I occasionally think about the "Minoan" civilization on Crete, which was apparently matristic if not properly matriarchal, thrived on trade and was essentially peaceful throughout its existence, had running water and plumbing in the Bronze Age, and was...
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I occasionally think about the "Minoan" civilization on Crete, which was apparently matristic if not properly matriarchal, thrived on trade and was essentially peaceful throughout its existence, had running water and plumbing in the Bronze Age, and was probably the longest surviving "Old European" culture to come out of the Neolithic and maintain its traditions and non-Indo-European language.
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You can see an interesting progression from the Neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture in Ukraine that was egalitarian but maintained the largest cities in the world. Women were heavily involved in community life and probably managed family affairs. Crete was heavily stratified in comparison, with priestess-elites overseeing ritual and administration. There was stark gender segregation but also the implication that, as elsewhere, trans feminine people existed and might serve as priestesses.
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@gwynnion AFAIU, it wasn't exactly progression, as the word could ordinarily be used in archæology, but supplantation by another culture; possibly the first wave of Indo-European cultural inflow into Europe (but it having happened so long before writing, it's hard to be really sure).