Female Opportunities. Egypt was a land in which women were better off than in most parts of the ancient world. Few occupations were completely closed off to women, including occupations having to do with trade and transportation.

Old Kingdom Evidence. Several Old Kingdom relief sculptures show women aboard transport boats; in at least one case, a woman is actually steering the boat. Children aboard the same vessels suggest that in these cases one may be seeing an image of a boat that was owned by a family and that all family members—women, men, and children—worked together on what was essentially a small, mobile family business.

Women Skippers. Most interesting is the fact that several female skippers are known by name to scholars. These women all lived during the Ptolemaic period between 323 and 30 B.C.E. They are...