Latest news with #ElineSchotsmans
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Catalhoyuk: 9,000-year-old city ruled by women, DNA reveals story of matriarchal civilization
In a recent study published in Science, researchers have uncovered genetic evidence suggesting that Catalhoyuk , one of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic settlements located in southern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), was likely a matriarchal society. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now DNA analysis of over 130 skeletons buried beneath the city's mudbrick houses reveals a strong pattern of maternal lineage shaping family and social organisation. Women remained in their households across generations, while men often married in. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about early human societies and highlight the powerful role of women in shaping prehistoric civilisation. Women at the centre: genetic evidence of female-led households At Catalhoyuk, more than 395 skeletons were discovered beneath the floors of 35 houses, dating from around 9000 to 8000 BCE. Using cutting-edge DNA sequencing, researchers found that in the early phases of the city, family members, often genetically related, were buried together. Over time, however, the burials showed fewer biological ties, except when tracing through the maternal line. This matrilineal pattern indicates that women were the anchors of each household, while men likely moved in after marriage. Female descendants were more likely to stay connected to their ancestral homes, which is a key sign of matrilocal living. The study also revealed a striking difference in how men and women were treated after death. Graves belonging to women were found to contain five times more goods than those of men, suggesting not only reverence but possibly elevated social roles. Combined with the discovery of numerous female figurines, believed to be representations of a 'Mother Goddess,' the findings point to a society that revered women both spiritually and socially. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Rethinking ancient power structures Researchers believe these revelations urge us to rethink assumptions rooted in modern, often Western, frameworks of patrilineal dominance. Study co-author Dr. Eline Schotsmans highlighted that many ancient and Indigenous cultures have operated through matrilineal systems, where identity, land, and lineage are passed through the mother's line. Catalhoyuk now joins a growing list of ancient societies , including late Iron Age communities in Britain, where women may have held significant control over property, kinship, and identity. These insights not only reshape our view of gender roles in prehistory but also illuminate the diverse ways in which human societies have been organised across millennia.
Sydney Morning Herald
26-06-2025
- Science
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Australian scientist helping to re-write the story of civilisation
As she painstakingly excavated bones left behind by the inhabitants of the settlement known as the world's first city from their dry, sandy graves, Dr Eline Schotsmans gazed across the fields surrounding her dig site to a volcano in the distance. More than 8500 years ago, these ancient villagers from Catalhoyuk in Turkey – a leading contender for the world's oldest farming settlement – made wall paintings of the same twin-peaked volcano she could see on the horizon. 'It's one of the few moments in my life that I suddenly understood what it is to feel the ancestors,' Schotsmans, an expert in archaeo-anthropology from the University of Wollongong, said. Cutting-edge new DNA analysis of the skeletons Schotsmans helped excavate has revealed the people in this prehistoric outpost of civilisation may have venerated women as the centre of society, upending the assumption early agricultural settlements were ruled by men. Catalhoyuk marks one of the critical turning points in the history of civilisation when, 9000 years ago, Neolithic nomads built a village of mud-brick homes studded with the skulls of wild bulls, weasels and foxes, and began to cultivate crops and tend livestock. Upon the discovery of its remains in the 1960s Catalhoyuk was dubbed 'the world's first city'. The new evidence shows the households of the ancient settlement were dominated by matriarchal lines, and that girls who died were adorned with more elaborate burial offerings than boys. 'Societies that stay at the same spot and do agriculture are usually patrilineal,' said Schotsmans, who was a co-author of the major new findings led by Eren Yuncu and Professor Mehmet from Middle East Technical University. 'Here we're actually looking at matrilineal society, and I think that is quite unique. 'I think nowadays, with the world's problems, it's very relevant. The world is still very male dominated, isn't it? I was looking at the NATO Summit in The Hague, and it's just males.' Experts believe Catalhoyuk was an egalitarian place with little social hierarchy. Everyone's homes were of similar size. The spoils of early agriculture including barley, pistachios and goat milk were shared; bone analysis showed everyone ate well regardless of their sex or family. The people of Catalhoyuk buried the dead underneath their homes. The new analysis of ancient DNA from the burials published in Science revealed family members in a household were usually connected through the female line. Two homes had burials spanning three generations, all connected through mothers. In one building, the children of three sisters were buried together but the child of their brother – a paternal cousin – was laid to rest elsewhere. Females usually remained connected to their household while males moved away, suggesting husbands relocated to their wife's household when they were married. One elderly woman was afforded an 'exceptional' burial underneath the main room of a home she didn't share with genetic kin, with an anklet of deer canines and a grave adorned with boar tusks and beads, suggesting she may have held a prominent social role. For the first time, scientists were also able to identify the sex of children buried at Catalhoyuk through DNA, which showed girls may have been particularly venerated in death. People were often buried with an array of grave goods, including obsidian blades, eagle talons, bracelets of human teeth, hooks fashioned from the jawbones of aurochs and beads made from turquoise, shells and the vertebrae of fish spines. The new paper reveals girls had five times the number of such offerings compared to boys. 'I think it stresses the diversity in social systems. Maybe we should stop with having our Western assumption that everyone is like us,' Schotsmans said. Schotsmans had already studied differences in how men and women were buried by the people of Catalhoyuk, who daubed the bodies of their dead with dyes of malachite, azurite and ochre. Orange stripes of cinnabar often marked the craniums of men, while women were anointed in shades of green and blue, colours associated with the growth, fertility and ripeness which could be related to the society's transition to agriculture. Loading The role of women at Catalhoyuk has been discussed at length since the site was discovered in the 1960s and voluptuous female statues were recovered, sparking imaginations of a 'mother goddess' cult. The new evidence raises the prospect these figurines didn't represent gods or fertility – perhaps they were designed to celebrate the real women of Catalhoyuk, said Professor Andrew Fairbairn, an archaeology expert from the University of Queensland who wasn't involved in the study.
