So That's Why

According to D. Brendan Nagle's text _The Ancient World:
A Social and Cultural History (6th Edition)_,
women were demoted to second class status because of . . .

agriculture.

Duh. Why didn't I think of that?
He writes: "Under hunting-gathering conditions a rough egalitarianism prevailed; no one had (or needed) more than anyone else" (4) because societies were constantly on the move. However, with the advent of agriculture "material goods could be accumulated, enjoyed during one's lifetime, and then passed on to the next generation" (4).

Here, I'd like to add, not only do we begin to concentrate more on status, hierarchies, and class wealth, but also we can understand the role of the "passing on" of material wealth created great concern for authenticity of blood-lines. Women had to be monitored, virginity kept, in order to ensure that children actually belonged to their fathers.

Further, Nagle writes: "In hunting-gathering bands children are usually spaced at three- to four-year intervals (by means of late weaning), wheras in agricultural societies women have frequent pregnancies and spend more time caring for children," which, in turn, means that, according to Nagle, women were seen as contributing less to the economic well being of the community and her status shrank.

Hump. Agriculture.
What might this signify for supermarkets???