Archaeological studies reveal prominent female roles in ancient Britain

Recent genetic and DNA analyses of ancient remains in Britain are reshaping understandings of gender roles in pre-Roman and Bronze Age societies.

In Yorkshire, research conducted by the University of York on over 500 Iron Age individuals from the Arras culture suggests communities were organized around female lineages. Genetic data from sites such as Wetwang Slack indicates a matrilocal arrangement where females remained in their ancestral communities while males often relocated to join different sites. This pattern of women staying with close kin, such as mothers, suggests they may have held elevated social standing.

Separately, DNA analysis has overturned a two-century-old assumption regarding an Early Bronze Age burial near Stonehenge. The individual found in Upton Lovell, previously thought to be a man, has been identified as a woman. The burial included high-status items such as goldworking tools, a ceremonial cloak, and ritual objects, suggesting she was an accomplished craft specialist or ritual figure, often referred to by archaeologists as a ‘shaman’.