Women of History: September 2018

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Mysterious decorations on a woman`s bones in a tomb from a few thousand years ago

Unique decorations including parallel lines covered the bones of a young woman buried 4,5 thousand years ago in a barrow over the central Dniester (today`s Ukraine). According to scientists, the markings were made after death and the process of body decomposition.

Image result for bones science in poland images

According to Żurkiewicz, the patterns are clearly man-made. A black substance was used - probably similar to tar obtained from wood, scientists suggest. "Some time after the woman`s death the grave was reopened, bone decoration was performed and the bones were re-arranged in anatomical order" - the researcher describes the course of making decorations.

According to Żurkiewicz, this discovery is unique - so far, no comparable custom among other prehistoric communities in Europe has been recorded.

Ecaterina Teodoroiu - The Romanian heroine who fought during World War I

From Vintage News:

Ecaterina Teodoroiu was born in 1894 and went on to become a heroine of World War I.

She was a woman-soldier during the war, and because of her courage she is still recognized today as a Romanian heroine and is often favorably compared to Queen Maria of Romania. Born to a family of farmers, Ecaterina (Catalina in Romanian) was first educated in her native village of Vădeni at the Romanian-German Primary School. Later, she graduated from the Girl’s School in Bucharest and in 1916, she was ready to become a teacher before the plan was interrupted by the events of WWI. As the Romanian Kingdom entered the war on the side of the Allies, Ecaterina changed her plans and ambitions.

Friday, September 28, 2018

Forbes’ 'Middle East’s Most Influential Women' 2018!

From Al Bawaba:

Throughout the history, the powerful women of Egypt who ruled Ancient Egypt were the unusual wonders of their time, like Cleopatra, Hatshepsut, and Nefertiti.

The extraordinary traits in the Egyptian women have not gone extinct throughout the generations, and it is still being transferred from one great generation to the next one. This year, it was really proven as 20 Egyptian women have made it to Forbes Middle East’s Most Influential Women of 2018.

Among these 20 women in the list, there are 18 figures in the business and 2 heading governmental departments. Forbes’ list is ranked according to the overall revenues of the companies these women led, their current titles, and the growth of entities they had led in the past three years in the business sector. For the governmental departments, their roles, and influence according to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) was put into consideration.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Why are abayas mostly black in Qatar?

From I Love Qatar:

For most women in Qatar and the rest of the Middle East, the abaya is a sign of respect, dignity, modesty and an easy and convenient way to hide the body according to Islamic teachings. It is long and covers the whole body from the neck to the wrists and then down to the feet. It is usually loose and flowing, though some of the newer designs are more form fitting. The abaya is a very common sight in Qatar as well as the other Middle Eastern countries and is also becoming more common in other Muslim countries where woman find it a convenient and comfortable attire to wear over their everyday clothes when they go out of their homes.

It is believed that the abaya, which was also used by women in the pre-Islamic era, was originally worn to protect the body from heat and sand, to avoid direct exposure to the sun, to stay cool in the summer heat, and as a way to protect them from the winds in winter. It still is! It was also, in ancient times, considered a suitable attire and did not hinder women’s everyday chores round the house.

The abaya is complemented with a headscarf called a Shayla or hijab. This is a scarf that’s tied around the head so no hair is visible. Some women also wear a niqab, which covers both the head and the face. It’s mostly a matter of personal choice or traditions.

These female groups prove that feminism existed in Africa since the 15th century

From Face2Face Africa:

Feminism is not a new thing in Africa. It has existed long before the introduction of western cultures, education, the theory of feminism as well as the development of African feminism. Women were allowed to perform specific roles or be part of certain groups that brought prestige and progress to the role of women in African societies.

It is true that many cultures and traditional practices of African societies put men at the forefront of things. But this should not overshadow the fact that many traditional societies allowed women to take up “male roles” which they performed with much pride and diligence.

Though not as many as that of male-dominated societies, there are a few African female societies and groups that demonstrated the existence of feminism in ancient Africa. Today, Africa can boast of staunch feminists such as Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie thanks to ancient African societies and groups such as these.

Ancient Female Master Ceramicist

From Smithsonian Magazine:

Back in 2009, archaeologists at Eleutherna—an ancient city-state located on the Greek island of Crete—discovered a woman’s skeleton that showed unusual signs of wear. As Michael Price writes for Science Magazine, in comparison to the other females at the site, the muscles on the right side of her body were notably developed, while the cartilage on her knee and hip joints was worn away, leaving the bones smooth and ivory-like. Initial analysis of the woman’s remains, as well as the pottery found in similar graves at the Orthi Petra burial site, indicated that the approximately 45 to 50 year old lived between 900 B.C.. and 650 B.C.

Then, as Cara Giaimo reports for Atlas Obscura, the team chanced upon a master ceramicist who lived near the Eleutherna site. The woman demonstrated how she created her large artisan vases—describing the sets of muscles used and subsequent strain experienced—and provided researchers with a key breakthough in the frustrating case. Her movements and the physical toll exacted by the process, Giaimo writes, closely mirrored that of her 3,000-year-old predecessor.

Reviving Japan’s Ancient Ama Fisherwomen Culture

From the Robb Report:

Ohno is part of an elite group of women known as ama uminchu, who for thousands of years have hunted for seafood and pearls in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Toba, in the Ise-Shima region of Japan’s Mie prefecture. One of the country’s oldest professions, dating back to the Jōmon Period (14,000 to 300 BC), the ama have long been comprised almost solely of female free divers, largely because women have more subcutaneous fat than men, and can therefore retain body heat better. And in the past, when diving suits were nothing but a loincloth, keeping warm was a matter between life and death.

Today, the time-honored culture of the ama persists, though it has waned in recent decades. In 1949, there were 6,109 ama in the cities of Toba and Shima, according to the Toba Sea-Folk Museum; today there are only about 760 on the Shima peninsula. In the past, the role of the amahas been passed down from one generation of women to the next. But these days, the average age of a modern ama is 65, giving rise to the fear that this revered profession may cease to exist in the near future.

Friday, September 7, 2018

Ancient Egyptian pregnancy test is revealed by 3,500-year-old papyrus

The text is a rare sample of Egyptian scientific knowledge although many other medical writings have not yet been translated. Pictured: a medical treatise from the New Kingdom era

From Daily Mail Online:

The ancient Egyptians had a pregnancy test which saw women urinate on bags of wheat and barley, texts from 3,500 years ago have revealed.

The medical knowledge of the ancient civilisation including treatments for eye diseases is displayed in the papyrus from the New Kingdom era.

The instructions written on papyrus between 1500 and 1300 BC tell women to empty their bladders into a bag of barley and a bag of emmer and wait for a reaction.

Experts said the ancient pregnancy test advice influenced European medical writing and appeared in a book of German folklore as late as 1699.

Women of Forbidden City: Empresses of Qing Dynasty

From CGTN:

An exhibition exploring the role of empresses of China’s last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), opened recently at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts.

Nearly 200 spectacular objects from the Palace Museum, once known as the Forbidden City, also home to the empresses, are on display at the exhibition which runs until next February 10.

The display is mainly about three empresses, including Empress Dowager Chongqing, who is honored as the Sage Mother after her son Qianlong Emperor inherited the throne; Empress Xiaoxian, Qianlong Emperor’s beloved wife; and Empress Dowager Cixi, one of the most powerful women in Chinese history.

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Sunday, September 30, 2018

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Sunday, September 16, 2018

Friday, September 7, 2018