women, Mesopotamian

Abstract In Mesopotamia, as in other ancient societies, women tend to be less visible in the archaeological and textual record. Research priorities developed by predominantly male scholars have further contributed to an imbalance in representation, though recent scholarship endeavours to change this. Still, the textual evidence pertaining to women in Mesopotamia is unevenly spread and only throws occasional spotlights on certain aspects, as sources derive from a vast geographical area and, between them, cover no less than three millennia. This makes essentializing impossible: “the Mesopotamian woman” simply did not exist. Rather, the roles of women from different sectors of society changed considerably across time and space. Thus, cuneiform sources provide a kaleidoscope of glimpses into the lives of elite and enslaved women alike, directly or indirectly portraying them as they tend to their families, produce textiles, work as administrators or priestesses, compose letters and literary texts, or are written about in legal and medical compendia.