If a society is going to endure beyond a single generation, there is a need to promote and foster appropriate reproductive practices within the group. Very few societies have chosen to do this by allowing unregulated sex. Stigmas are placed on children born out of wedlock because many societies had paternal inheritance patterns. The sons were guaranteed the majority of the inheritance, and the daughters only a bride price, or gift that was given to their husband’s family for taking the daughter. We can almost always determine who is actually the mother of a child, but it is much more difficult to determine who is the father. As societies increased in complexity, and the amount people possessed and were able to pass on grew, it became necessary to assure paternity. The institution of marriage was one solution to this problem. As laws became more sophisticated, written records of adultery, divorce, and inheritance laws appear. By placing legal and social stigmas on inappropriate reproduction, we can assure a citizen, within the limits of human error, that it is actually his son who is his inheritor. This increases his desire to produce and acquire, and is generally beneficial to society. Sumeria was one of the first civilizations to come to reach this conclusion, and as is the case with many of their other laws, their ideas about love and marriage spread throughout the civilized world and still have some sway in the modern era. In Sumeria, marriage among commoners was generally arranged by their parents (Kramer, 1963, p. 78). The engagement was not legally binding until the bride’s family presented the bride price to the groom’s family. Many marriage contracts have been found inscribed on tablets in Sumerian ruins, proving them to... ... middle of paper ... ...ok part in numbers commensurate with the popularity of the king. The attendants would lay the body down and completely seal the tomb. At its opening they would make sacrifices to their fallen king and then bury the entire tomb except for the tops of the walls. Inside the tomb, the king was laid to rest in a brick room in the middle of the structure. Adjacent chambers branching out would hold attendants buried with the king. On a clay floor, people would sacrifice human lives to the king. They would then build a platform on top of the bodies and offer more human sacrifices. As sacrifices continued, the importance of the lives being sacrificed increased until a major sacrifice, such as the queen, was made last. She would get a coffin at the very top of the sacrificial tomb, and a chapel would be built over the whole structure that would indicate the tomb's location. •
The Apostle Paul, urged wives to obey their husbands and husband to respect their wives. This sums up the traditional idea of the family throughout Jewish history as pictured in the Bible. The man was the head of the house, however both man and woman worked together for the benefit of the family. In Ancient Israel, it was the parents who used to find a suitable match for their daughters’. One the suitable match is found, the bride’s family gives the daughter to the groom’s family and in return they were given a gift – a dowry. A married couple was an economic partnership, that is, if the man ended up penniless, his wife would be sold in slavery along with him. The wife’s first duty in the family was to give birth. A boy would’ve been preferred in order to continue her husband’s name. Children were taught by their mothers’ the required technical skills needed to participate in and eventually take over the productive and processing tasks of the family household. If a wife couldn’t conceive, she would give the family’s slave to her husband and any offspring would give the wife the ...
Athenian Women: Just as a mother nurses a child, Athenian society, nurtured and cultivated a submissive role for women. In Athens, women endured many difficulties and hardships in multiple areas including marriage, wealth, and social life. All three elements shaped and formed the mold of the submissive female. In Athens, women had no legal personhood and were assumed to be part of a household headed by a male. Until marriage, women were under the guardianship of their father or other male relative, once married the husband became the woman’s guardian. Marriage, a modern romanticized idea of being united with a lifelong partner by love was the furthest thought from the mind of a woman living in ancient Greece. When a young woman was to marry, she was given in marriage by her male relatives. The woman’s voice had no bearing on the matter legally or otherwise. Marriage was seen as an exchange making it a practical business arrangement, not a love match.
Marriage in ancient civilizations and until the twentieth century was an arraignment made between two families to gain a political and social benefits. One reason divorce and infidelity were prohibited was to ensure families could not lose those benefits. Instead of developing a different system to join two people together, intimacy became another basis for marriage, but divorce and infidelity were still social taboos. Marriage was not structurally built to provide eternal intimacy and those who uses the escapes of divorce and infidelity were punished to be social outcasts. ...
the life of the women, therefore marriage was often viewed as imprisonment and a burden. The
...est were almost always practiced to preserve the dynastic succession. In lower classes, it was not done as much and almost frowned upon. Any marriage was acceptable, as long as it produced children. A fertile woman was seen as a successful woman. Men felt the need to “prove themselves” by fathering as many children as possible. Because the infant morality rate was so high and many more children died before the age of five, there was not a concern for overpopulation.
the family unit underwent drastic change between 1650 to 1800. Where people were discouraged to marry early, needing permission from one such as the Lord to even marry. Which began the “they sneak off to Gretta Green”. Athough many would wait to start a family until they could afford a home before. Its believed that many parents did not form attachments to children due to the unbelievable infant mortality rate, even for those of wealthier households. The young people entered this era having a choice, (which their mothers and fathers never had a choice) to who they married not staying with the choice of their families. Sex before marriage led many young women to have babies to men who stepped back after she was pregnant, leaving her with few
As we studied in class, early Indian culture and society in 300 C.E., the Hindu society was dominated by the caste system, which influenced almost every aspect of life. Each caste had its own particular dharma, carrying with rights, obligations and restrictions. Beyond this was a generalized dharma applicable to all: deference to the Brahmins, devotion to the gods, and reverence for the Ganges and for sacred cattle (Connections, Pg. 58). Procreation too, was considered a sacred duty: large families were seen as blessings from the gods, and any attempt to limit family size was frowned upon (Connections, Pg. 58). Since reproduction was essential to reincarnation, for most people marriage and parenthood were moral obligations.
