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A widespread notion suggests that in certain earlier periods of human history, women had equal standing to men, or even ruled, leading to more harmonious and more peaceful societies. Subsequently, male-dominated systems emerged, bringing ages of conflict and oppression.

The Roots of the Gender System Discussion

The idea of female-led societies and patriarchy as diametrically opposed—following a decisive switch between them—originated in the 1800s through socialist thought, influencing archaeology despite limited proof. Thereafter, it permeated into public awareness.

Social scientists, however, were often less convinced. They observed great diversity in gender relations among human societies, both contemporary and historical ones, and some suspected that this variety had been the standard in prehistory as well. Confirming this was difficult, in part because identifying physical sex—not to mention social gender—frequently proved hard in old skeletons. But around 20 years ago, that changed.

The Revolution in Genetic Analysis

This much-touted genomics era—the capacity to extract DNA from ancient bones and study it—meant that suddenly it became possible to identify the sex of long-dead individuals and to examine their family connections. The chemical makeup of their bones and teeth—specifically, the proportion of isotopes present there—indicated whether they had resided in different locations and experienced dietary changes. The evidence coming to light thanks to these new tools indicates that diversity in gender relations was absolutely the rule in ancient eras, and that there was no clear watershed when one system gave way to its mirror image.

Hypotheses on the Rise of Male-Dominant Systems

One influential idea, in fact credited to Engels, proposed that early societies were egalitarian until farming expanded from the Middle East about ten millennia back. Accompanying the more sedentary way of life and accumulation of wealth that agriculture brought arose the necessity to protect that wealth and to set laws for its inheritance. When communities grew, men monopolised the elites that formed to manage these affairs, in part because they were better at warfare, and wealth passed to the paternal lineage. Male kin were additionally inclined to stay put, with their female mates relocating to join them. Female oppression was frequently a consequence of these changes.

An alternative theory, proposed by researcher a Lithuanian scholar in the mid-20th century, held that woman-centred societies prevailed for an extended period in Europe—until 5,000 years ago—when they were toppled by arriving, male-ruled nomads from the steppe.

Findings of Matrilineal Societies

Matrilinearity (where property passes down the mother’s side) and female-resident patterns (where women remain in one place) frequently go together, and each are associated with higher female status and authority. In recent years, U.S. scientists reported that for over 300 years around the 900s AD, an high-status matrilineal group inhabited a canyon site, in modern-day New Mexico. Later, in a recent study, Chinese experts identified a matrilineal agricultural community that flourished for a comparable duration in China’s east, over three millennia prior. These findings add to previous evidence, implying that female-descended societies have been present on all inhabited continents, at least from the arrival of farming on.

Influence and Agency in Ancient Societies

However, though they possess greater status, females in mother-line societies may not make decisions. This generally stays the preserve of men—specifically of women’s brothers instead of their husbands. And because ancient DNA and chemical traces don’t reveal much about women’s autonomy, sex-based hierarchies in ancient times remain a subject of discussion. Indeed, this line of work has prompted researchers to ask themselves what they mean by authority. Suppose the wife of a male ruler influenced his court via patronage and back channels, and his own policies by advice, did she hold less influence than him?

Archaeologists know of multiple instances of pairs sharing power in the bronze age—the era after those migrants arrived in the continent—and subsequent historical records attest to high-status women shaping decisions in such ways, across the globe. Perhaps they did so in the distant past. Women exerting indirect influence in male-dominated societies could have existed before Homo sapiens. In his 2022 book about gender roles, Different, primatologist a noted scientist recounted how an alpha female chimp, a named individual, chose a replacement to the alpha male—who outranked her—with a kiss.

Elements Influencing Gender Relations

In recent years another aspect has emerged. Although Engels was likely generally correct in linking property with patrilinearity, other factors affected gender relations, too—such as how a community sustains itself. In February, international scientists reported that historically female-line villages in Tibet have grown more gender-neutral over the past several decades, as they moved from an agricultural economy to a trade-focused one. Conflict also has a role. While matrilocal and male-resident societies are equally prone to conflict, says anthropologist a Yale expert, internal strife—rather than battles against an outside group—pushes societies towards patrilocality, because warring clans choose to keep their sons close.

Women as Hunters and Authorities

At the same time, evidence is mounting that women engaged in combat, hunted and served as spiritual leaders in the ancient world. Not a single position or role has been barred to them always, everywhere. And though women leaders may have been rare, they were not absent. Recent genetic analyses from Trinity College Dublin show that there were at least instances of female-line descent throughout the British Isles, when ancient groups controlled the land in the iron age. Combined with physical finds for female warriors and ancient descriptions of women leaders, it looks as if ancient European women could wield direct as well as indirect power.

Modern Matrilineal Societies

Matrilineal societies persist today—a Chinese group are an example, as are the Hopi of the southwestern U.S., heirs of those ancient clans. Their numbers are declining, as state authorities assert their patriarchal influence, but they act as reminders that certain extinct societies leaned more towards gender equality than numerous of our modern ones, and that all societies have the capacity to change.