How did previous societies become dominated by men?

Question

In the paleolithic and neolithic era men and women were treated (about)equally. Yet after civilizations started to arise women were discriminated against and put down. Why did this happen and what caused it?

Answer 1

It's simple; men's duties got lighter, and women's duties stayed the same.

During the stone age, there were two principle duties that necessitated the modern role of men and women; gathering food, and maintaining the household.

However, as men hunted in groups, a competitive nature was evolutionarily encouraged, as men who were the best hunters were the most prized of the tribe, and the most attractive mates for a woman. This meant taking risks and competing with other hunters. For a woman, taking risks with your children meant placing your children's lives or your home in danger. Therefore, a nurturing behavior evolved in females while a competitive one evolved in males.

This dynamic changed with perhaps the most significant event in human history: the domestication of animals and the rise of agriculture. When this event happened, a single farmer could produce vastly greater amounts of food than a hunter-gatherer. Because men did not have to dedicate as much time to gathering food, they became free to pursue other goals. Meanwhile, the house still needed to be clean, and the children still needed to be reared.

eventually, the strappings of civilization was built upon men's inherent drive for glory and their relative freedom from their responsibility of gathering food. As more impressive works of civilization were erected, the pomp of certain civilizations increased were the desire for glory made them forget the essential function that women played in maintaining the household, especially when rulers had servants that attended to their every whim. This was different from civilization to civilization. Some civilization treated their women as little more than cattle. Others had a significantly greater amount of respect for their women. Ancient Sparta is a famous example where the women's duty to make more good Spartan babies merited enough respect from the men that they were relatively free to do as they pleased, include practice in the gymnasiums, wear comfortable clothing, take up activities such as dancing or athletics, and even divorce their husband. Another good example is ancient Rome, where despite the fact that women were denyed rights de jure by the government, in reality Roman women were allowed to divorce with the consent of their fathers (which was really no different from the men, as the eldest man of the house was the patriarch), own property, run stores, and go to the baths.

It was only very recently in history that technology granted women respite from their household duties. Washing machines, microwaves, day care centers, schools, vacuum cleaners, among others all made the women's duties light to the point where they could start pursuing their own needs and wants. Along with this newfound freedom came the cultural change that was necessary to foster an acceptance of women in roles traditionally reserved for men. It is largely complete, but of course, we can't expect 10,000 years of tradition to fade in a few years, so it is an organic process.