This Turkish City Was Ruled By Women In Matriarchal Society 9,000 Years Ago, Study Finds

An ancient Turkish city was ruled by females who lived in a matriarchal society, more than 9,000 years ago, a new study has confirmed. Researchers analysed ancient DNA from Stone Age burials of more than 130 skeletons from 35 different houses at Catalhoyuk, an ancient city built around 7100 BC that remained occupied for nearly 1,000 years.

The study published in the journal Science highlights that family members in Catalhoyuk were buried together, at last in the early years. However, over time, habits changed, and researchers found many of the dead had no biological connection. Where there was a genetic connection, it was through the female line, suggesting husbands relocated to the wife's household upon marriage.

"With Catalhoyuk, we now have the oldest genetically-inferred social organisation pattern in food-producing societies," study co-author Mehmet Somel was quoted as saying by Live Science.

Researchers estimated that 70 to 100 per cent of the time, female offspring remained connected to buildings, whereas adult male offspring may have moved away.

"We weren't particularly looking for these maternal connections within buildings, but it clearly shows that male-centred practices people have often documented in Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe were not universal," he added.

There was also a clear pattern of preferential treatment toward females, with findings showing five times more grave goods offered to females than to males.

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Owing to genetic relatedness becoming less central to social organisation in the city, "fostering and adoption-like mechanisms" became widespread, which is also observed in many societies even today.

"Despite this shift, female-centred practices continued at Catalhoyuk through the occupation," the study showed.

The female-centred approach in Catalhoyuk is in sharp contrast to patterns observed in later European cities, which showed evidence of patrilocality, where males stay within their natal community upon attaining adulthood and females move out.

Prior to the study, Catalhoyuk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been known for its large collection of female figurines, which were long debated as possible representatives of a “Mother Goddess” cult and signs of a matriarchal society.