Have there ever been any matriarchal societies? If not, why not?

Question

According the my anthropology prof, there have never been any societies run by women. I had thought there were a few rare ones, but...you tell me. :)
More importantly, why is society overwhelmingly patriarchal?
Please no pointless misogyny, or even philogyny. Thanks.

Answer 1

There are a few society whose status as matriarchies is disputed among anthropologists and this is as much a debate about terminology as it is about interpreting how another society defines status and such, their self-understanding as opposed to our imposition of categories on them.

Among anthropologists, there are theories that support the plausibility of there having been prehistoric matriarchies.

Among archaeologists, the view is that we just can't know.

I tend to fall on the side of "we just don't know", but also that we need to speak with greater precision about what we're classifying.

And if we look more at the complexity of societies, we're liable to find that the answer to why a particular arrangement developed in particular cases may vary from case to case.


EDIT

For example, in Japan, both name and status are matrilineal... children take the mother's family name. And Japan's principle deity, Amaterasu Omikami, is female. But is Japan a matriarchy? By most measures, Japan has a very sexist society.

Answer 2

Matriarchal Societies In The World

Answer 3

I was told by one of my history teachers in college that the egyptian culture was matriarchal. He also said when the greeks came to egypt and saw this they were shocked at the freedoms that the egyptian women had in comparison to their culture. I'm not commenting on the pharaoh (even though 1 was a woman) aspect of the culture, but to whom things are passed to in lineage.

It is also strange that more culture are not matriarchal due to heirs and lineage passing. It gets complicated if a queen is pregnant and the society is patriarchal. Someone could say hey the queen has a lover and then the heir comes into question as being the kings child. This wouldn't matter if the society was matriarchal because it's ovbious that the child is the mothers.

Answer 4

The world isn't a society. However, some people argue that the earliest human cultures were matriarchal. Whether or not it is true I do not know, I'm no history expert.

Answer 5

There are matrilinial societies, in which property, family lines, and the like are traced from mother to daughter. I think your proffessor is right that there has never been a society where /only/ women could hold power, though there have been many that have been far from patriarchal...

As to why, well, men and women are different, and though individual variation is pretty substantial, aparently, the male impulse towards agression and dominance has never been effectively supressed by a society, while the corresponding impulse in females has been pretty well supressed in many societies (even in those, there are the occassional cases of rebellion by a strong woman, of course).

Our own society, for instance, does everything it can to curb male agression and encourage dominant behavior in females, and still meets with only modest success in imposing statistical equality upon the sexes.

Answer 6

"run by" women - No. However, any anthropology prof surely realizes that for 99% of human history, we were hunter-gatherers, not in real "civilizations" per se. We do have some evidence that women in hunter-gatherer societies had many more freedoms and rights, since they were less dependent on just one man than women in agrarian socieites. They had less children, less frequently and provided much of the family's "income" of food.

Why is society patriarchal? For one reason, men figured out where babies come from, which led them to want to control the activities of their wives a bit more, to confirm paternity.

Once we stopped the extended breastfeeding of the hunter-gatherer woman's lifestyle (which delays ovulation), we started having many more children. This led to greater dependence for the woman.

Also, women don't grow up and stay near their parents and brothers anymore, at least not to the degree they did before. Male relatives provide protection for women.

Finally, we now need something that is difficult to get while caring for a baby: money. It used to be that mothering was compatable with gathering food, so a woman could take care of herself, even with a baby. Now, however, she can't usually have a job and care for the baby at the same time. So this puts her at the mercy of the one making the money on her behalf.

Answer 7

Ok, first off, wow! Not to be mean, but do you go to a community college? Your prof is missing out on a HUGE piece of American History!! It would also appear Wiki is wrong, and this is the 1st I've ever encountered THAT!!

Native American's were WELL known to have a matriarchal system. "The statuses and roles for men and women varied considerably among Native Americans, depending on each tribe's cultural orientations. In matrilineal and matrilocal societies, women had considerable power because property, housing, land, and tools, belonged to them. Because property usually passed from mother to daughter, and the husband joined his wife's family, he was more of a stranger and yielded authority to his wife's eldest brother. As a result, the husband was unlikely to become an authoritative, domineering figure. Moreover, among such peoples as the Cherokee, Iroquois, and Pueblo, a disgruntled wife, secure in her possessions, could simply divorce her husband by tossing his belongings out of their residence. "

I am of Cherokee heritage, know my family history and can tell you that Cherokee women were strong, hardworking, and very powerful within their community.

For more info from the article quoted above go to: http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=23240

Print it out and take it to Mr. Smarty Prof!!
My compliments!

Answer 8

The Seneca Native Americans were a matriarchal egalitarian culture in that coveture (the practice of sur-naming as identifying to the individual) was reversed. Women were considered the heads of households in which men married into and changed their last names from their mothers to their wives last names. And the children were given the names of the mothers family.

Though men were considered the elders and chiefs of each household, during each conference of the families, the female heads of household sat behind the male spokesperson and advised each of them on manners concerning the tribe.

Answer 9

Most early societies were organized around matrilineal lines. Women were the center of society, althouth were not dominant or "in charge" as we would think about it.

Before agriculture, women generally raised children, cooked, gathered fruits, vegetables, etc. Men hunted. In this role, women were the first scientists. They learned how to cultivate plants, and domesticate animals. They learned methods of food preservation. They learned how to build better houses.

Women, while not "in charge" were the ones responsible for the development of civilization.

Answer 10

According to Wiki, your anthropology prof is correct. Society is overwhelmingly patriarchal because women are responsible for the children and home. Feminists roar about this fact, but it's a fact nevertheless. In ancient societies, before we had bottles and formula, women had no choice but to be tied to their children to nurse them. While men have traditionally been the ones to 'govern', I firmly believe that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.