By Tabia Masoodi
The fight for an egalitarian society is an age-old reality, and women are the first line of defence in this battle for equality because they bear the brunt of an unequal social setup the most. Though our history has shown that the hunting-gathering societies have largely been egalitarian, moving towards civilisation, agrarian societies turned patriarchal as the creation of wealth due to farming, the concept of male inheritance was born, leading to male-
dominated hierarchies. A gripping vision of the social structures of ancient societies can be obtained by studying gender roles and overall social structure in these societies. It is also noteworthy to mention that historical research abundantly demonstrates that matrilineal societies had more gender equality than patrilineal societies.
At the cusp of agricultural societies was a 9,500-year-old neolithic settlement, Catalhoyuk, often described as a proto-city, marking a transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to more settled agricultural communities. The Neolithic community, which prospered from 7,500 to 5,600 BCE, was a matrilineal society that demonstrated significant gender equality. Catalhoyuk is a Neolithic site in southern Anatolia, near the modern city of Konya in central Turkey.
It was one of the largest urban centres of its time, covering 34 acres and home to approximately 8,000 people(Newitz, A, 2021). The city’s architecture was defined by densely packed mud-brick houses with no streets in between them, suggesting a close-knit community. Residents used roofs for commuting and accessed their homes through a hole in the ceiling connected by a ladder. The design created a maze-like milieu. The proto-city did
not have marvellous architecture, but its cultural significance and artistic expression lay in extensive wall paintings that decorated their homes as well as symbolism and ritual. It was a mixed society that engaged in agriculture and the domesticating of animals, as well as in hunting and gathering. S
MITOCHONDRIAL DNA’S ROLE IN ESTABLISHING LINEAGE
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a type of genetic material that is inherited exclusively from the mother and remains unchanged. This unique inheritance pattern makes mtDNA a powerful tool for tracing maternal ancestry and understanding population dynamics. It is also crucial in understanding past societies – their social and cultural organisation and kinship structures, as well as women’s centrality in maintaining lineage and cultural continuity. Bioarchaeology research in Catalhoyuk offers evidence of a culture that, though traced through maternal lineage, does not exhibit characteristics of matriarchy and patriarchy; rather, gender equality played a decisive role. A settlement where men and women had a comparable status in the community, indicating an egalitarian society.
MtDNA analysis provided insights into the presence of a matrilineal society in Catalhoyuk. A team of researchers led by Maciej Chyleński analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from individuals interred in 35 structures at Çatalhöyük. The findings revealed that genetic ties were frequently traced through the maternal lineage rather than the paternal lineage, particularly during the early stages of settlement occupancy, suggesting a matrilocal
residence pattern that is not seen in other European neolithic sites. However, the study did not suggest maternal kinship between individuals buried together. The findings could potentially be explained either by high variability of maternal lineages within a larger kin group or an intentional selection of individuals for burial based on factors other than biological kinship(Chyleński et al., 2019). This indicates that people didn’t live by strict familial structures based on biology but signified broader social units such as communal and social groups, solidifying the evidence for an egalitarian society. So far, 18 levels of habitation have been discovered, built on top of each other covering 1,2000 years. In initial periods, maternal genetic ties in co-burials were predominant but gradually weakened toward the late 7th millennium BCE.
ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF EGALITARIANISM
The archaeological discoveries from Catalhoyuk eloquently portray an egalitarian society in which men and women had equal standing in life and death. Their burial practices, cultural items, nutritional studies, and geographic organisation all showed that egalitarianism existed in their culture. When taken as a whole, these findings show that society is well-balanced and respects the contributions of all people, regardless of gender.
Burial Practices:
One of the most obvious instances of equality is found in the ungendered funeral customs of this settlement. Equal treatment in death was proved by the comparable circumstances in which the bodies of men and women were interred beneath home floors in a similar arrangement without differences in quality and quantity of grave goods. It is also noteworthy to mention that archaeological studies done by Ian Hodder show knife marks on the bones of certain individuals. It was found that these individuals were later taken out, and their head was cut off for ceremonial purposes. The heads were perhaps of notable individuals such as the head of the family, and were of both sexes.
Dietary equality:
Ian Hodder, a British archaeologist who worked on Catalhoyuk for 25 years, says that the strongest evidence of the equal status of men and women is the equality in food habits. He argues that if men and women lived differently and had some hierarchy present between them, they would eat differently. The dominant group would have had access to better quality food, but Richards and Pearson (2003) analyzed stable isotopes from the bones of 62 individuals buried in a structure at Çatalhöyük, revealing no dietary disparity. The study on tooth wear and cavities conducted by Başak Boz in collaboration with Peter Andrews and Theya Molleson also had the same findings. This research highlights that while women tended to have more cavities than men, there was no significant difference in tooth wear between genders. This finding suggests similar dietary practices and food preparation roles across genders at the site(Hodder, I., 2005).
