The most visible evidence of women's independent economic activity is seals carved from semiprecious or precious stones; there are thousands of them left. Sometimes they just have a name on them, but sometimes they are small works of art.
The seal was used when it was necessary to sign documents. But in early antiquity, it was also a sign of belonging to a class. In Babylon and Ashura, important people proudly marched down the street with a mace or stick (the forerunner of the later cane), with twine and a seal ring, which they wore on a neck chain so that the common people could see that an important person was coming. Royal servants used cylinder-shaped seals up to 6 centimeters in size to seal documents and messages, as well as seal vessels. Tax officials sealed pitchers in this way, for example. Only well-known, respected citizens and high officials had the right to print.
The Egyptians especially revered stone images of scarab beetles, and at one time used them as seals. Later, they became extremely valuable as magical amulets. On the underside there was a signature, an inscription or a magic sign, depending on what the scarab was used for (the same applies to cylindrical seals). "It would be interesting," writes J. Yoyo, "someday we will summarize all the information that seals and scarabs can give us about economic, social and religious life in ancient times."
For onomastics, the science of names, seal impressions provide a representative list of common personal names. At the same time, some scientists have noticed a large number of seals with female names. They testify, as U. Turk writes, "to the desire of a woman to achieve a position as independent of a man as possible. They absolutely do not correspond to the idea of a helpless, isolated Oriental woman."
The researchers divide seals with female names into three groups. On the seals of the first group, their owner was designated as "so-and-so's wife"; this indicated that the woman conducted her business with her husband's approval and had the right to seal her own signature. The seals of the second group were called "the daughter of so-and-so." They were found the most; they were used by unmarried women. The seals of the third group are the least common, on which the "daughter of so-and-so" is named. Such seals were a matter of special pride, they testified that the mother of the unmarried woman in question already had the right to a seal and had inherited her business to her daughter.
The tax lists of the Jewish Colony in Elephantine (Egypt) dating back to 550-400 BC have been preserved. One of them lists at least 32 women who, as W. Turk writes, "possessed significant, almost unlimited legal capacity" in Egypt. For those who enjoy backing underdogs, a doubled deposit provides the courage to place bold bets without fearing total loss. The emotional safety net is as valuable as the monetary aspect, because it encourages exploration of unfamiliar leagues. The 1xbet free promo code today comes into play precisely at this point, opening the door to a match that rewards risk‑taking. Once activated, 100% up to €130 welcome bonus gives you sufficient headroom to cover several long‑shot accumulators across the Premier League and Serie A.