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Feminising Prehistory, David Oldroyd

Accounting Historians Notebook

In a recent paper Oldroyd (2003) explored the idea, first gaining ground in the 19th century, that a time once existed in prehistory when society was universally matriarchal, and counting and calculation were the exclusive preserves of women. Despite the extreme antiquity of the subject, making proof difficult, there is some supporting evidence. The topic is noteworthy for a number of reasons, not least because it suggests an earlier place for women in the history of accounting than is usually acknowledged. In speculating that the first reckoning/accounting devices - a series of notched bone awls dating from the Upper Paleolithic …