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- Convenor:
-
Camilla Power
(University of East London)
Send message to Convenor
- Track:
- Being Human
- Location:
- University Place 4.208
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 7 August, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
This panel revisits the classical controversy of whether matriarchy ever did or ever could have existed. Are there now grounds for reevaluation?
Long Abstract:
In late 19th century anthropology, the prevailing view was of a matriarchal origin of human society, with matrilocal residence, matrilineal descent and significant female authority in the political sphere. The professional discipline of social anthropology emerging in the twentieth century was largely founded on the repudiation of this evolutionary schema. Second-wave feminist anthropologists took another look, concluding that matriarchy was no more than a myth. In the forty years since, new developments in evolutionary anthropology, rock art research, archaeology, populations genetics and detailed ethnographic and mythological analysis provide new tools for a more even-handed reassessment.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 7 August, 2013, -Paper short abstract:
The Female Cosmetic Coalition model is a Darwinian account of the emergence of symbolic culture, language, art and religion. Driven by female strategies for securing male support for energetically expensive offspring, it predicts a lunar, menstrual cosmology central to the world’s first religion.
Paper long abstract:
The Female Cosmetic Coalition (FCC) model uses Darwinian theory to account for the emergence of symbolic culture in modern humans. It makes testable predictions ranging across archaeology and the ethnographic record of hunter-gatherer cosmology.
The key problem for female ancestors was to secure male support for increasingly large-brained offspring. Reproductive synchrony among females could prevent philandering male strategies, leading to selection for lunar periodicity in women's cycles. But these natural factors were not enough. Because it cues imminent fertility, menstruation became a critical signal, liable to cause conflict both between females and among males. Coalitions of related females needed to collectivise and synchronise menstrual signals by cultural, cosmetic means.
In this first ritual performance, a group of individuals shared in representing a fiction. They constructed the symbolic cultural domain by demonstrating solidarity as a kin group to male hunters. Red cosmetics did not so much symbolize 'menstruation' as its antidote -'taboo' or 'magical potency' - setting females apart into sacred space and time, inaccessible to outsider males until hunting was successful. At once, morality (joining the ritual and not offering sex to males before the hunters return), kinship (female and male kin marked out by red cosmetics), economics (obligations of brideservice exchange imposed on outsider hunters) and cosmology (the 'other world') come into force. The FCC model predicts the presence of red ochre in the archaeological record; imagery connecting women and animals in rock art; and an archaic lunar/menstrual cosmology at the heart of hunter-gatherer religion.
Paper short abstract:
Men tell matriarchy myths to explain and justify how they initiate boys – through ritual bleeding modelled on that of women. Not merely ideological constructs, these myths accurately describe how men in real life usurp the capacity for menstrual synchrony which was originally the preserve of women.
Paper long abstract:
Matriarchy myths have been dismissed by some feminists as no more than ideological constructs, designed to justify male dominance by claiming that women formerly abused their power. A closer examination of these myths and associated rituals reveals a more complex picture. The 'rule of women' corresponds not to political coercion but to women's ancient traditions of ritually synchronising their cycles with the periodicity of the moon. Much evidence suggests that for many millennia, prior to the establishment of men's rule, lunarchy in this sense - governance by the moon - was central to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. In that sense, the myths are good science.
Paper short abstract:
Cannot find adequate panel for my presentation “As proven by the Dongnuguo…”, so I am sending it through "other01" Panel. In an attempt to make it fit, I also sent a somewhat similar paper to the panel "G04". Many distinguished scholars admit the “Dong Nu Guo” did exist but no one focused on its matriarchal aspect. Therefore I believe it is a very important topic, and I would much rather present my paper in its original form as I am submitting it in this panel “Other01”. Hoping you will consider favorably my request. Impossible to send an email because “my server cannot be authenticated” (??) Very best regards. M F Darragon
Paper long abstract:
By the 1970's the western world had refuted Bachofen's "early mother right societies" theory; not only archeological evidence was inconclusive but no matriarchal society had ever been discovered, and westerners came to believe that real matriarchies never existed. Not so in China where Chinese scholars are still influenced by Engels' writings and by existing matrilineal populations.
While researching the mysterious ancient star-shaped towers of the Sino-Tibetan Corridor, I stumbled on an "Eastern Kingdom of Women" documented in the Chinese Sui and Tang Annals as "ruled by queens" and where "men had a secondary role" making it a real Matriarchy. These women were no "Amazons": women ruled but men fought. This "Queendom" was at one point very large and quite rich, but mostly encompassed impossible terrain. The Tibetan Empire attacked it and the Queendom collapsed around 742.
This paper will show that the data is sufficient to prove the existence of this matriarchy, and will extrapolate that real matriarchies, in which women overpowered men, can only exist as long as they are not militarily challenged by men warriors led by other men. If the existence of one matriarchal society can be proved, others certainly did exist, but, as that was before the time when large patriarchal states started writing historical records, these matriarchies became part of the mythical past. Neuroscience has also recently proven (Vidal 2005, Jordan-young 2010) that female brains have the same potential that male brains, and that includes the leadership qualities necessary for the existence of matriarchies
Paper short abstract:
Starting from Pleistocenic several Venus and Goddess shows us that the females is very careful observers of synchronicity by menstrual cycle and lunar phases. The study of those correspondences,is done to women a matricentric power.
Paper long abstract:
Moon symbols inside into several Venus of Pleistocenic Age, show us that female were as a very careful observer of synchronicity of menstrual cycle and the lunar phases. By the study of those correspondences, the women reached, at first, very important scientific discoveries relating of many fields of knowledge, as astronomy, mathematics, biology, botanicals and medicine, also giving birth to the beginning of coding myth- rite magic religious systems, based on the concept of a Moon Goddess. Chiefly the systemic study of Laussel Venus, into the context of Pleistocenic culture, can open us the door of mysteries still hidden by time, offering a real increasing of knowledge about origin and decadence of western patriarchal civilization, and founding basis of a possible Resurrection of humankind.