Our collective human story stretches back millions of years, reflecting both our biological origins as primates and the social structures that helped our ancestors survive. While we only began writing history a few thousand years ago, evidence from fossils, artifacts, and modern-day communities that practice gathering and hunting illuminate much about how our forebears lived.
From Primate Roots to Early Hominids
Humans belong to the primate family, closely related to monkeys, lemurs, and the great apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. The comparison of skeletal structures, blood types, and DNA reveals that we share much with chimpanzees, whose DNA is nearly identical to ours. Scientists believe that around five to six million years ago, humans and African apes diverged from a common ancestor. In these intervening millennia, we underwent profound skeletal and physiological changes that helped us adapt to new environments.
One of the significant shifts occurred in the pelvis and legs. The hominid pelvis became shorter and broader, supporting upright walking on two legs, while legs grew longer for striding over greater distances in search of food. This process set the stage for later evolutionary leaps, including the growth of the brain. Adaptations in female physiology played a key role here: pelvises widened to make childbirth possible for babies with larger skulls, and human females lost the cyclical period of “heat” seen in many other mammals. Some scholars posit that these female-centered changes alone may have triggered what we now call “hominization,” setting our lineage firmly on a unique evolutionary path.
Emergence of Homo and the Rise of Tool Use
Fossil remains, such as “Lucy” found in Ethiopia, show that by around 3.9 to 4.4 million years ago, hominids could walk on two legs. Lucy stood just under four feet tall, had long arms, and a small brain—only slightly larger than a modern ape’s. Over millions of years, hominids branched into the genus Homo. By roughly 2.6 million years ago, Homo habilis had arrived, leaving behind simple stone tools. These tools, such as flaked stones for hacking roots and scraping meat, suggest an early step toward what would eventually become a vast repertoire of human technologies.
When Homo ergaster and then Homo erectus began migrating out of Africa around two million years ago, they took with them refined instruments, harnessed fire, and a range of survival strategies well beyond those of animal forebears. Eventually, our own species, Homo sapiens, emerged about 200,000 to 100,000 years ago with a brain nearly four times larger than that of early hominids like Lucy. Over tens of thousands of years, Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans) spread across Africa and beyond, shaping new tools, hunting practices, shelter construction, and even watercraft. These transformations provided a foundation for human societies to develop in diverse environments around the globe.
Mitochondrial Eve and Our Shared Ancestry
Although physical features alone offer clues about our evolution, modern genetic analysis provides especially compelling evidence of our shared past. Researchers studying mitochondrial DNA, which is passed exclusively through the maternal line, discovered that all humans on Earth are descended from a single woman who lived in Africa—often called “Mitochondrial Eve.” This finding does not imply she was the only female alive at the time. Rather, she is the earliest maternal-line ancestor to all living humans whose daughters continued bearing daughters, passing on that line of mitochondrial DNA. Estimates for when Mitochondrial Eve lived range widely, from around 100,000 to over 200,000 years ago.
This genetic trace underscores our connectedness. Whatever our current cultures, languages, or physical traits, we share the maternal genes of a woman who walked the Earth ages before modern civilization. This unbroken line of descent highlights a unifying truth: all humans are truly part of the same extended family, shaped by centuries of migrations and adaptations.
Gathering, Hunting, and Early Social Structures
For the vast majority of human existence, people lived as small, mobile groups, relying on foraging and occasional hunting. In many such clans, motherhood was a focal point of the social order—so central, in fact, that these societies are sometimes described as “matricentric.” Early humans probably did not know the role of fathers in human reproduction, since the sex act and the delayed appearance of pregnancy were not obviously linked. Mothers were respected as the source of new life. Consequently, societies often honored women’s reproductive capacities, and the mother-child bond formed the bedrock of communal life.
Evidence from our modern primate cousins, like chimpanzees, illustrates that mothers must learn to raise their offspring; it is not purely instinctive. Early hominid mothers likely carried their infants everywhere and foraged with them, imparting essential survival knowledge. Over time, the invention of containers—possibly by women—enabled mothers to carry water, food, and babies over longer distances. This innovation expanded their daily range, contributed to more consistent food supplies, and allowed for occasional rest days that became important in developing crafts, weaving, and other activities.
Contemporary Gatherer-Hunter Examples
Although nearly every group in the modern world has been touched by industrialization, some communities continued (or continue) to practice gathering-hunting into recent centuries, giving us insights into ancestral ways of living. Two examples are the !Kung of the Kalahari Desert and the Mbuti of the African rainforests.
Among the !Kung, women gather around 70–90 percent of the food, working only two or three days a week collecting mongongo nuts, berries, and roots. Men typically hunt small game and help forage, yet no one goes hungry, and older adults are cared for with respect. Children generally do not work until marriage; they remain free to play and learn. The society values cooperation over dominance, and both women and men speak their minds without fear.
The Mbuti, living in the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also exhibit egalitarian social norms. Both sexes may participate in net hunting. Older cultural traditions among the Mbuti allowed teenage girls to experience sexual exploration in a special hut before marriage, yet pregnancy in that setting was practically unheard of, highlighting community norms around timing and spacing of children. Harmony is central: competition is discouraged, teasing is often playful, and every adult helps to foster communal unity.