The Age
26-06-2025
- Science
- The Age
The Australian scientist helping to re-write the story of civilisation
As she painstakingly excavated bones left behind by the inhabitants of the settlement known as the world's first city from their dry, sandy graves, Dr Eline Schotsmans gazed across the fields surrounding her dig site to a volcano in the distance. More than 8500 years ago, these ancient villagers from Catalhoyuk in Turkey – a leading contender for the world's oldest farming settlement – made wall paintings of the same twin-peaked volcano she could see on the horizon. 'It's one of the few moments in my life that I suddenly understood what it is to feel the ancestors,' Schotsmans, an expert in archaeo-anthropology from the University of Wollongong, said. Cutting-edge new DNA analysis of the skeletons Schotsmans helped excavate has revealed the people in this prehistoric outpost of civilisation may have venerated women as the centre of society, upending the assumption early agricultural settlements were ruled by men. Catalhoyuk marks one of the critical turning points in the history of civilisation when, 9000 years ago, Neolithic nomads built a village of mud-brick homes studded with the skulls of wild bulls, weasels and foxes, and began to cultivate crops and tend livestock. Upon the discovery of its remains in the 1960s Catalhoyuk was dubbed 'the world's first city'. The new evidence shows the households of the ancient settlement were dominated by matriarchal lines, and that girls who died were adorned with more elaborate burial offerings than boys. 'Societies that stay at the same spot and do agriculture are usually patrilineal,' said Schotsmans, who was a co-author of the major new findings led by Eren Yuncu and Professor Mehmet from Middle East Technical University. 'Here we're actually looking at matrilineal society, and I think that is quite unique. 'I think nowadays, with the world's problems, it's very relevant. The world is still very male dominated, isn't it? I was looking at the NATO Summit in The Hague, and it's just males.' Experts believe Catalhoyuk was an egalitarian place with little social hierarchy. Everyone's homes were of similar size. The spoils of early agriculture including barley, pistachios and goat milk were shared; bone analysis showed everyone ate well regardless of their sex or family. The people of Catalhoyuk buried the dead underneath their homes. The new analysis of ancient DNA from the burials published in Science revealed family members in a household were usually connected through the female line. Two homes had burials spanning three generations, all connected through mothers. In one building, the children of three sisters were buried together but the child of their brother – a paternal cousin – was laid to rest elsewhere. Females usually remained connected to their household while males moved away, suggesting husbands relocated to their wife's household when they were married. One elderly woman was afforded an 'exceptional' burial underneath the main room of a home she didn't share with genetic kin, with an anklet of deer canines and a grave adorned with boar tusks and beads, suggesting she may have held a prominent social role. For the first time, scientists were also able to identify the sex of children buried at Catalhoyuk through DNA, which showed girls may have been particularly venerated in death. People were often buried with an array of grave goods, including obsidian blades, eagle talons, bracelets of human teeth, hooks fashioned from the jawbones of aurochs and beads made from turquoise, shells and the vertebrae of fish spines. The new paper reveals girls had five times the number of such offerings compared to boys. 'I think it stresses the diversity in social systems. Maybe we should stop with having our Western assumption that everyone is like us,' Schotsmans said. Schotsmans had already studied differences in how men and women were buried by the people of Catalhoyuk, who daubed the bodies of their dead with dyes of malachite, azurite and ochre. Orange stripes of cinnabar often marked the craniums of men, while women were anointed in shades of green and blue, colours associated with the growth, fertility and ripeness which could be related to the society's transition to agriculture. Loading The role of women at Catalhoyuk has been discussed at length since the site was discovered in the 1960s and voluptuous female statues were recovered, sparking imaginations of a 'mother goddess' cult. The new evidence raises the prospect these figurines didn't represent gods or fertility – perhaps they were designed to celebrate the real women of Catalhoyuk, said Professor Andrew Fairbairn, an archaeology expert from the University of Queensland who wasn't involved in the study.
