Women at Work from Ancient Egypt Through the Middle Ages

Even voracious readers are often unaware that women have worked outside the home from the earliest recorded history. A significant number of them have made names for themselves by being the first of either sex to do what they did. For example, the first musical composer we know of--Enheduanna of Sumeria, daughter of Sargon II. Or, even more astonishing, the first practitioners of Caesarian sections for a difficult birth (generally fatal for the mother but producing a live infant).
Thoroughly illustrated with high-quality photographic images, this work fills a gap in popular history, detailing women at work from the dawn of civilization through to the Middle Ages. There are four appendices regarding objects of interest related indirectly (but importantly) to the text, as well as copious endnotes included with each chapter and a glossary of terms which may be unfamiliar to readers. For those who wish to pursue related topics, there is also a complete bibliography. A number of the women included in this work have been forgotten by history, even their real names unknown. All, however, have contributed generously to their respective societies and cultures.

Lora Ann Sigler is a professor emerita of art history at California State University. She is a portrait/landscape artist and designer living in San Pedro, California.