Ancient city possibly governed by women living in a

It is very likely that an ancient city was governed by women living in a “matriarchal society” more than 9,000 years ago, according to a study published in Science this week.

The researchers extracted the ancient genomes of more than 130 skeletons of 35 different houses in çatalhöyük, an ancient city considered one of the most preserved Neolithic settlements in southern Anatolia in Turkey. Around 395 skeletons were found, a mixture of men and females, in tombs of tombs under the floors of the city’s mud houses. Occupied for more than 1,000 years (9000 to 8000 BC), the city was known for its female figures, possible representatives of a “mother goddess” of worship and signs of a matriarchal society.

A team of geneticists, archaeologists and biological anthropologists used tip technology to analyze the DNA of the skeletons for 12 years and discovered that the maternal lineage had a key role in the connection of household members, as represented by burials within each building.

During the first years in çatalhöyük, family members were buried together, but over time, habits changed, and researchers discovered that many of the dead had no biological connection. Where there was a genetic connection, it was through the women’s line, which suggests that the spouses moved to the wife’s house to marriage, the researchers said.

Using the genetic sequence, the researchers estimated that from 70 to 100% of the time, the female offspring remained connected to the buildings, while the adult male offspring may have moved away. There was also a clear pattern of preferential treatment towards women, with findings that show five times more articles of tombs offered to women than men.

“We need to get away from our western prejudice that assumes that all societies are patrilineal. Many cultures, including some Australian indigenous groups, the identity of approval, the rights of the earth and the responsibilities through the mother’s line: a matrilineal system”, the co -author of the study, Dr. Eline Schotsman Australia of science, he said in a statement.

These findings occur several months after the researchers who studied social networks in Celtic society in Britain before the Roman invasion gathered genetic evidence of a cemetery of the late iron age and found That women were closely related, while unrelated men tended to enter the community from another place, probably after marriage.

Using an old DNA exam recovered from 57 tombs in Dorset in southwest England, its study, published in Nature magazine, shows that two thirds of individuals descended from a single maternal lineage. This suggests that women had some control of land and property, as well as strong social support, the researchers said.

The researchers said by publishing their findings: “It is possible that maternal ancestry was the main failure of group identities.”

The Association press contributed to this report.

• DNA
• Genetic genealogy