Australian Aborigines and Bari Communities
In Australia, Aborigine communities historically survived in some of the harshest climates on the continent’s interior. Women carried wooden bowls of water on their heads, walked miles to gather edible plants, and hunted small game. Men generally pursued bigger game but did so irregularly, occasionally returning empty-handed. Despite the different tasks, both genders were proud of their unique roles, which they saw as complementary. Religious beliefs, known as “the dreaming,” unify their spiritual and communal life, connecting the people with the land and its sacred origins.
On the other side of the world, the Bari once dominated parts of South America but drastically decreased in numbers due to colonial intrusions, disease, and exploitation. Those who survived clung to egalitarian principles: tasks such as building, fishing, planting, and child-tending can be performed by men or women alike. The Bari generally have no strict leadership hierarchy, no concept of land ownership, and they share resources among communal dwellings. Marriage is flexible, divorce is uncomplicated, and intense affection is extended to all children within a group. When they host other Bari groups for “song-fests,” individuals meet in pairs, sing together, exchange gifts, then seek new partners, creating a web of shared social bonds.
Native American and Iroquois Traditions
Archaeological findings in North America reveal early Native American communities with minimal differences in the types of muscular activities performed by men and women. Burial grounds and skeletons bear signs that both genders engaged in hunting, gathering, and other tasks critical to communal life. The Montagnais-Naskapi people of northeastern Canada, for example, shared work in winter and summer camps, with men and women equally capable of hauling logs or cooking meals if needed. Decisions were made collectively, and individuals shunned domination. Jesuit missionaries demanded they change, pushing the Montagnais-Naskapi to adopt punitive child-rearing methods and male authority, which undermined traditional egalitarian norms.
Further south, the Iroquois constructed longhouses that held dozens of people, living matrilineally: land usage rights were transmitted through women, and husbands moved to join the wives’ families. Women, who controlled the stored harvest and determined how to distribute it, decided when the clan would go to war. Although men served as chiefs and council members, they could be deposed by the women’s collective will if they governed poorly. The respect accorded to mothers and female elders upheld a stable balance of power in Iroquois communities for centuries.
The Move Toward Early Farming and Complex Societies
Between 15,000 and 12,000 years ago, humans began to develop rudimentary farming, a dramatic shift from their earlier reliance on foraging. This horticulture—which relied on simple hand tools—allowed people to grow more food than they could consume immediately, leading to surpluses. Over time, growing populations settled in permanent or semi-permanent villages. This new stability brought about the storing and trading of resources, more complex leadership arrangements, and changes in social dynamics.
Evidence from many Neolithic sites indicates that female deities and mother figures often dominated religious culture. Female figurines and paintings from 8000 to 2500 BCE abound in regions stretching from India to parts of Europe, showing women carrying children, caring for animals, grinding grain, and performing rituals. These societies likely recognized a strong link between women’s reproductive capacity and the fertility of nature. That sense of a special connection often manifested in goddess worship and female-centric imagery.
Catal Huyuk: A Model of Peaceful Prosperity
A significant discovery in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), Catal Huyuk was a Neolithic settlement from approximately 7000/6500 to 5650 BCE, supporting thousands of people without any clear signs of warfare. The houses were small, one-room structures made of mud brick, all roughly the same size. Entered by ladder through flat rooftops, these dwellings suggest a society without obvious hierarchies: no streets, no dominating public buildings, and no elaborate palaces.
Paintings and reliefs on shrine walls often depicted goddesses, animals, and scenes of horticulture. Many female figures found in these dwellings have been associated with fertility and regeneration, reflecting common religious themes of the era. Girls, women, and their children appear to be integral to household rites: large communal graves lie beneath the sleeping platforms of these houses, where women’s remains were sometimes given special attention. For over a thousand years, Catal Huyuk thrived: a testament to the possibility of a richly creative, relatively egalitarian urban center in the ancient world.
The Legacy of Female-Centered Worlds and the Rise of Complexity
Across large parts of the ancient Middle East, Europe, and Asia, archaeologists continue to uncover figurines and images of goddesses, as well as symbolic paintings that reference fertility, natural cycles, and regenerative power. In the Aegean region, for instance, the Minoan civilization on Crete flourished around 2000 BCE, leaving behind elaborate palaces, advanced water systems, lively art, and a dominance of goddess imagery. Murals of priestesses accompanied by male assistants, acrobatic bull-leaping performances by both young women and men, and graceful depictions of daily life show a society that combined technological sophistication with strong female presence.
Some historians believe the Minoans had few male deities, if any, and that older customs of female-led rituals shaped their worldview. Women’s graves had abundant precious jewelry and goods, sometimes eclipsing men’s burials. Their economy, based on maritime trade, allowed for widespread prosperity. This civilization declined following a massive volcanic eruption on the nearby island of Santorini around 1626 BCE, as well as later incursions from mainland groups.
Many of these matricentric societies were eventually upended by invasions and the emergence of patriarchal systems, which emphasized male authority and power in governance, religion, and the household. In parts of Europe, it is believed that horse-riding newcomers from the steppes migrated into the region, installing patrilineal hierarchies and leaving a permanent mark on languages and social structures. Nevertheless, the remnants of older ways live on in art, mythic traditions, and the continuing legacy of communities that preserve more egalitarian and mother-centered customs.
Conclusion
From hominid beginnings to the flourishing of ancient settlements, the mark of mother-centered communities runs deep in our collective past. While many societies shifted toward patriarchal institutions, carefully preserved evidence of earlier matricentric, cooperative ways remains. By examining artifacts, genetic studies, and living groups that continue these traditions, we gain insight into how crucial collaboration, resource-sharing, and reverence for life once were—and how they can still shape our future.
