Ancient city possibly ruled by females living in a “matriarchal society” more than 9,000 years ago, researchers say

An ancient city was most likely led by women living in a “matriarchal society” over 9,000 years ago, according to a study published in science this week.

Researchers have extracted the old genomes from more than 130 skeletons from 35 different houses to Çatalhöyük, An ancient city Considered one of the most well -preserved Neolithic colonies in South Anatolia in Türkiye. About 395 skeletons, a mixture of males and women, were found in serious pits under the floors of the city’s mud brick houses. Occupied for more than 1,000 years (9000 to 8000 BCE), the city was known for its female figurines, the possible representatives of a cult of the “mother goddess” and signs of a matriarchal society.

A team of geneticists, archaeologists and organic anthropologists used advanced technology to analyze the DNA of skeletons over 12 years and found that the maternal line had a key role in the connection of household members, as represented by burials in each building.

During the early years in Çatalhöyük, family members were buried together, but over time, habits have changed and researchers found that many dead had no biological link. When there was a genetic link, it was through the female line, suggesting that the husbands moved to the wife’s house at marriage, researchers said.

Using genetic sequencing, researchers estimated that 70 to 100% of the time, female offspring remained connected to buildings, while adult male offspring can have moved away. There was also a clear pattern of preferential treatment to women, with results showing five times more serious goods offered to women than to men.

“We must move away from our western bias which assumes that all societies are patrilineal. Many cultures, including certain Aboriginal Australian groups, passing identity, land rights and responsibilities through the mother’s line – a matrilineal system”, the co -author of the Eline Schotsmans study, A researcher at the Science School of the University of Wollongong, said in a declaration.

These results arise several months after researchers who have studied social networks in Celtic society in Britain before the Roman invasion have collected genetic evidence of a late cemetery and the Iron Age and find That women were closely linked, while unrelated men tended to enter the community since then, probably after marriage.

Using an ancient DNA review recovered from 57 tombs in the Dorset in the southwest of England, their study, published in the Newspapershows that two thirds of individuals come from a single maternal line. This suggests that women have some control over land and property, as well as solid social support, have said researchers.

The researchers have declared to the publication of their results: “It is possible that maternal ancestry is the main shaper of group identities”.

The Associated Press

contributed to this report.