Artistic expression:
The artistic expression of Catalhoyuk seems somewhat gendered but not in a sense that implies hierarchies between them. Scholars like Ian Hodder argue that the figurines and other gendered art forms likely represent aspects of life, rituals and survival rather than a patriarchal or matriarchal system. For instance, the seated female figurine was initially interpreted by Jmes Mellaarts as Mother Goddess and features like breasts and wide hips are traditionally linked with fertility. These figurines were found in both domestic and communal spaces, indicating their symbolic importance in private and public life. However, newer, more nuanced interpretations suggest that the figurine represents the high status of an older woman that has to do with age and maturity and not gender. In a 2016 article by Hodder, he suggests that the fatness of the female figurines reflects the change in the social structure from egalitarianism to stratification, based more on agricultural production. Therefore, the figurine’s craftsmanship and its association with fatness suggest it symbolized high status in a stratified economy rather than fertility alone(Hodder, 2016).
While male figurines are not prominent, the wall paintings are quite masculine. Male figures were present in the paintings depicting hunting scenes. Even though these portrayals depicted men in communal activities, such art does not emphasize male dominance.
UNGENDERED RELIGION AND RITUALS:
People did not have elaborate spaces for religion nor the concept of priesthood was present. Religions and rituals were practised privately in the domestic setup and symbolic elements such as bucrania, wall paintings, and figurines were accessible to all household members, therefore, both genders seem to be equal participants in it. There were also no separate rituals for burial. The presence of male figurines and animal representations alongside female ones indicates that spiritual symbolism was not limited to one gender, reflecting a more inclusive approach to ritual practices.
Division of labour:
The egalitarian nature of the society was evident in the labour roles as well. Archaeological studies suggest labour division is based on the needs of the community rather than gender. The community did not focus on gender and everyone shared the domestic as well as community work. The above-mentioned study conducted by archaeologists Theya Molleson and Peter Andrews apart from dietary practices also shed light on the kind of work both sexes did. Molleson concluded that the wear and tear on the bones of individuals was similar which suggested that both genders conducted similar work and went through similar stress as well. The research also suggests that soot blanketed the ribs remains of both sexes, implying that cooking and maintaining an interior fire were shared household tasks. It also indicates that the public-private dichotomy was absent in society and both genders spent equal time inside their homes. Another instance related to the making of stone tools, while in almost all societies it was associated with the domain of men, in Catalhoyuk there is no indication of clear distinction in regards to this between men and women. The ashy rake-out found near the
oven for food also had high densities of obsidian present that was fractured while carving out the stone tools(Conolly, J., 1997).
The egalitarianism of Catalhuyok had a positive impact on its society. It cemented a highly cooperative society where resources, labour and rituals were shared equally. The society did not work on stratification and the lack of overall hierarchy resulted in fostering social cohesion and mutual respect for one another while reducing the room for conflict. The society also saw immense economic stability as the resources were pooled and shared within the community.
References
Newitz, A. (2021). 'An Ancient Proto-City Reveals the Origin of Home', Scientific American.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-ancient-proto-city-reveals-the-origin-of-home/
Ohio State University (2019) ‘9,000 years ago, a community with modern urban problems’, Science Daily, 17 June 2019. Available at:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190617114346.htm
Chyleński, M., Ehler, E., Somel, M., Yaka, R., Nska, M., Dabert, M., Juras, A. & Marciniak, A. (2019) 'Ancient mitochondrial genomes reveal the absence of maternal kinship in the burials of Çatalhöyük people and their genetic affinities', Genes, 10(3), p. 207.
doi:10.3390/genes10030207.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331652381_Ancient_Mitochondrial_Genomes_Reveal_the_Absence_of_Maternal_Kinship_in_the_Burials_of_Catalhoyuk_People_and_Their_Genetic_Affinities/citation/download
Hodder, I. (2005) ‘Women and men at Çatalhöyük’, Scientific American, 1 January.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-and-men-at-atalhyk-2005-01/
Richards, M. P. & Pearson, J. A. (2003) ‘Stable isotope evidence of diet at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey’, Journal of Archaeological Science, 32(6), pp. 957–962. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.01.011.
Available at: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Stable-Isotope-Evidence-of-Diet-at-Neolithic-Turkey-Richards-Pearson/c18899b6faa3ff50509245a5c8714f147415d3c3
Hodder, I. (2016) ‘Archaeologists find 8000-year-old goddess figurine in central Turkey’, Stanford News, 10 October. Available at:
https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2016/09/archaeologists-find-8000-year-old-goddess-figurine-central-turke
Conolly, J. (1997) The Catalhoyuk obsidian industry: A study of technology, typology and context. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London). Available at: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10106288
