A groundbreaking study published in Nature reveals that women held significant power in a 4,500-year-old Neolithic society in what is now eastern China. Genetic analyses of dozens of skeletons uncovered in the ancient settlement of Fujia suggest the existence of a deeply entrenched matrilineal social structure — a model of organization rarely seen in prehistoric East Asian contexts. This discovery sheds light on a unique sociopolitical arrangement that persisted over at least ten generations during the late Neolithic period.
A Society Rooted in Maternal Lineage
At the heart of the study is the Fujia site, a Neolithic settlement located in the middle reaches of the Yi-Luo River Basin. Excavations revealed more than 500 burials distributed across two cemeteries flanking an ancient residential area. Through radiocarbon dating, researchers established the burial period between 2750 and 2500 BCE. Scientists conducted DNA analysis on 60 of these individuals — 14 from the northern cemetery and 46 from the southern one.
One of the most striking findings lies in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data. The mtDNA is inherited exclusively from the mother, and in the Fujia sample, all individuals in the northern cemetery shared the same maternal lineage. The southern cemetery showed a separate mtDNA lineage, shared by the majority of those interred. In stark contrast, Y-chromosome data, passed down from father to son, showed a high level of diversity. This pattern indicates that women were the consistent social anchors across generations, while men came from a variety of paternal backgrounds.
The authors summarized their results clearly: “By integrating mtDNA and Y-chromosome analyses, we provide evidence that most individuals at Fujia, irrespective of their sex, were buried according to their maternal lineage.” The burial of males, including teenagers and adults, exclusively in the maternal clan strongly “aligns with the common norms of a matrilineal society,” further reinforcing this conclusion. The findings suggest that kinship, inheritance, and identity were all traced through the mother’s line — a rare organizational principle in early agrarian societies.
Genetic Evidence Points to Stable Matrilineal Continuity
One of the most compelling aspects of the Fujia study is the long-term stability of this matrilineal structure. Genetic evidence indicates that this system endured over 10 generations, reflecting a high degree of social continuity. This consistency contrasts with many other Neolithic and Bronze Age communities, which were predominantly patrilineal and patrilocal — where social identity and inheritance followed the father’s line, and women married into male-dominated households.
Further insights came from the analysis of consanguinity patterns. The genetic data revealed that many individuals likely married second or third cousins, with a few cases involving first-cousin or closer unions. While not necessarily preferred, these unions appear to have been tolerated within the tight-knit structure of the Fujia community. This pattern suggests a closed, endogamous system, where marriage partners were often drawn from within the same maternal lineage or nearby related clans.
According to the authors, such a marriage system could have helped preserve clan boundaries and reinforce matrilineal identity. The stability of these maternal lines through centuries points to a deliberate and structured approach to kinship, possibly reinforced through rituals, norms, or even codified customs that have left no written record.
A Rare Find in East Asian Prehistory
Matrilineal societies have been documented through ethnographic and archaeological evidence in parts of Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and among certain Indigenous North American and African cultures. Yet in the context of Neolithic East Asia, such examples are extremely rare. The Fujia discovery is only the fourth known instance worldwide where DNA has provided direct evidence of matrilineal organization — the others being Chaco Canyon in the American Southwest, early Celtic elites in Germany, and Iron Age Britain.
This rarity amplifies the significance of the Fujia findings. Yu Dong, an archaeologist at Shandong University who was not involved in the research, emphasized this point: “It is exciting to find a matrilineal society in Neolithic China.” The presence of such a community suggests that diverse forms of social organization coexisted across prehistoric China. These results may prompt a re-evaluation of gender roles, power dynamics, and family structures in early East Asian cultures, particularly during the critical transition from tribal settlements to more complex, state-level societies.
The findings also raise questions about how widespread such systems may have been, and whether similar communities existed nearby but have gone undetected due to a lack of DNA preservation or excavation focus. Future studies in neighboring regions may help determine whether Fujia was an isolated anomaly or part of a broader cultural pattern.
