{"id":7075,"date":"2026-06-04T15:35:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/04\/archaeologists-find-ancient-matrilineal-society-in-turkiyes-catalhoyuk\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:35:29","slug":"archaeologists-find-ancient-matrilineal-society-in-turkiyes-catalhoyuk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/04\/archaeologists-find-ancient-matrilineal-society-in-turkiyes-catalhoyuk\/","title":{"rendered":"Archaeologists find ancient matrilineal society in Turkiye\u2019s Catalhoyuk"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Catalhoyuk, Turkiye \u2013 <\/strong>About an hour southeast of Konya lies one of the most exciting Neolithic finds of the 20th century \u2013 the densely populated settlement of Catalhoyuk.<\/p>\n<p>Occupied for 1,000 years from about 7000 to 6000 BC, Catalhoyuk has drawn archaeologists since its discovery in 1958 as they have tried to piece together how its society worked.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/1\/22\/worlds-oldest-cave-art-discovered-in-indonesias-muna-island\">World\u2019s oldest cave art discovered in Indonesia\u2019s Muna island<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/11\/4\/a-look-inside-egypts-newly-unveiled-grand-egyptian-museum\">A look inside Egypt\u2019s newly unveiled Grand Egyptian Museum<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2025\/9\/12\/dinosaurs-to-supercrocs-nigers-bone-keepers-preserve-its-ancient-fossils\">Dinosaurs to supercrocs: Niger\u2019s bone keepers preserve its ancient fossils<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.adr2915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">genomics study<\/a> published in the journal Science revealed that Catalhoyuk\u2019s gender dynamics made it unique among European Neolithic settlements.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery centres around matrilocality, the fact that women remained in their homes while males were more likely to move away when they reached adulthood.<\/p>\n<p>The study\u2019s 46 authors \u201cestimated that 70 to 100% of the time, female offspring remained connected to buildings\u201d, in contrast to other European Neolithic communities, which were patrilineal and patrilocal.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-settlement\">The settlement<\/h2>\n<p>Catalhoyuk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is possibly the world\u2019s first city with clusters of buildings, agricultural production, rituals and even ornamentation.<\/p>\n<p>Today, its remains are in two large tells, or mounds, that have formed over successive generations that built, demolished and built again on the sites.<\/p>\n<p>The homes in Catalhoyuk were built directly on top of one another. Excavations have found about 18 layers of construction, leading to a theory that its inhabitants filled in the lower level of buildings, demolished any structures above them and built new homes on top.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4619651\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4619651\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20250902_DSCF4901-1780388568.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"An archaeologist is seen working at the excavation site of Catalhoyuk, Turkiye [Can Erok\/Al Jazeera]\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4619651\">An archaeologist works at an excavation site at the ancient city of Catalhoyuk, Turkiye [Can Erok\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The two tells lie east and west of a now-dry river that likely branched out into fertile deltas. The west mound was left behind by a later community while the east mound is the Neolithic settlement.<\/p>\n<p>Estimates vary as to Catalhoyuk\u2019s population, but archaeologists have agreed it likely fluctuated over time as people moved to it or away, reaching peak habitation of 3,500 to 8,000 people at times.<\/p>\n<p>The housing clusters were so tightly packed that there were no streets or front doors. Instead, inhabitants probably moved from one building to another over the roofs, which acted as pathways and gathering spaces.<\/p>\n<p>To get into their houses, residents would climb through ceiling hatches that led down to a hearth.<\/p>\n<p>On the opposite end away from the hearth in many of these buildings were clay platforms under which the early inhabitants of Catalhoyuk buried their dead in pits below the homes.<\/p>\n<p>In line with the general equality being uncovered, Catalhoyuk didn\u2019t seem to have buildings that were obviously for worship or governance or belonged to wealthier, more powerful individuals.<\/p>\n<p>However, some were more ornamented than others with intricate wall paintings and bull\u2019s horns plastered into alcoves, benches or raised platforms.<\/p>\n<p>And these more ornate buildings generally were the sites of larger numbers of burials underneath their floors. Not all of the dead at one site were related to each other, posing a mystery that archaeologists have yet to unravel.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"indications-of-matrilineal-society\">Indications of matrilineal society<\/h2>\n<p>The authors of the genomic study screened 395 skeletons found in the floors of homes and analysed the grave goods they were buried with.<\/p>\n<p>This analysis led to their conclusion that Catalhoyuk may have been matrilineal \u2013 tracing kinship and descent through mothers \u2013 as well as matrilocal.<\/p>\n<p>Although there was no evidence of property ownership, women tended to keep their residency for generations as the males moved in and out.<\/p>\n<p>By exploring the relationship between groups of skeletons found together, the study\u2019s authors found that the skeletons were more likely to be related along maternal lines and it seemed female offspring remained connected to their homes while adult males might move away.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4619649\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4619649\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20250902_DSCF4787-1780388560.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Archaeologists are seen working at the excavation site [Can Erok\/Al Jazeera]\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4619649\">Archaeologists work to uncover the remains and sort out the mysteries of Catalhoyuk [Can Erok\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Another finding suggesting female importance is related to grave goods, artefacts such as beads, pendants and decorations placed with the deceased, often on the wrists or ankles.