Modern ideas of masculinity regarding the past have ignored the matriarchal culture of ancient Europe.
The most beautiful burial site of the Copper Age, which was excavated in the southwest of Spain in 2008, is not the last place of the young leader, as scientists think.
As it turns out, the so-called ‘Elephant Woman’ is actually ‘Elephant Lady’.
According to researchers from the University of Seville and the University of Vienna, the Ivory Lady’s molars and incisors both contain the AMELX gene, which is involved in the production of tooth enamel and is located on the X chromosome.
These findings suggest that women also held leadership positions in Europe’s Copper Age societies between 2900 and 2650 BCE.
In fact, people in this part of the world may have been very fond of matriarchs.
In the tomb of the Ivory Lady in Valencia, researchers found a variety of valuables, including a large clay bowl with traces of wine and marijuana, a small copper chain, and various stone fragments. He was buried with a piece of African ivory, weighing 1.8 kilograms (3.9 pounds), which would have been a valuable commodity at the time.
Several generations after his death, well-wishers appear to have left many ivory objects near his tomb, including a shiny sword with an ivory handle.
“The amount and quality of what was used as a burial offering suggests that this young man was a prominent figure in the entire Beaker Copper Age of the Iberian Peninsula,” the authors of the study wrote.
The burial grounds for men at that time paled in comparison to hers.
Another private burial ground with similar “luxury and wealth” has a majority of women and is only 100 meters (328 feet) away from the Ivory Lady. The megalithic tomb contains about 25 people, tied together with gold leaves, crystal arrowheads, and amber beads around 2875 to 2635 BCE.
According to the way the bodies were laid around, these women must have been a group of religious experts.
“Neither in Valencina nor in the rest of the Iberian Cooper Age have any other tombs been found that match the material wealth and sophistication of these two tombs,” the team of researchers working on the Ivory Lady concludes.
Based on the findings, they say that in the late 4th to 3rd century BC in Valencia, “women enjoyed high positions that men did not have.”
Because there were no babies buried with valuables in Valencia at this time, archaeologists think that the popularity of the ancients was not innate. In fact, the Ivory Lady and other female leaders may have achieved their high positions because of their passion and accomplishments.
The Ivory woman herself was probably no older than 25 years of age. Could he be the young leader of a matriarchal society?
“The models presented here invite us to rethink existing assumptions about power, social complexity, and gender differences among early crisis groups,” the authors concluded.
“Furthermore, it opens the door to thinking about the role that nineteenth-century discourses of wealth and gender play in contemporary interpretations, and the power of new scientific methods to challenge historical discourses in the social sciences.” of people and humanity.”
The study was published in Scientific Reports.