It is stated that no known societies allow any of their members to have relations with anyone that they please and this is where the regulation of sexual behavior comes in. For example, it is against the norm (guidelines) to have relations with anyone that is blood or close relatives. It is required to have relations with individuals outside of family (Schwartz & Scott, 2012). Reproduction in society is a way to produce new members to help society grow and to keep growing. When new members come into the society, they must be placed into the social placement and be placed into a social status to be taught how to play the role of that society. Socialization also plays apart in society because it is a lifelong process of social interaction that allows its members to learn knowledge, skills of culture, behaving, and etc. to be able to have an effective participation in social life (Schwartz & Scott, 2012). Economic cooperation is essential because children must have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place for shelter. Families are responsible to make sure their children have all
Throughout history, the importance of fertility has been identified and manifested by humanity. Venus Figurines are the earliest representation to the subject of fertility. One of the main concerns of prehistoric man was the ability to procreate and bring forward additional members to the clan. This concern was also shared by our ancestors during the last 10,000 years, and has been the subject of inspiration for many ancient history artists. The two great imperatives in the ancient world were to get married and to have children. If a couple was unable to have children, this could signify they would not have anyone to take care of them in their old age. Another reason for fertility was wealth, more people meant more workers, which meant greater
The most common ancient Egyptian burial practice is the mummification process as depicted in source B. Mummification is a ritual that embalmers performed when a pharaoh died. Source B is a photograph of the canoptic jars which are a main component of the mummification process. The first step in the mummification process is the removal and preservation of most of the internal organs, such as the lungs, the stomach, the liver and intestines. These organs are then separately embalmed and placed into canoptic jars as source B reveals. These jars were often decorated with one of the four animal-headed sons of the god Horus. Each head is believed to be the protector of each organ within the jar and is dedicated to a specific deity. The preservation of the organs is significant as they allowed the dead person to breathe and eat in the afterlife. The internal organs were then wrapped and put into either the body or put in boxes instead of sitting in jars. Canoptic jars were still placed in the tomb but they were solid or empty and provided a symbolic purpose. In Tutankhamun’s tomb the canoptic jars were discovered in a shrine that was found in the treasury room of the tomb. Source B is useful is when understanding the mummification process.
Marriage would mean: the possibility of money, custody of children, property, and potentially some the titles that came with the marriage. Along with Augustus’ legislation, Augustus had many rules set in place to punish those who committed adultery. Adultery was very frowned upon not only when committed by women but also men, which is a historical first. This societal disproportionality was exemplified in concubine relationships, which prior to this was encouraged. Augustus even established an island that offenders of adultery were sent to in order to be separated from the general public to discourage adulterers
The more certain he can be that her child is also his, the more successful he has been in passing on his DNA. That means ensuring that his partner is faithful only to him. Although this impulse has changed with the advancement of civilization, at its core it remains the same. It can be seen in 1542 when King Henry VIII had his wife, Anne of Cleves, beheaded for adultery when he had had many mistresses himself. It can also be seen in ancient rituals that meant to check the virginity of young brides before marrying them to their husbands.
For the duration of time, society perceives men as superior, which infused to their cultural aspect in life. Society instilled male dominance to the minds of young children, imposing a role each sex must play. Girls are slaves of society, submitting to men as their master. And child brides are a perfect way to exhibit patriarchy society (Ludden). The young girl would be married off to take care of her own family, crippling them in attaining an education and getting a job. Girls were not meant to work (Radu). It is also said that the purpose of marrying off girls young was to keep their attractiveness. Roberta Radu says, “'Virginity is an "asset" that families customarily trade for substantial sums of money, so marriage is arranged as early as possible in order to preserve the girl's "desirability". Out of all of these inducements money was the biggest factor. Parents would arrange their daughter marriage due to poverty. The bride’s family would receive a dowry, basically trading girls for money. Again, girls were burdens and the parents used child marriage as a relief...
From the book of Proverbs, we are also told that God designed marriage and sex not only as a means for bringing children into this world, but also as God's appointed means for a man to find pleasure in his wife. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee and miraculously provided wine when their supplies were exhausted. The Apostle Paul also had a great deal to say about the covenant that God ordained between man and woman. Paul assumed that elders and deacons would be married and have bare children. Paul also encouraged younger widows to marry and he claimed the right as an apostle to lead a wife.
Teenage pregnancy has always been present in society. There is research stating that about half the women, born between 1900- 1910, who were interviewed were non-virginal at marriage (17 Ravoira). This contradicts some thoughts that premarital sexual behavior is something new. There was another study done in 1953, it found that one fifth of all first births to women were conceived before marriage (17 Ravoira). Even before our modern openness in discussing sexual behavior and acceptance that it does occur, it was quite routine. In earlier society, the incidence of teenage pregnancy was a moral problem. This was because people looked at the child as filius nullius (nobody's child), or illegitimate and the mother as bad, immoral, over- sexed, etc. (18 Ravoira). The child was being blamed for mearly being born, this is unfair to the child who had no fault in the matter (18 Ravoira). The real problem that was seen was the fact that the children were born out-of-wedlock. People seemed to have real difficulty accepting that the baby is still a baby no matter what conditions it was born under.