Searching for the Mothers

 

The Carnac stones 
Credit: Steffen Heilfort 

You think you know everything. And then you read “Europas mödrar. De senaste 43 000 åren” and realize that you really didn´t know anything. Anything.At.All. This Swedish book, published last year and written by science reporter Karin Bojs, attempts to summarize the current state of mainline archeological research on the European Stone Age (with some landfalls in the Bronze Age). In translation, the title means “The Mothers of Europe. The last 43,000 years”. The main themes of the book include the role of female labor in Stone Age cultures and (of course) whether or not matriarchy existed, and if so, where patriarchy comes from. Controversial Lithuanian archeologist, the late Marija Gimbutas, plays center stage. Bojs believes that DNA research has vindicated at least some of Gimbutas´ speculations. There is also an undertone of criticism against political correctness in archeology (any political correctness – I assume Bojs is a liberal and Gimbutas was a feminist icon). Bojs believes that objective research into the origins and expansion of the Indo-Europeans has been hampered by some kind of irrational fear of said research being “Nazi”.

Although the book is intended for a mass audience, it covers a lot of ground in little under 300 pages. My main take away from it is that “pre-history” really is a ridiculous term (and so is His-Story). Human history (and herstory) begins at the very least the moment Homo sapiens acquires the ability to speak and communicate through a complex language – which we did already during the Paleolithic. The rest of the so-called Stone Age (in itself a problematic term) includes complex patterns of migrations, cultural interactions and ditto changes. In other words, what we would call “history” if it had happened after the invention of writing.

And speaking of that writing…

Bojs believes that the first writing system might have been invented by the Vinca culture in the Balkans, rather than by Egyptians or Sumerians. The Vinca people also invented metallurgy, yet their culture is weirdly still classified as “Stone Age”. At Carnac in Brittany, a Neolithic culture of megalith-builders apparently had the ability to cross the Bay of Biscay in boats, loaded with 100 tonne stone slabs! The yoke, the plow and the wheel were invented in northern Europe, perhaps in Denmark, rather than in the Middle East. Which doesn´t mean those guys were stupid. At the famed Göbekli Tepe (in today´s Turkey), people were producing ale and porridge in massive quantities, suggesting they must have had agriculture, despite being a hunter and gatherer culture otherwise. That, and they built rather large monuments – Göbekli Tepe itself. The Stone Age has never been so advanced…

DNA research has more or less conclusively proven that the Indo-Europeans really did come from the area north of the Black Sea and then expanded westward into the rest of Europe. Or invaded, if you like that term better. There were several waves of Indo-European expansion. The first one didn´t involve horses, but “only” large cattle herds, overrunning the settlement areas of pre-Indo-European farmers. One reason why the expansion was successful was that “Old Europe” had been devastated by a plague pandemic, presumably depopulating large areas. The old stereotype of Indo-Europeans on horseback (but without chariots) conquering stable Neolithic cultures never sounded very believable, but now we have a more realistic picture.

But what about patriarchy? Marija Gimbutas´ main claim to fame, after all, was the theory that “Old Europe” was matriarchal, and that patriarchy was a foreign imposition of the invading Indo-European hordes. On this point, DNA evidence disproves some of her takes. While it´s true that the Indo-Europeans were indeed strongly patriarchal, patriarchy and class society already existed in Neolithic Europe. It seems to have emerged in northern France, including Carnac in Brittany, where a complex society with a privileged male elite built grandiose tombs for their rulers. They even had implements made of jade! (Apparently, jadeite does exist in Europe. I had no idea.) While the Vinca culture and even the Bronze Age Minoan culture may have been more matriarchal or matrifocal, the megalith-builders weren´t. Patriarchy and hierarchy was further entrenched with the arrival of the Indo-Europeans. DNA studies suggest that while non-IE genetic lineages survived among females, they eventually died out among the males. This suggests that the newcomers monopolized power and resources, making it more likely they would survive and pass on their genes. Note also that the Indo-Europeans often married non-IE females, while the opposite (non-IE males marrying IE females) was presumably extremely rare, suggesting some kind of caste society.

Many other topics are touched upon in this book, too many to go through here: “Neanderthal activism” in the media, the skin color of Paleolithic hunters-gatherers, the myth and reality of the Männerbund, and “the female Viking chief and warrior” recently found at Birka in Sweden (hint: probably not true). Bojs is clearly very well read, at one point even making an oblique reference to “The Arctic Home in the Vedas”! At times, however, her colloquialisms annoy me. But then, the Swedish language in general has been dumbed down and colloquialized lately. The book is still at a much higher level than any tabloid…

Well worth reading, if Swedish happens to be your first language.