Women were unable to hold bureaucratic positions
except in private houses, and titles such as steward of the
storehouse, steward of the food supplies, steward of cloth,
and seal bearer, who would have held the offi cial seal of the
homeowner, exist from the Old Kingdom (ca. 2575–ca. 2134
b.c.e.). Th e titles of treasurer, major domo (“mayor of the
palace”), and superintendent of the dining room have also
been discovered from the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2040–ca.
1640 b.c.e.). Women generally worked in the service of
other women and were not allowed to oversee the work of
men, though there is a rare example of a female vizier in
the Sixth Dynasty (ca. 2323–ca. 2150 b.c.e.). In the palace
women held many titles, including overseer of the singers,
overseer of amusements, and mistress of the royal harem.
Titles of retail careers have also been discovered, such as
overseer of the house of weavers and overseer of the wig
shop, and evidence also suggests that women sold their own
products at market.
Th e most prestigious profession for women, however,
was the priesthood. Women normally functioned in the cult
of Neith, the patron goddess of the city of Saïs, protector of
women, and goddess of weaving and of war and hunting, and
the cult of Hathor, the cow-headed goddess of childbirth,
sexual love, music, and dancing. Women had lesser roles in
the cults of all gods. Th ey functioned as impersonators of
the goddess and as musicians or dancers during temple ritu-
als. Priestesses also worked one in four months on a rotation
system. Some priestesses would have undergone training as
midwives in the Temple of Neith at Saïs. Most midwives,
however, would have learned their skills at the hands of the
village women and would have received no formal training.
Midwives would have been in great demand, as most women
had at least fi ve children.
Other women became wet nurses for the elite. Royal wet
nurses were held in very high esteem, and children of a royal
wet nurse were considered “milk siblings” to the king. It was
normal for children to be nursed for three years as a safe-
guard against pregnancy and also a way of ensuring that they
were not exposed to contaminated food.
Th e role of professional mourner—hired for funerals
to wail, throw dust over their heads, tear their clothes, and
scratch their cheeks in grief—was also available for the un-
skilled woman. In paintings of tomb mourning scenes, young
girls can be seen standing among the women, indicating that
they were taught the skill from an early age.THE MIDDLE EAST
BY HEATHER D. BAKER
Th e sources for information about occupations in the ancient
Near East are cuneiform tablets inscribed in a variety of lan-
guages, especially Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and Old Per-
sian. Among the earliest intelligible tablets are some bearing
lists of professions. Th ese tablets come from the site of Uruk
in southern Mesopotamia, from archaeological levels dated
to about 3200 b.c.e. Th ey show that the specialization of labor
was already highly developed in Sumerian cities at this early
period. Not only are many diff erent occupations listed, but
there are also clear signs of hierarchical organization, with
terms for various kinds of offi cials and administrators and
also for supervisors and overseers responsible for groups of
craft smen and workers.Granite statue of Ankhwa, the shipbuilder, possibly from Saqqara,
Egypt (ca. 2650 b.c.e.); Ankhwa holds an adze, a woodworking tool
indicative of his trade. (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)
810 occupations: The Middle East