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One persistent belief suggests that in certain bygone periods of human existence, females enjoyed equal status to men, or perhaps ruled, leading to happier and less violent societies. Subsequently, the patriarchy emerged, bringing centuries of strife and oppression.

The Origins of the Matriarchy vs. Patriarchy Discussion

This concept of female-led societies and male-led societies as polar opposites—with a sudden transition between them—was seeded in the 1800s via socialist theory, entering archaeology despite limited proof. Thereafter, it permeated into popular consciousness.

Anthropologists, by contrast, tended to be less convinced. They documented great variation in sex roles among human societies, both modern and historical ones, and some theorized that such variety had been the standard in prehistory as well. Proving this was difficult, partly because determining biological sex—not to mention social gender—was often tricky in old skeletons. Then around 20 years ago, everything changed.

A Revolution in Ancient DNA

The so-called ancient DNA revolution—the ability to extract DNA from ancient bones and analyse it—meant that abruptly it became possible to identify the gender of ancient people and to examine their kinship ties. The isotopic composition of their skeletal remains—particularly, the ratio of isotopes found there—indicated whether they had lived in various places and undergone shifts in nutrition. The evidence emerging thanks to these advanced methods indicates that diversity in gender relations had been very much the norm in ancient eras, and that there was not a definite watershed when one system yielded to its opposite.

Hypotheses on the Rise of Male-Dominant Systems

The Marxist idea, actually credited to Marx’s collaborator, suggested that early societies were egalitarian before agriculture spread from the Middle East about ten millennia back. With the more sedentary way of life and accumulation of wealth that agriculture introduced arose the need to protect that wealth and to set laws for its inheritance. When populations grew, men monopolised the leading groups that developed to manage these affairs, in part because they were more skilled at warfare, and wealth passed to the paternal lineage. Male kin were also more likely to stay put, with their wives moving to live with them. Women’s subordination was often a byproduct of these shifts.

An alternative view, proposed by researcher Marija Gimbutas in the mid-20th century, was that woman-centred societies prevailed for longer in Europe—until 5,000 years ago—after which they were overthrown by arriving, male-ruled nomads from the plains.

Evidence of Female-Line Societies

Female-line descent (where property is inherited through the female line) and female-resident patterns (where women stay together) often go together, and each are associated with greater female status and influence. In 2017, U.S. scientists discovered that for over three centuries during the 10th century, an elite matrilineal group inhabited a canyon site, in what is now the southwestern U.S.. Later, in a recent study, Chinese experts reported a female-line farming community that flourished for nearly as long in China’s east, more than 3,000 years earlier. Such discoveries join others, suggesting that matrilineal societies have been present on all populated continents, at least from the advent of agriculture on.

Influence and Agency in Ancient Societies

But, even if they enjoy higher standing, women in mother-line societies may not hold decision-making power. This typically remains the preserve of men—specifically of maternal uncles instead of their spouses. And because old genetic material and isotopes don’t reveal a great deal about female agency, gender power relations in ancient times remain a subject of discussion. Indeed, such research has forced scholars to consider what they mean by authority. Suppose the wife of a male ruler influenced his entourage through support and informal networks, and his decisions by advice, was she any less powerful than him?

Archaeologists know of several instances of couples sharing power in the metal age—the era after those migrants arrived in the continent—and subsequent historical records attest to elite women influencing policies in such ways, across the globe. Maybe they acted similarly in the distant past. Females wielding indirect influence in patriarchal societies could have predated Homo sapiens. In his 2022 book about sex and gender, Different, primatologist Frans de Waal recounted how an alpha female chimp, a named individual, chose a successor to the alpha male—who outranked her—with a kiss.

Elements Shaping Sex Roles

In recent years something else has emerged. While Engels may have been generally correct in linking wealth with male-line inheritance, additional elements affected gender relations, as well—including how a society makes a living. In February, international researchers reported that traditionally matrilineal villages in Tibet have grown more gender-neutral over the past several decades, as they transitioned from an agricultural economy to a market-oriented one. Struggle additionally plays its part. While matrilocal and male-resident societies are equally prone to conflict, notes researcher Carol Ember, within-group disputes—rather than war against an outside group—prods societies towards male residence, because warring clans prefer to have their male offspring close.

Women as Hunters and Leaders

Meanwhile, proof is accumulating that women engaged in combat, pursued game and served as shamans in the distant past. Not a single position or position has been barred to them in all times and places. And even if women leaders were perhaps uncommon, they haven’t been absent. Recent ancient DNA findings from an Irish university demonstrate that there were no fewer than pockets of female-line descent throughout Britain, when ancient groups controlled the island in the metal period. Combined with archaeological evidence for female warriors and ancient descriptions of women leaders, it looks as if ancient European women could exercise direct as well as indirect authority.

Modern Female-Line Societies

Mother-line societies persist today—the Mosuo of China are an example, as are the Hopi of the southwestern U.S., heirs of those ancient clans. These communities are declining, as state authorities flex their patriarchal influence, but they act as reminders that some extinct societies tilted closer to sex parity than numerous of our present-day ones, and that every culture have the potential to evolve.