Anthropologists say that patriarchy arose around 6-9 thousand years ago, around the same time as the agricultural revolution. This quote from the World Economic Forum sums it up rather nicely, since patriarchy is not just about male dominance, but also about social stratification and hierarchy as well.
(With the rise of agriculture) “Labor roles became more gendered as well. Generally, men did the majority of the fieldwork while women were relegated to child-rearing and household work. Without contributing food (and by association, without control over it), women became second-class citizens. Women also had babies more frequently, on averageonce every two years rather than once every four in hunter-gatherer societies.
Because somebody had to have control over surplus food, it became necessary to divide society into roles that supported this hierarchy. The roles of an administrator, a servant, a priest, and a soldier were invented. The soldier was especially importantbecause agriculture was so unsustainable compared to hunting and gathering. The fickleness of agriculture ironically encouraged more migration into neighboring lands in search of more resources and warfare with neighboring groups. Capturing slaves was also important since farming was hard work, and more people were working in these new roles.
This division of labor and social inequality had very real consequences. For instance, while the majority of people had disastrous health compared to their hunter-gatherer ancestors, the skeletons of Mycenean royalty had better teeth and were three inches taller than their subjects. Chilean mummies from A.D. 1000 had a fourfold lower rate of bone lesions caused by disease than commoners.”
For more about the social system of patriarchy read these:
The fact that 500 years ago women didn't understand that the particular social system they were living under was not universal, timeless, or inevitable is also irrelevant. As a scientist, you ought to be aware that just because you don't know about something doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
