By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Patient readers, I have once more been swept up in the social whirl. More soon! –lambert
Bird Song of the Day
Brown Thrasher, Yard, Bledsoe, Tennessee, United States. Lot going on in “Yard” (or “my yard”?).
In Case You Might Miss…
- New Covid charts that Lambert does not like.
- Faiz Shakir throws his hat in the DNC ring.
- Ancient Britain a matriarchal society?
Politics
“So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
Biden Administration
“Biden says the Equal Rights Amendment should be considered ratified” [Associated Press]. On the Friday before the inaugural? Thanks a bunch! Why not back in 2020, when it could have been part of the abortion battle? More: “‘The Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land,’ Biden said even though presidents have no role in the constitutional process. He did not direct the leader of the National Archives to certify the amendment, as some activists have called for, sidestepping a legal battle. It was the latest in a collection of pronouncements that Biden has made in the waning days of his presidency as he tries to tie up loose ends and embroider [good word choice!] his legacy despite leaving after only one term.” And: “The Equal Rights Amendment, which would ban discrimination based on gender, was sent to the states for ratification in 1972. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2000, although years past the deadline set by Congress, leading to a legal standoff over whether it could be considered valid…. It’s unlikely that Biden’s support will have any impact. On Friday, the National Archives reiterated its position by saying ‘the underlying legal and procedural issues have not changed.’” • Oh. So I guess it’s just a fundraising hook.
“An Expert in Grand Strategy Thinks Trump Is on to Something” [Politico]. The deck: “Do you want a future in which Canada defects to the EU, Russia rules the Arctic and China runs Latin America? That’s the default outcome of non-action.” And: “Trump’s approach to international affairs reflects Americans’ judgment that we are done building a world order — which we’ve overseen from 1954 to 2008 —and now must vigorously embrace an aggressively competitive approach to this multipolar world; in other words, be less the generous market-maker and more the selfish market-player. The world’s superpowers (U.S., Europe, Russia, India, China) fear one another more and more. We sense an imperative in this re-regionalization/decoupling era — one that screams get yours now before somebody else does!” And here is the kicker: “But let’s also get more real in our thinking and the terms we offer. Would that be enough political power and standing for Canadians to choose over admission into the EU? Say, 18 Senate seats and more congressional districts than California’s 52 seats? That’s a respectful offer. Greenland holds two seats in Denmark’s 179-member parliament. Does that strike you as more empowering than two seats in the U.S. Senate? How about a $57 billion buy-out package that makes every Greenlander an instant millionaire? Does Trump have your undivided attention now?” • Readers, what do you think? Should such an offer be made? Having been made, should it be accepted?
“Trump Picks a Jet-Setting Pal of Elon Musk to Go Get Greenland” [New York Times]. “Ken Howery is a quiet, unassuming tech investor who prioritizes discretion. And yet, he has ended up in the middle of two of the noisiest story lines of the incoming Trump administration. One is the expanding ambition of Elon Musk, Mr. Howery’s close friend and fellow party-scene fixture since the two helped run PayPal 25 years ago. The other is the expansionist ambition of Mr. Musk’s boss, President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has set his sights on buying Greenland, the world’s largest island. As Mr. Trump’s pick for ambassador to Denmark, Mr. Howery is expected to be central to what Mr. Trump hopes will be a real-estate deal of epic proportions. The only hitch is that Denmark, which counts Greenland as its autonomous territory, says the island is not for sale. Whether he likes it or not, Mr. Howery, a globe-trotter known for his taste for adventure and elaborate party planning, is likely to find himself in the middle of a geopolitical tempest. Mr. Trump has been explicit about his expectations for his new ambassador filling a once-sleepy post. When he announced Mr. Howery for the role, which requires Senate confirmation, he reiterated his designs on Greenland for the first time since winning the presidency.”
* * * “Trump selections for top jobs advance, despite initial controversy” [WaPo]. “When President-elect Donald Trump first unveiled his picks to staff his new administration, some of the more unconventional names sparked gasps and speculation that they could not amass enough support to be confirmed even in a GOP-controlled Senate…. But three days ahead of Trump’s return to the White House, many of his most prominent Cabinet choices have sailed relatively unscathed through their hearings and are poised to win confirmation as Republican senators rallied around them and appeared largely unwilling to defy Trump’s wishes…. Senate GOP opposition to many of the current Trump picks has not materialized, at least not publicly, after Matt Gaetz, Trump’s original pick for attorney general, withdrew under pressure. No Republican lawmakers have said they will oppose Hegseth, though a handful have not made their intentions clear. Trump’s nominees can lose three Republicans at most and still be confirmed if no Democrat backs them. It’s rare for the Senate to reject presidential picks. But Hegseth’s apparent glide path bodes well for some of Trump’s other controversial choices, like former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Their hearings have not been scheduled but are expected soon. Kash Patel’s nomination as FBI director is also considered a harder sell.”
