The Myth of Matriarchy: Why Men Rule in Primitive Society

There is little doubt that the public’s interest in primitive matriarchies has been revived. Suddenly magazine articles and books appear attesting to a former Rule by Women, as well as to an archaic life-style presumed to differ radically from our own. Because no matriarchies persist anywhere at the present time, and because primary sources recounting them are totally lacking, both the existence and constitution of female-dominated societies can only be surmised. The absence of this documentation, however, has not been a deterrent to those scholars and popularists who view in the concept of primitive matriarchy a rationale for a new social order, one in which women can and should gain control of important political and economic roles.