<\/p>\n<p>At Catalhoyuk, young females, including infants, received up to five times as many goods as boys.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe managed for the first time to identify sex or gender of all these children\u2019s skeletons there,\u201d Polish archaeologist Arek Marciniak, who took part in the study, said while standing in the shade on a plaza on Catalhoyuk\u2019s east mound that his team discovered in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt turned out that the children were more or less the same proportion, girls and boys,\u201d the professor said.\u00a0 \u201cBut all the girls had highly sophisticated burial goods, not the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The study examined the genomes of 131 individuals from 35 houses, a data set more extensive than any prior genomic research on Neolithic settlements in Anatolia, according to Marciniak.<\/p>\n<p>Most Neolithic communities in Europe and elsewhere that have been genomically studied so far show patrilocal and patrilineal patterns, seen as the precursor to patriarchal structures.<\/p>\n<p>Several 19th century thinkers, including Johann Jakob Bachofen and Lewis Henry Morgan, argued that matrilineal societies came before patrilineal ones and reflected an earlier phase of social development.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4619669\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4619669\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20250902_DSCF5172-1780388632.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Catalhoyuk, Turkiye [Can Erok\/Al Jazeera]\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4619669\">Catalhoyuk was discovered in 1958 in southern Anatolia [Can Erok\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhy is Catalhoyuk matrilineal while soon after European Neolithic societies were patrilineal?\u201d mused Ian Hodder, who directed excavation at Catalhoyuk for more than 20 years and spoke to Al Jazeera over the phone.<\/p>\n<p>But the matrilineality of Catalhoyuk did not mean that men were treated badly, he pointed out, adding that there is strong evidence of social egalitarianism.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier studies on human remains ran isotope analysis to determine the diet of females versus males and found no difference, said Hodder, a professor of archaeology at Koc University in Istanbul and professor emeritus at Stanford University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe recent results show that females played a central role but not a dominant role,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo the question is rather why did we become hierarchical?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mother-goddess\">Mother goddess<\/h2>\n<p>There have already been several discoveries of female figurines at the site, which all hinted at the importance assigned to women, current excavation lead Ali Ozan told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>Take the Seated Woman of Catalhoyuk, found in an 8,500-year-old grain bin in 1961 and currently on display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.<\/p>\n<p>With her exaggerated breasts, belly and hips and arms resting on two leopards, the baked clay figurine has stirred conversations over a possible matriarchy, female worship or high social esteem of women at Catalhoyuk.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4597251\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4597251\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Seated_Woman_of_Catalhoyuk_on_black_background-1-1779603221.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"The Seated Woman of Catalhoyuk sits dominantly between two leopards, holding her seat [Creative Commons]\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4597251\">The Seated Woman of Catalhoyuk sits between two leopards [Creative Commons]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Two similar figurines discovered here in 2016 and others found across Neolithic Europe and the Near East have kept the debate going about whether they represent mother goddesses, ancestral women or societal ideals.<\/p>\n<p>Catalhoyuk and its genomics study have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/articles\/1dRznJkKZ6DnG0fXMD2hxNP\/catalhoyuk-an-example-of-true-gender-equality\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cited by proponents of<\/a> the mother goddess theory, which argues that early human society was built on the predominance of the feminine.<\/p>\n<p>Another unusual thing about Catalhoyuk is the lack of signs of organised violence through centuries of its female-centric existence despite other European Neolithic communities suffering violence that sometimes killed dozens of people, Ozan said.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of those centuries, by 5700 BC, Catalhoyuk\u2019s east mound was deserted, and there is nothing to link its unusual existence to what is known today in modern Turkiye.<\/p>\n<p>Some matrilineal cultures remain today around the world, such as among the Mosuo in China, the Minangkabau in Indonesia and the Khasi in India.<\/p>\n<p>The Mosuo people have a matrilineal and patrilineal community, and a study found that women in the matrilineal Mosuo community are healthier than in the patrilineal community while men\u2019s health is the same in both communities.<\/p>\n<p>This equality in physical condition, archaeologists said, is something they have found ample evidence of in Catalhoyuk, indicating an equality in conditions for everybody who lived in this matrilocal, matrilineal community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Catalhoyuk, Turkiye \u2013 About an hour southeast of Konya lies one of the most exciting Neolithic finds of the 20th century \u2013 the densely populated settlement of Catalhoyuk. Occupied for 1,000 years from about 7000 to 6000 BC, Catalhoyuk has drawn archaeologists since its discovery in 1958 as they have tried to piece together how &#8230; <a title=\"Archaeologists find ancient matrilineal society in Turkiye\u2019s Catalhoyuk\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/04\/archaeologists-find-ancient-matrilineal-society-in-turkiyes-catalhoyuk\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Archaeologists find ancient matrilineal society in Turkiye\u2019s Catalhoyuk\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}