The Romans were right: they find evidence of the power of Celtic women 2,000 years ago

«She was very tall in stature, terrifying in appearance, with a fierce look and a harsh voice; “A great mass of bright red hair fell to her hips.” This is how an admired Cassius Dion described Boudica, the warrior queen of Britain, in his ‘Roman History’. In 60 AD she led a major revolt against the Roman invaders who had murdered her husband and raped her and her daughters, wiping out 70,000 enemies, no less. His antithesis is Cartimandua, ruler of the Brigantes and of “illustrious birth”, who became an important ally of the Roman Empire during the conquest. Tacitus mentions her in his ‘Annals’. These accounts of leading and empowered women in Iron Age Britain collected by surprised classical authors have often been received with skepticism. Historians write many decades after the death of the protagonists and could exaggerate, distort or incorporate invented parts. “We can’t be sure how truthful the Romans were, since they had their own agenda: to paint Britain as barbaric and uncivilized, with wild women running around without the control of their men,” Lara Cassidy, of the Trinity College Dublin and lead author of new research that nevertheless reveals that the Roman texts contain some truth. Cassidy is leading an international team of geneticists who have discovered in Dorset, southern England, evidence of the existence of an Iron Age Celtic society in which women held, at least in part, political and social. It is the first community of this type that is known in Europe with genetic tests, as revealed this Wednesday in the magazine ‘Nature’. Related News standard No When and how we mate: this is how we receive our Neanderthal inheritance Judith de Jorge Two independent studies with the genetic analysis of more than 300 ancient and modern humans reveal that interbreeding between both species began about 50,000 years ago and continued for 7,000 years. Researchers recovered more than 50 ancient genomes from a unique cemetery used before and after the Roman conquest of 43 AD. C. The site, near the town of Winterbone Kingston, is nicknamed ‘Duropolis’ after the name the Romans gave to the local people, the Durotrigians. Archaeologists from Bournemouth University have been excavating it since 2009 and had observed that the best decorated tombs were those of women. They were generally the ones who took valuable goods, such as pots, mirrors or beads, to the afterlife. Burial of a young woman from Langton Herring, sampled for DNA. She was buried with a mirror (right panels) and jewels, including a Roman coin amulet showing a charioteer representing victory Bournemouth University When reconstructing the family tree of the individuals buried there, the vast majority adults (60 (% were men and 40% were women) scientists discovered that most traced their lineage to a single woman who had lived centuries before. On the contrary, relations through the paternal line were almost non-existent. “This tells us that husbands moved to join their wives’ communities upon marriage, and that land could be passed down through the female line. “It is the first time that this type of system has been documented in European prehistory and it predicts the social and political empowerment of women,” explains Cassidy. According to the researchers, this type of social organization, called ‘matrilocality’, was not limited to Dorset. By analyzing data from previous genetic studies of Iron Age Britain and, although the number of samples from other cemeteries was smaller, they observed that the same pattern emerged again and again. Across Britain, they saw cemeteries in which most individuals were maternally descended from a small group of female ancestors. “It is important to note that matrilocality does not mean matriarchy (a society in which women generally have higher status and more authority relative to men). A true matriarchy has not yet been observed in any human society,” Cassidy points out. However, women in matrilocal societies “tend to exert a lot of influence in many spheres of life and are key actors in the local economy. “While men may hold most positions of formal authority, women are fundamental in the decision-making process,” he adds. Excavation of a late Iron Age Durotrigian burial at Winterborne Kingston Bournemouth University Matrilocality could benefit these women in various ways. «First of all, the woman is not separated from her family. It is the husband who depends on his wife’s family for his land and livelihood. The woman is inserted in an expanded network of relatives: her own family and neighboring families. She is not only a wife and mother, but also a daughter, sister and cousin. He has allies. They also tend to control property and land, play an important role in food production, make key financial decisions, and be a central player in the local economy,” explains the researcher. Thus, although men may continue to dominate in formal positions of authority, women can exert enormous influence through their strong social networks and economic position. «Consequently, gender gaps in education, political participation and competitive behavior are narrower in matrilocal societies. There are fewer barriers to female leadership. “Women also seem to have more bargaining power within their marriages, better access to divorce and less exposure to domestic violence,” he notes. “In light of this,” he reflects, “it is perhaps not surprising that Iron Age Britons were happy to accept female leaders such as Boudica and Cartimandua.” Although it is the first time they have observed such a society in European prehistory, “it is very possible that matrilocality was also present in continental Europe during the Iron Age. In regions associated with the continental Celts, we see evidence of high female social status and wealth in the grave goods in which women were buried. There is much more to discover! points out Cassidy.War and male absence “It is a very complete study,” says Iñigo Olalde, from the University of the Basque Country (UPV), co-author of research also published in ‘Nature’ in 2021 that described the oldest family tree to date. date, about 5,700 years ago, from the remains of thirty individuals from a tomb in Hazleton North, in the southwest of England. “That first great family of prehistory was clearly patrilocal and patrilineal, so a clear change occurred,” he points out. Indeed, in the few sites examined in Europe during the Neolithic, the Copper Age and the Bronze Age, the predominant pattern has been patrilocality. Although in the sophisticated society of El Argar, which spread through Almería, Murcia and Alicante 4,000 years ago, the archaeological remains found have suggested that women were able to exercise power, “it was not a matrilocal society. “Women did not bury themselves there, they married outside,” says Cristina Rihuete, from the Department of Prehistory at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Knowing what could have led to the emergence of such a unique society in Dorset “is a complicated task,” Cassidy acknowledges. «Matrilocality has been associated with greater female participation in food production, greater uncertainty about paternity and prolonged male absence. One of the strongest associations is with war patterns. Specifically, external warfare, with greater male absence, is believed to promote transitions to matrilocality. “It is possible that some of these dynamics were at play in Iron Age Britain,” she says. For the researcher, the study reveals that the diversity of marriage customs and gender roles dates back to the past. «In fact, modern societies reflect only a fraction of the diversity that existed throughout human history. We must keep an open mind when studying the past and not allow our own cultural norms to distort our interpretation of the archaeological record. When a wealthy woman’s burial is discovered or a female political leader is mentioned by the Romans, these cases sometimes tend to be considered exceptional, rather than a reflection of a society in which women could regularly exercise power and achieve high status. status in their own right,” she explains. This is also believed by archaeologist Marga Sánchez Romero, author of the book ‘Prehistorias de mujeres’ (Destino) and who has studied a necropolis in the north of Granada, Panoría, where 4,500 years ago, “it is very possible that a matrilineal society existed.” In his opinion, the article shows that “the variability of human behavior is very important. Over time, women have had different levels and types of power, although in no case were they matriarchal societies. Just like now.” The writings of Dion Cassius also narrate a revealing conversation held by the wives of two leaders of the time, the Caledonian chief (ancient Scotland) Argentocoxos and the emperor Septimius Severus, after the negotiations of a treaty in the year 210. AD Empress Julia Augusta reproaches the other ‘first lady’ for the freedom with which the women of Britain have sexual relations, to which she replies: “We We fulfill the demands of nature in a much better way than you, Roman women, since we associate openly with the best men, while you allow yourselves to be secretly corrupted by the vilest. Celtic women seemed to have things clear.

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