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A widespread belief suggests that in some earlier periods of human history, women had similar standing to men, or perhaps ruled, resulting in more harmonious and less violent societies. Subsequently, the patriarchy emerged, ushering in centuries of conflict and subjugation.

The Roots of the Matriarchy vs. Patriarchy Discussion

This idea of matriarchy and male-led societies as polar opposites—with a sudden switch between them—originated in the 19th century through Marxist thought, entering anthropological studies despite little proof. From there, it permeated into popular awareness.

Social scientists, however, tended to be less convinced. They observed great diversity in gender relations among cultures, both modern and past ones, and some suspected that such diversity was the standard in ancient times too. Confirming this was challenging, partly because identifying physical sex—let alone social gender—was often hard in old skeletons. But around two decades back, that shifted.

The Breakthrough in Ancient DNA

The so-called genomics era—the capacity to recover DNA from old remains and study it—enabled that suddenly it became possible to determine the sex of long-dead individuals and to trace their kinship ties. The isotopic composition of their bones and teeth—particularly, the proportion of isotopes found there—indicated whether they had lived in various places and experienced shifts in nutrition. The evidence coming to light due to these advanced methods indicates that variety in gender relations was absolutely the norm in ancient eras, and that there was no definite turning point when a particular model gave way to its opposite.

Hypotheses on the Rise of Patriarchal Systems

The Marxist theory, actually credited to Engels, proposed that early societies were egalitarian before agriculture expanded from the Near East about ten millennia back. Accompanying the more sedentary lifestyle and accumulation of wealth that farming brought arose the need to protect that property and to establish rules for its succession. As populations expanded, men took over the elites that formed to coordinate these matters, in part because they were better at fighting, and assets passed to the male line. Men were additionally inclined to stay put, with their wives relocating to join them. Female oppression was frequently a byproduct of these changes.

Another view, put forward by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas in the 1960s, held that woman-centred societies prevailed for longer in Europe—until 5,000 years ago—when they were toppled by incoming, patriarchal migrants from the plains.

Findings of Matrilineal Societies

Matrilinearity (where wealth passes down the mother’s side) and matrilocality (where women remain in one place) frequently go together, and each are linked with greater female status and authority. In recent years, U.S. scientists reported that for over 300 years around the 900s AD, an high-status mother-line group inhabited a canyon site, in modern-day the southwestern U.S.. Then, in a recent study, Chinese researchers identified a matrilineal agricultural community that thrived for a comparable duration in China’s east, over three millennia prior. Such discoveries add to previous evidence, suggesting that matrilineal societies have existed on every populated continents, at least from the arrival of farming forward.

Influence and Autonomy in Prehistoric Societies

But, though they enjoy greater standing, females in matrilineal societies may not make decisions. This generally stays the domain of men—just of maternal uncles instead of their spouses. And because ancient DNA and isotopes can’t tell you much about women’s autonomy, sex-based hierarchies in ancient times remain a matter of discussion. In fact, such research has forced scholars to consider what they mean by power. Suppose the wife of a king influenced his entourage through support and back channels, and his own policies through advice, was she any less powerful than him?

Archaeologists know of multiple examples of couples ruling jointly in the bronze age—the era following those migrants came in Europe—and subsequent written accounts confirm to high-status women influencing decisions in such ways, continents apart. Perhaps they acted similarly in earlier times. Women exerting indirect influence in patriarchal societies may even have predated Homo sapiens. In his recent publication about gender roles, a titled work, ape expert a noted scientist recounted how an dominant female chimp, a named individual, anointed a successor to the top male—who outranked her—with a kiss.

Elements Influencing Sex Roles

In recent years something else has become clear. Although the theorist was likely generally right in associating wealth with patrilinearity, other factors affected sex roles, as well—such as how a society makes a living. In February, Chinese and British scientists reported that historically matrilineal villages in a highland region have grown less gender-biased over the last 70 years, as they transitioned from an agricultural economy to a trade-focused one. Conflict also plays its part. Although matrilocal and patrilocal societies are just as prone to conflict, says researcher a Yale expert, within-group disputes—rather than war against an external enemy—prods societies towards male residence, because warring clans prefer to keep their sons close.

Women as Warriors and Authorities

Meanwhile, proof is mounting that women engaged in combat, pursued game and acted as shamans in the ancient world. No role or position has been closed to them always, everywhere. And though female decision-makers were perhaps rare, they were not nonexistent. Recent ancient DNA findings from an Irish university show that there were at least instances of female-line descent throughout Britain, when Celtic tribes controlled the land in the iron age. Combined with physical finds for female warriors and Roman descriptions of women leaders, it appears as if ancient European women could exercise hard as well as indirect authority.

Contemporary Female-Line Societies

Matrilineal societies still exist nowadays—a Chinese group are one case, as are the Hopi of Arizona, heirs of those Chaco Canyon clans. These communities are declining, as national governments flex their patriarchal muscles, but they serve as testaments that some extinct societies leaned more towards sex parity than numerous of our modern ones, and that all societies have the capacity to evolve.