I was not referring specifically to Abrahmic religions which did not start until after 2,000 BC. The changes I referred to occurred in central Europe around 4000 and 3000 BC, but the mind set seems to have pretty well overcome the previous settled communities. From the March/April 2011 Archeology magazine, the author describes a settlement in the Ukraine that flourished from 4500 to 4200. “Then it drops off a cliff....Something really catastrophic—something culture ending—happened there.” Although they had copper, they did not make the jump “into more complex social organization. ‘Maybe they just were not able to make that last big step,’ Reingruber says.”
Apparently he is not aware of the major Kurgan invasions that began at that time. The hypothesis is that the disappeared culture was more peaceful and female friendly because of the lack of walled towns and the large number of female figurines. This changed abruptly when the dominator culture of the Kurgans displaced them. By the time the Abrahamic religions began more than 1,000 years later, most of the European and Middle Eastern area was ruled by dominator cultures. This included definite rulers with larger buildings, richer burials including sacrificed female and animal companions, and walled town protection. Remember when Joshua made the walls come tumbling down?
Jesus was very advanced in his thinking about fair treatment of women, which was quite revolutionary for his day. No doubt this is why Christianity eventually prevailed over Mithraism which did not have a role for women although it was quite popular in the Roman empire at the time. Some believe that if we do not move away from the diminator mode of social action toward a more partnership based one, it may cause the downfall of our civilizaiton.
Christ Is Risen!
Jesus liberates everyone - not just females - who comes to him. And nobody can come to God except through Him.
AS for the popular magazine Archaeology Today and the “science” of archaeology in general—it is a flawed filled with contradictions and suppressed evidence-— corrupted in too many ways to list here.