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AlexHixson

ProfessorGregLewis

History1500

30November2014

SynthesisEssay:WomeninAztecandAksumSociety

ThepreviousessayexaminedgenderrolesinHanandHarappansocietyinordertoshed

lightonhumandevelopment.Ashumanitytransitionedfromhuntergatheringtoasettled

lifestylemarkedbynormativesocialroles,hierarchy,andorganizedlabor,itbegantofavorthe

male.Thispaper,ratherthancomparingandcontrastingtheroleofthefemaleintwodisparate

societieseachrepresentativeoftwodifferenttimeperiods,insteadexaminestheroleandviewof

thefemaleintwosimilarsocietieseachlocatedattwooppositeendsoftheearth.Indeed,by

analyzingtherigorouslypatriarchalgenderrelationsinAztecandAksumsociety,onegains

insightintohow,regardlessofgeographicallocationandinfluencefromotherpeoples,humanity

woulddevelopsimilarlyahemisphereapart.

LocatedinCentralMexico,theAztecthrivedfrom1428to1521,aresultofconquestby

theMexicapeopleoftheearlierToltecpeoples.Afternearly100yearsofsophisticatedrule,the

Aztecwoulddeclinethankstooverextension,aflawedtributesystemandconquestbythe

Spanish(Lockard317).

Althoughmanytextbookauthorsandresearchersseemtodisagreeaboutthespecificsof

howtheAztecsorganizedtheirsocietyandviewedwomen,theAztecdividedsocietyalongthe

linesofarigidpatriarchyassanctionedbyamasculineideology.AccordingtoLockard,males

andfemalesledverydifferentlives:Menservedthestateandwerebroughtupassuchwhile

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womenwerestrictlyresponsibleforchildbearingandweavingyoungboyswenttoschoolto

learnreligion,history,rhetoric,[and]girlsweretaughtdomesticskillsandreligionasthey

preparedformarriageataround16.Lockardwouldthenqualifythestatementbyassertingthat

womenoflowerclasseswerefreertoleavethehouseandpursuecareerssuchasstreetvendors

andmidwives(Lockard319),adescriptionthatmirrorshisdiscussionofHangenderroles.

Bullietnotonlyqualifiesthestatementbutmakesdoingsohismajorpoint:Womenheld

substantialpowerandexercisedbroadinfluenceinAztecsocietydominatedthehouseholdand

themarketsservedasteachersandpriestesses[and]werealsoseenasthefoundersof

lineages,includingtheroyalline(Bulliet318).Oneresearcherfoundthatnumerous

archaeologicalexamplespointoutexceptionstoanddeviationsfromagenderbasednorm,

suggestingthatthebinarybasisofthesexualdivisiondoesnotnecessarilyreflectaccurately

Aztecsocietyandthatotheridentitiesoftentookprecedenceovergenderintheenactmentand

experienceofMesoamericansociallife(Stockett571).Bentley,incontrast,assertsthatthe

womanhadlittleornoroleotherthantoprocreateandobeythepatriarch.Heexplainsthis

trend,asdoesBullietandLockard,bytheintenselymasculineculturethatcomeswithan

ideologythatfavorswarfareandsacrifice(Bentley483).Regardless,thereseemstobea

consensusthatsocialrolesfavoredthemaleinsomeform.

Aksumsociety,initiallyanextensionofKushansociety,wasestablished,accordingto

legend,byMenelik,thesonofQueenMakedaandtheHebrewKingSolomon,around400BCE.

AksumwouldthrivedirectlyacrossfromthesoutherntipoftheArabianpeninsula,wherethe

semiticpeoplesofYemenwouldflourishandinfluenceAksumsocietyprofoundly.Around400

CE,adroughtwouldseverelyweakenAksumandthenafter400yearsofgradualdecline,

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Aksumsocietywouldfinallycollapseby800CE.Leftbehind,however,wouldbeadistinctive

blendofCopticandHebrewfaithsthatwouldenduretothepresent(Lockard210).

