SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED a female-led society that was so successful that it lasted for more than 10 generations in ancient China.
Women-led clans existed for 250 years at a place called Fujia more than four millennia ago, DNA evidence showed.
The late stone age community lived in Shandong province from 2750 BC onwards, a study in academic journal Nature showed—making it far older than any other known female-led society.
REMARKABLE ELEMENTS
DNA study, radiocarbon dating and other analysis of remains at the site show a number of remarkable elements:
– There were two major communities at the site, each led by a woman.
– The women were dominant in society, so when a male got married, he left his family to become part of his wife’s.
– When an adult died, he or she was not buried next to their spouse, but close to the female leader of the clan from which he or she came.
– In a matrilineal society, factors such as family bloodlines and inheritance would have gone from mothers to daughters instead of fathers to sons.
– Historically, around the world, women marry outside their clans to stretch the “gene pool”, but in Fujia, “male individuals married women from nearby communities to maintain their authority within the kin group”, the study said.
She may be your cousin, but if she’s close to The Mother…
OLDEST BY FAR
While other women-led societies have been found around the world, the one in China is the oldest by far. The previous oldest DNA-confirmed one was the Chaco Canyon dynasty in North America, dated to AD 800.
The Fujia community lasted for about two and half centuries. It existed between the northern foothills of the Tai-Yi Mountains and the southern coast of Bohai Bay, in Shandong, the coastal area between Beijing and Shanghai.
The findings come from an examination of an ancient site which included two cemeteries. Many of the 500 skeletons were in relatively good condition, so Chinese scientists tested the DNA of 60 individuals.
From the results, they were amazed to realize that the cemeteries were organized completely differently to those from anywhere else. In each of the two burial areas, Y-chromosome DNA (inherited from males) was diverse, while mitochondrial DNA (passed only from mothers) was not diverse at all.
This indicated a societal structure built around the women of a family, with men being taken into the clan as needed. In Fujia, there were two major female clans, each with its own cemetery—and each led by one ruler, a woman.
What would life had been like in a women-led society? The archeological remains at the site are similar to those found elsewhere. There was a kiln on the site, so they would have spent time making pots. For sustenance, the people would have planted millet and raised farm animals for food, with occasional fish from the nearby coast.
But life in stone age times was never easy. While there were some mature people, the average age of the skeletons buried in the cemeteries, scientists said, was 23 years and three months.
A link to the original paper is provided.