[DoobieDuck]

I found this article in the recent issue, Volume 63 Number 1, January/February 2010, of Archaeology Magazine and thought it might interest some of our members here at ICMag. DD

Iron Age Priestesses - Eleutherna, Crete by Eti Bonn-Muller

The discovery of a powerful female bloodline--uninterrupted for nearly 200 years--in the Iron Age necropolis of Orthi Petra at Eleutherna is illuminating the role of women in the so-called "Dark Ages" of Greece.



(Courtesy of Prof. N. Ch. Stampolidis)
Last summer, the remains of four females, ranging in age from about seven to seventy, were excavated in an eighth-century b.c. monumental funerary building. Its floor was covered with thin strips of gold, once affixed to burial garments, and the women were surrounded by bronze vessels and figurines, and jewelry made of gold, silver, glass, ivory, and semiprecious stones imported from Asia Minor, the Near East, and North Africa. Other artifacts from the tomb--including a possible stone altar, ritual bronze saws and knives, and a rare glass phiale for pouring libations--suggest these women played an important role in Eleutherna's religious life. Dig director Nicholas Stampolidis of the University of Crete believes the oldest one was a high priestess interred with her protégés.

Adelphi University forensic anthropologist Anagnostis Agelarakis has found all four women shared a genetic dental trait. Further research is expected to confirm they were related to a dozen women unearthed nearby last year, each of whom also had the trait. The other women were buried in three connected pithoi (large ceramic jars) containing equally luxurious grave goods, though without ritual implements.

"This time period is erroneously called the Dark Ages," says Agelarakis. "The finds show that these women were aristocratic. Their social standing was superlative. I mean, the phiale alone--it must have been sent from a 'prince' of Mesopotamia! And their matrilineage was not ruptured for two centuries. I don't think it was dark at all."

[Badgermonkey]

That sounds pretty cool! I'm not sure how well I'd fare in a matriarchal society, even though Netflix has been recommending movies for me due to my preference for a strong female lead .

so are we to assume women fucked up things starting all the way back then ?!??!?!?

either way burying them is not a very humanitarian choice

im thinking make love not war

ok the above was a smart ass attempt to raise the ire of the women of icmag cause i still flirt like a 3rd grader

:: sticks all the girls pigtails in ink and runs away

for real

me and my wife both know our daughter is really as tough as my son







but she gets that from me

[Badgermonkey]

lol

I used to beat my little brothers ass,had 2 big brothers to teach me how to fight!!!

[hippie_lettuce]

Yup I grew up with an older brother and learned to fend for myself lol. We'd try to beat each other up and there was no crying back to mommy..just throwing fists and scratching back! Funny how I didn't try to beat up my little brother.

HL,my "little" brother is STILL a pain in the ass. And heck no,we didn't tell. With 6 kids my Mom and Dad were probably insane anyhow........

[daydreamer]

I think that matriarchal societies are pretty cool. Most were based on the lack of knowledge of heredity. that is, it was obvious who one's mother was, but the father was always uncertain. women owned the house dwelling, the garden/farm, and all the household and farming tools, and all the livestock. men only owned the ceremonial clothes that their sisters, mothers, aunts, and female cousins gave to them. but in return, they could have sex relations with numerous women that would accept them. men's filial responsibilities were to the children of their sisters and their female cousins. from the female perspective, a women could have several lovers, and it didn't matter who fathered her children, because all her children were cared for by her clan.
sounds pretty good to me