Did men invent civilization?

Question

And are civilization's basic attributes (social hierarchy, land ownership/control, specialization of labor, etc) inventions of men? Is civilization, therefore, inherently masculine? If civilization had been founded by women, would it be as vigorous? More peaceful? Less stratified?

Answer 1

Civilisation WAS founded by a matriarchal society.

The oldest civilisation that triggered the Neolithic revoltuion is thought to have been matriarchal. It's in Southern Turkey, it's got the oldest city there, Catal Hoyuk. The older levels only see goddess figures, and lots of them. Male gods seem to be almost an afterthought. These early civiliisations did fine until later agressive patriarchies overran them.

Remember, nearly all foraging is a female activity in hunter gathering, so men are unlike to have been the first people to start sticking seeds in the ground. The same goes for medicine and sewing. A lot of the earlier technologies are more likely to have come from women.

You should remember also, that prior to the twentieth century it was illegal for women to hold patents in the UK, and there's real evidence that female scientists are quite openly discriminated against. Generally, they have to be 2.5 times more productive as a man to hold the same position (study done a few years ago, new scientist).

Answer 2

No men did not invent civilization.  Social heirarchy is a result of our natural instincts of socialization and mating.  Just Look at socila heirarchy of apes and monkeys.  Things like land ownership and specializations are specific concepts which yes man invented.  in terms of a woemn lead society, you talking about a Matriarchy. And they do exist today and its no more peaceful or that much different then if it was lead by men.  below is the wiki link if you want to read more about it.

Answer 3

What? It took a men and women to make civilization. One thing men can take most of the credit for is war, oh and cage fighting.

Answer 4

No civilization was clearly invented by cats for the benefit of cats.

Weaving Housebuilding Fire Furniture raised off the floor  all clearly of benefit to cats!

Just be grateful the Neanderthal and Cromagnon women didnt try to domesticate Sabretooth Tigers and Cave Lions in real history!

Answer 5

No. They think it is better to be in a group, living similar lives, have laws and so on and so forth. Nothing to do with masculinity but in ancient days, men took the lead. Look at the civilizations today. Somebody is fighting somebody.

Answer 6

I don't think so. I believe that males take credit for civilization but females probably invented it just like they invented agriculture, another invention men take credit for.

Men are good at taking credit, denial, fantasies of superiority and claiming inventions they didn't invent.

The human race probably only still exists because of females.

Individually some of us achieve but in general we are a big pain in the sit down!

Answer 7

Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Answer 8

I will assume that you mean did males invent civilisation. Most likely people invented civilisation - men and women working together. It does not seem likely that only one or the other of the two primary genders could have invented civilisation. You may also want to consider that civilisation was not really "invented" like one invents a light bulb or computer chip. It is the result of a long process of changes, small inventions and innovation: the building of permanent houses; the realisation that one can plant seeds rather than rely on nature to do the planting for you; the domestication of the dog, then sheep and pigs; making pottery; and the slow development of political complexity. In all this, men and women would have been working together.

However, I would like to correct some of the misinformation in some of the other posts. First, Çatalhöyük in Turkey is not necessarily the world's oldest city. What appears to be the oldest city in the world, now sunken off the coast of Gujarat, was discovered in 2001 and dates back to 7,500 BC, a hundred or so years earlier than the earliest dates for Çatalhöyük. "City" is somewhat problematic, and depending on your definition there may be others that are older still.

More importantly, the female figurines recovered at Çatalhöyük do not mean that the Neolithic population there was governed by women. Consider this - the Greek city-state of Athens was as male-dominated as a place can be, yet the city's patron deity was the goddess Athena and "female figurines" (i.e. statues of Athena) were everywhere. Also, it is important to remember that along with female figurines there are also some male figurines at Çatal, and many houses also had bull skulls, complete with horns, affixed to the walls. Bull's skulls are typically associated with maleness. As for the idea that early farming societies were peaceful maternal collectives until angry, hurtful male pastoralists overran them, that is complete fiction.

Finally, the claim that in hunter-gatherer societies the women do all the foraging is not true. In societies such as the !Kung, the Yanamamo and those in Melanesia, men and women both forage, often helped by children and the elderly of both sexes. Gathering firewood and collecting shell-fish, eggs, insects and other small game for food are typically not gender-specific activities. Even the idea that only men hunt can be challenged; it is certainly not the case that only women forage.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

It may be true that most invention and discovery is done by men.  However, I'd suggest that it is women who inspired men to invent and discover.  For example, consider the wheel and fire.  The man who discovered fire, and the man who invented the wheel, I would hazard to guess had a wife who inspired him.  How often has a man heard, 'I'm cold!' or 'You never take me anywhere!'

Answer 11

women did. don't you know

Answer 12

interesting--I wonder why,then,if men created all religions as you claim, that so many of the earliest cultures seemed to worship a feminine deity?Over & over in ancient europe the fat lady appears,or a female guardian of the dead (as in the Breton megalithic tombs). In basque mythology (and the Basques are possibly the oldest people in Europe) sun and earth are BOTH female, which is very unusual in ancient myth. I am not in any way saying this meant 'women once ruled', I am afraid the idea of ancient peaceful matriarchy is a myth,though some cultures had greater equality than others or were matrilinear (reckoning descent through the female line.)

   There is a fair bit of evidence that speech may well have been invented by women. While men hunted,where quiet would have been neccessary,the women would be gathered with their children and would communicate with them. It's interesting that what is probably the oldest wordin the world , the root of which appears in virtually ALL languages is Ma...Mother.

Answer 13

Humans "invented" civilization, though I wouldn't use that particular verb. Civilizations developed as humans learned that they could accomplish more if they stayed in one area and worked together toward a common goal - survival.