“Scoop: Trump team sweats McConnell’s vote on Tulsi Gabbard” [Axios]. “President-elect Trump Trump’s transition thinks Gabbard, the nominee for director of national intelligence, can get confirmed even with a “no” vote from McConnell. But his public opposition — if it materializes — could open the door to other GOP defectors…. If Democrats have any chance — and it’s slim — at helping drag down a Trump nominee, they see Gabbard as the most likely prospect. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer views the party’s grilling of Hegseth as a success. He’ll demand the same for their treatment of Gabbard, HHS nominee RFK Jr. and FBI director nominee Kash Patel.”
* * * “White House’s Pandemic Office, Busy With Bird Flu, May Shrink Under Trump” [Time]. “By Inauguration Day on Monday, most of the pandemic office’s staff will have cleared out their desks. The office, officially known as the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, or OPPR, is losing more than half of its 18-person staff as the Biden Administration hands off the duties to a Trump Administration that has yet to fill multiple key pandemic-response positions, according to two Biden Administration officials. The political appointees in charge of the office—director Paul Friedrichs and deputy director Nikki Romanik—are leaving to make way for potential Trump appointments, and several of the office’s 14 career staffers, whose assignments to the White House office were temporary, are returning to their home agencies…. Supporters of OPPR point to its work in recent months addressing the spread of a virulent strain of bird flu, which was first detected infecting U.S. dairy cattle in March.” • Supporters do that? Oh….
* * * “Trump team ‘having a good laugh’ over Michelle Obama’s ‘deliberate’ decision to skip inauguration: ‘Didn’t expect her to come anyway’” [Page Six, New York Post]. “Barack and Michelle Obama’s office announced this week that Michelle will skip the 60th inaugural ceremonies on Jan. 20, but that the former president will attend. Michelle also skipped former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9 because she was on an “extended vacation” in Hawaii.” And: “‘She’s never been fake and she’s never been phony. She’s always been very deliberate about where and how she shows up,’ the source said.” But: “She showed up reluctantly for the election.” Oh?!?!? So: “They were united, but she doesn’t have to unify around [Trump]. She doesn’t have to say anything. Her absence speaks volumes.” • Ho hum.
DOGE
“Two Watchdogs Were Rebuffed From Joining Trump’s Cost-Cutting Effort” [New York Times]. “President-elect Donald J. Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has been on a hiring spree, looking for tech executives and conservative activists to dig into the federal government and look for rules and spending to cut. On Thursday, two activists from a left-leaning watchdog group asked: Where do we sign up? ‘We write to request our appointment as members of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency,” wrote Norman Eisen and Virginia Canter, in a letter to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the leaders of Mr. Trump’s unofficial effort that plans to slash regulations and spending. The Trump transition team’s response: no. ‘President Trump’s Truth made clear we have no room in our administration for Democrats,’ said Katie Miller, a spokeswoman for the Trump transition, in an email to The New York Times.” • Hmm.
2024 Post Mortem
Get Shirley Chisholm’s name out of your mouth:
History made. pic.twitter.com/eBVKIEU2ps
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) January 16, 2025
My Twitter feed is absolutely infested with saccharine posts from BIden Democrats that assume we’re going to be sorry to see them go because of the great job they did, and the great people they are. It’s driving me nuts. More of the same–
“‘One of the great tragedies of American politics’: Biden ends 5 decades in public life” [NBC]. “He does not plan to hold the traditional final formal news conference.” • Juice no good any more?
“‘I’m Urging You Not to Run’: How Schumer Pushed Biden to Drop Out” [New York Times]. “When Mr. Schumer arrived at Mr. Biden’s beach house that summer day, he could hear the president shouting.” • I wonder if Biden’s book will include that detail…
“The DNC race for chair was a boring technocratic debate — until now” [MSNBC]. “Former Bernie Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir has thrown his hat in the ring. Since he’s joining the race just a couple weeks before the DNC’s members vote, it will be a challenge for him to catch the front-runners…. He’s worked closely with the upper echelons of the party establishment, serving as an aide to former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He also had high-profile posts at the Center for American Progress, the premier think tank affiliated with the center-left party establishment. But he’s also worked in the left wing of the party, most notably managing Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign. That campaign was far from perfect, but Sanders came close to winning the Democratic presidential primaries, losing only after the moderate wing of the party consolidated behind Joe Biden [during the Night of the Long Knives orchestrated by Obama]. He also served as political director of the American Civil Liberties Union and is currently the executive director of More Perfect Union, an advocacy journalism nonprofit that describes its mission as ‘building power for the working class.’” • Could do worse, I suppose….
