Misapplied gender
polarity in the Minoan and Mycenaeans; 3. the division of labor in archaeology
有一种可能：女性能选择配偶，她们倾向于聪明的男人而不是 aggressive ones

Minoans, Mycenaeans and Misplaced Gender Polarity

the Minoan civilisation:女人有特殊地位；与社会地位相关
On the Greek mainland:女人不是中心

The Division of Labour in Archaeology

女性比例远小于男性；女性成为考古队领导的比例大于男性；女性婚姻比例低；

1. The paradigm shift discussed in the Pollock's paper means adding new materials, creating
new categories and methods to involve women and their history in the paradigm of art
 history. It is very necessary because it challenges the paternal authority of Marxism and
makes use of the theoretical and historiographical revolution. As a result, a feminist
paradigm can present the interdependence of class, race and gender in historical practices.
2. Pollock points out that sexual difference is created by interrelated function of social
practices and certain institutions with the support of the governments which maintain
masculine dominance. She also says that the construction of sexual difference needs to be
added with the psychic construction of sexual difference. In the aspect of culture
representation, she argues that we should recognize the discrimination against women and
rectify their omission. Then, she uses courses in art history to support her idea.
3. Some women became producers of art so as to "construct" the feminine in late -
nineteenth-century Paris in a sense. This idea raises a public concern about 'the woman
question' and makes gender become a center in historical analysis. Therefore, I think it can
affect out interpretation of Egyptian art.
4. Yes, I think that we can discuss Egyptian art in terms of production vs. creation; and
construction vs. reception. First, ancient Egyptians produced beautiful things to satisfy their
demands and they also tried to create new things to stimulate the demand. For instance,
the decorations on the lids of anthropoid coffins had undergone a development process.
They became more and more intricate and elaborate on some cases and reached the peak in
the 21st dynasty, which are based on the creativity of the priesthood of Amun and their
increasing demands for coffins. Second, we could refer to reception to explain how ancient
Egyptians reacted to some artefacts and monuments and apply social construction to
represent sexual difference in ancient Egypt. The art could be considered as a kind of
practices of presentation, because the art can represent things distinct from its social
existence and the abstract concept. I think we can discuss Egyptian Art in such terms,
because ancient Egyptian Art reflects ancient Egyptians' religious idea in general.
5. Nixon pointed out that there are numerous polarised views in older scholarly literature so
we should be careful and critical when reading them. She mentioned several examples of
gender bias in her paper. The first example is Evan and other scholars' views of the relative
status of Ninoan women and men. They assigned a smallef room to woman and a larger one
to men. Another example is to label the Minoans with feminine, non-Greek, and bad; on the
contrary, the Mycenaeans are considered as masculine, Greek, and good. The final example
is the 'story' that the 'matriarchal' Minoans are subjugated by the 'patriarchal' Mycenaeans,
which was used to validate and reinforce the patriarchal 'present'.