Sneak Peeks – More than a Woman
…He also evidences women who have held high positions and status in society from which they were later barred. These women had been queens, led armies, were warriors and chieftains, diplomats, scholars, artists and leaders. According to Briffault, the reason for the transition to patriarchy was the exposure to the notion of surplus profit and the desire to accumulate property. Men wanted to pass property on to their own children instead of their sisters’ children as was done in matrilocal and matrilineal communities. Thus, in Dahomey and Alaska the wealthier classes are patrilineal and the poorer classes are matrilineal.
Chinese clans are named after the signs of women and birth signs. In years past, property could not be transferred outside the clan. The Chinese traced their descent from women; and those of the upper classes held high office as late as the eighth century. Jewish lineage is traced through the mother; and until the establishment of the Kingdom of David, Hebrew communities were organised into matrilineal clans. It was much later that they adopted the names of their male ancestors…
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