Death, Women and History

Abstract

Most of history has been written and sanctioned by men, about men, and for men. What do we know about the social history of women? Nothing and everything The nothing shows itself in the credits. The everything shows itself in the crucial role of women and what they, and only they, must have learned through their daily lives. Their wisdom came from direct experiences with the facts of life. They cared for the children, the sick, the aging, the injured, and from this came to learn about death differently from their male counterparts. For men, death was related to food for the tribe or a victory over an adversary, in short, something to be carried out. For women, death was presented, not as a killing, but as something taken away, thereby inducing them to contemplate mortality. Only now, in the upsurge of interest in the history of women so long neglected are we beginning to realize their impact on the discoveries in life and death.