Initially,Ethiopiansocietiesfavoredthefemale,butasChristianitywouldspreadthrough

NortheastAfrica,societywoulddevelopalongthelinesofarigidpatriarchy.Priortosemitic

influencefromYemen,EthiopiawasEgyptianinnatureandthereforeplacedthewomanhigher

ideologicallyandsocially.Indeed,thefoundingofAksumideologywasattributedtoamythical

QueenofShebawhosymbolizestheroleandperceptionofwomenattheperiodofthe

introductionofChristianity(Negash1).However,inconstructinganationstate,Aksumsociety

wouldusetheBible,aprofoundlymasculinetext.Assuch,Aksumsocietywasdominatedby

kingswhohadapaternalisticattitudetowardtheirpeople(Lockard209).Onesixthcentury

Byzantinewrotethatthekingworeagoldencollar...stoodonafourwheeledchariotdrawnby

fourelephants...coveredwithgoldplates[and]stoodupcarryingasmallgildedshield(210).

Withoutadoubt,thislavishpatriarchyarosedirectlywiththeriseofChristianity:"The

ChristianizationofEthiopiaismostlytoldasamalestoryMalebiasandtheentrenched

hegemonyofpatriarchalvalueshavenodoubtledtoasuppressionoftherolethatwomenplayed

inEthiopiancivilisation"(Negash6).

Irrespectiveofgeographyandinfluencefromotherpeoples,AmericanandNortheast

Africansocietieswoulddevelopsimilarly.AswasthecaseforAksum,beforeToltecandAztec

rulewerestateless,matrilinealhuntergathererswhoveneratedthefemaleforherlifegiving

properties(Lockard13).However,ashumanssettledanddevelopedvariousstatesaroundbodies

ofwaterinCentralMexico,astrictlydividedpatriarchywouldformwhichtheMexicapeople

wouldcontinueinestablishingtheirempire.Ethiopiansociety,likewise,wouldmakethesame

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transition:influencefromChristianandSemiticfaithsfromneighboringpeopleswouldfostera

societymarkedbyornatepatriarchyandagradualdeclineoftheroleofthefemale.Humanity,

therefore,seemstodevelopalonganinnatepattern:Thetransitionfromfemininetomasculine

societyoccurswiththeriseofmasculineideologiesandthoughtsystemsandwiththetransition

fromhuntergatheringtoasettledlifestyle.

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WorksCited

Bentley,Jerry.TraditionsandEncounters.N.p.:Glencoe/McGrawHillSchoolPub,2011.Print.

Thistext,likeBulliets,offersanalternativeperspectiveonAztecsociety,onethat

strictlydefinesAztecgenderrolesandunderestimatestherolewomenhad.Itallowed

metodeterminewhichaspectsofAztecsocietyaredeemedmostimportantbymost

textbooks.

Bulliet,RichardW.TheEarthandItsPeoplesAGlobalHistory.N.p.:WadsworthPub,2010.

Print.ThesametextbookIusednotbutfouryearsagoinhighschool,TheEarthand

itsPeoplesofferssubstantialinsightintotohowAztecsocietytreatedwomen.

Interestingly,whilenotevenmentioningAksumsociety,Bullietseemstodevotemore

coveragetoAztecsocietythanLockard.Regardless,LockardandBullietmakethe

sameoverallpointsaboutAztecsociety.Bullietemphasizestheinfluencewomenhad

farmorethough.

Lockard,CraigA.Societies,NetworksandTransitions.aGlobalHistory.Boston,MA:

HoughtonMifflin,2008.Print.Muchofmyoverallknowledgeisgatheredfrom

lectureandparticularlythisbook.Thereforeonlydirectquoteswerecitedastoavoid

redundancy.LockardwastheonlytextbookauthortoevenmentionAksuminhis

narrative.Heofferedthemost"balanced"viewofgenderrelationsinAztecsociety.

Negash,Tekeste."Distressed,YetConfident,EthiopiaEnterstheThirdMillennium."

InternationalJournalofEthiopianStudies3.2(2008):121.JSTOR.Web.30Nov.

2014.

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6a91528f36410>.ThispoliticalsciencearticletacklescontemporaryEthiopian

society.Butindoingso,theauthordiscussesAksumenoughtoshedlightonhow

contemporaryEthiopiacametobe.

Stockett,MirandaK."OntheImportanceofDifference:ReEnvisioningSexandGenderin

AncientMesoamerica."WorldArchaeology37.4,Debatesin"WorldArchaeology"

(2005):56678.JSTOR.Web.30Nov.2014.

.ThisresearcharticlefocuseditsattentiononMesoamerica,arguing

withgreatvigorthefutilityofexplainingMesoamericansocietywithgeneralized

descriptorsordevelopmentalnorms.Indoingso,thearticlediscussedAztecgender

relationsingreatdetail.