The Very, Very First Woman

The Very, Very First Woman

Our very earliest ancestor, prehistoric woman was a person probably of great charm, intelligence, ingenuity.  She was neither chattel nor slave then, but rather an inventor, with other women of the possibilities of bending straw to make baskets, discovery of the cohesive quality of clay, researcher of healthful aspects of certain herbs, and, of course the bearer of children.  She, as well as males, learned to harvest grains after they planted seeds, and they kept part of the harvest for winter.  She lived at peace with environment, realizing that earth, fire, water and air could sustain or destroy her.   This is the portrait obtained from the insightful scholarship of Elaine Morgan, who, in The Descent of Woman, 1972, noted fallacies in the generally unquestioned wisdom of masculinists.

So, far from being the despised outcasts of Jean Auel’s novels, it is much more likely that our female ancestors bonded for support and companionship, admitting males on their own terms.  The adventures of these original achievers should be portrayed be creative authors. 

Centuries later, when people moved into caves, our ancestor must have been an art patron who permitted her portrait as the bearer of children and the source of fertility to be painted on walls of the caves.  Her deification as the Great Goddess followed.

Marilyn French continues the saga in Beyond Power, 1985, with men turning to wars for territory control, the subsequent slavery of the women of the defeated group, and their males of the winners to install male gods.  However, underground movements kept Isis alive well into the Roman era. Germanic tribes continued the worship of women until replacement by Christian saints.  Jean Markale, in Women of the Celts, 1975, identifies the original strong position of women, honored in saga, song and folktale.

Today’s struggles for peace, economic equity, political representation and justice for all have roots in antiquity.  While unsuccessful in the past, our glorious history can sustain actions and encourage faith in ultimate success.  Women’s Studies programs provide a great service as they explore the past, examine the present and create blueprints for the future.