e was introduced into her life nothing to be compared to the
contributions made thereto in the preceding age. While her horizon
was greatly broadened, and while she benefited by the improvements
in living,--better facilities, comforts, and even luxuries,--yet the
advance was along established lines. We may surely believe that closer
intercourse with outside peoples brought a corresponding quickening
of thought and an appreciation of the merits of grades of life higher
than her own. There was no marked change in the style of dwellings
of the people of the Bronze Age from those of the Neolithic period;
but their furnishings were better, and, instead of the skins of wild
animals, those of domestic animals and, perhaps, woven and brightly
dyed fabrics now served for couches, and were hung about the walls as
a protection against dampness. The utensils of the home were varied
and ornamental, the conventional patterns having given place to other,
though still simple, designs. In the homes of the wealthy, knives and
spoons and the finer grades of vessels were of bronze.

The dress of the women had now become something more than mere
protection for the body. The skins of animals might still suffice
for the clothing of the poor, but the rich man's attire consisted of
well-bleached linens, and, doubtless, woollen fabrics as well. The
garments made of these materials were probably dyed in rich colors, as
the principles of dyeing were well understood. We can picture, then,
a woman of the higher grade, dressed in a tunic, with a mantle of
contrasting color, her hair done up in an elaborate coiffure and set
off by a cap of goat or sheep skin. Projecting from under this would
appear bronze hairpins, perhaps twenty inches in length, of ornamental
design; indeed, her coiffure was such an elaborate affair that it is
quite likely that she slept with it in a head rest, similar to those
which we know were used by the lake-dwellers of Switzerland and are
still used in Japan. Pendent from her neck hung strings of beads and
ornaments made of bone, polished stone, bronze, and even glass and
gold. Her arms were weighted with bracelets, and her legs were adorned
with anklets.

Spinning, weaving, the milking of the goats, the making of curd
and cheese, the modelling of pottery, the preparation of the meals,
assisting with the outdoor work, and the care of her children, made up
the round of woman's life in those days. But there was another element