DNA study of the possible world's first city suggests women stayed home while men moved away

Fresh analysis of ancient DNA from Catalhoyuk, the sprawling Neolithic site in present-day Turkiye often described as the world's first city, suggests a notable household pattern: Women were more likely to stay linked to their homes, while men often left as adults.

The finding is helping drive a broader conversation about how early human societies were organized and whether one of humanity's oldest dense communities gave women a more central social role than many later civilizations did.

What happened?

In the Science paper, researchers analyzed DNA from 131 people associated with 35 homes at Catalhoyuk. The UNESCO World Heritage Site was occupied for about a millennium, roughly 7000 to 6000 B.C.

Archaeologists have long been intrigued by Catalhoyuk's unusual layout. Homes were packed closely together, movement likely happened over rooftops, the dead were buried beneath floors, and the site lacks clearly identifiable buildings reserved for worship, governance, or elite residents.

Among the paper's notable estimates was researchers' finding that "70 to 100% of the time, female offspring remained connected to buildings."

That suggests daughters were more likely to remain in the same homes across generations, while adult males more often relocated. The data also indicated that descent connections were more frequent through mothers.

Looking separately at 395 skeletons buried beneath house floors, the researchers found another striking pattern. 

Girls, including infants, were buried with far more grave goods than boys, in some cases as much as fivefold more.

Why does it matter?

That differs from most other genomically studied Neolithic communities in Europe, where residence and descent patterns have generally centered on males.

Taken together, the evidence makes Catalhoyuk a rare prehistoric example of a community that appears matrilocal and possibly matrilineal.

The findings challenge the idea that male-centered social structures were always the default. Archaeologists also say Catalhoyuk shows signs of broad social equality.

Earlier isotope studies found no meaningful dietary differences between women and men, and researchers have not found clear evidence that any buildings belonged to wealthier, more powerful individuals.

Another notable feature of the site is what archaeologists have not found there: evidence of sustained, organized violence over many centuries.

According to Al Jazeera, Ian Hodder, who spent more than two decades directing digs at Catalhoyuk, said the findings suggest women played "a central role but not a dominant role." He added that the bigger question may be: "Why did we become hierarchical?"

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