“Former Bernie Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir enters DNC Chair race” [Politico]. “‘We all seemingly agree — rhetorically at least — that focusing on winning back America’s diverse working class is of utmost priority,’ Shakir wrote in his letter to DNC members. ‘But as I have listened to our candidates, I sense a constrained, status-quo style of thinking. .’”… In his letter to members, Shakir laid out some of his platform for his bid, including a pledge to turn the DNC into ‘an organizing army’ with its own ‘powerful media outlet’ that will release its own ‘compelling original content.’” • OK, but if the new DNC is an”organizing army,” what is the AFL-CIO for? I know, I know, “don’t answer that,” but you see the issue….
“Faiz Shakir, Ex-Bernie Sanders Campaign Chief, Joins Race for D.N.C. Chair” [New York Times]. The deck: “Mr. Shakir said his mission, should he win the post, would be to redefine the Democratic Party as the party of the working class.” ‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished (except by the Democrat PMC base, of course). More: “[Shakir] described the Democratic brand as fundamentally ‘tarnished,’ ‘broken’ and in need of repair. ‘It’s late in the game,’ he said of his entrance. ‘If we can’t have a bold [dread word; remember “bold progressives”?] debate about these issues — it’s now or never.’” And: “The intraparty debate over who will lead it has so far largely revolved around internal concerns such as how much money the national committee will allocate to state parties and who will or will not be awarded contracts to do the party’s work.” • That is, which consultants wet their beaks. It would be nice if Shakir could blow that away, but that seems dubious to me.
“Faiz Shakir’s Late Entry Shakes Up the Race for DNC Chair” [John Nichols, The Nation]. “But even if he may be coming from behind, Shakir’s candidacy should ensure that the chair’s race will be more sharply focused on ending the DNC’s deference to economic elites—a bedrock concern for Shakir, who has worked as a senior adviser for the anti-monopoly agitators at the American Economic Liberty Project.” • That’s the “American Economic Libert Project.” Spell the name right, ffs. Still, very good news!
“Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders’ former campaign chief, enters DNC race” [Associated Press]. “Shakir acknowledged that it may be too late for him to win, but he said something was needed to shake up the race. ‘It feels very fluid to me, that people are feeling,’ he said. ‘Democrats are in the wilderness, right? There’s no real leader.’” • Ouch!
* * * “Fetterman was elected to challenge convention. Now, he’s challenging his fellow Democrats” [Associated Press]. I don’t agree with the headline at all. Fetterman’s strategy was “every county, every vote.” It was not policy-oriented at all. Fetterman won because he went out and asked for people’s votes, and the voters concluded, rightly, that Mehmet Oz was a loon and worse, an out-of-stater, a fact that Fetterman’s brilliant social media team drove home. More: “Fetterman’s approach is reminding some Democrats of former Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, both of whom clashed with their party during President Joe Biden’s term, became political independents and didn’t run for reelection.” • Well, the party needs it’s rotating villains, and now that Sinema and Manchin are gone, look who pops up.
* * * “If Trump Wants to Unrig the Economy, I’m In” [Elizabeth Warren, Wall Street Journal]. • Excuse my French, but Christ on a crutch, Liz! Has your party been calling Trump a fascist for four years or not? And now it’s “Never mind“? Shakir is so, so right [pounds head on desk].
* * * “How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump’s Arms” (interview) [Marc Andreesen, New York Times]. “[ANDREESEN:] Normie Democrat is what I call the Deal, with a capital D. Nobody ever wrote this down; it was just something everybody understood: You’re me, you show up, you’re an entrepreneur, you’re a capitalist, you start a company, you grow a company, and if it works, you make a lot of money. And then the company itself is good because it’s bringing new technology to the world that makes the world a better place, but then you make a lot of money, and you give the money away. Through that, you absolve yourself of all of your sins. Then in your obituary, it talks about what an incredible person you were, both in your business career and in your philanthropic career. And by the way, you’re a Democrat, you’re pro–gay rights, you’re pro-abortion, you’re pro all the fashionable and appropriate social causes of the time. There are no trade-offs. This is the Deal.” But: “[A]fter Obama’s re-election in 2012 through ultimately to 2016, things really started to change…. the unifying thread here is, I believe it’s the children of the elites. The most privileged people in society, the most successful, send their kids to the most politically radical institutions, which teach them how to be America-hating communists. They fan out into the professions, and our companies hire a lot of kids out of the top universities, of course. And then, by the way, a lot of them go into government, and so we’re not only talking about a wave of new arrivals into the tech companies. We’re also talking about a wave of new arrivals into the congressional offices. And of course, they all know each other, and so all of a sudden you have this influx, this new cohort. And my only conclusion is what changed was basically the kids. In other words, the young children of the privileged going to the top universities between 2008 to 2012, they basically radicalized hard at the universities, I think, primarily as a consequence of the global financial crisis and probably Iraq. Throw that in there also. But for whatever reason, they radicalized hard…. It turned out to be a coalition of economic radicals, and this was the rise of Bernie Sanders, but the kids turned on capitalism in a very fundamental way. They came out as some version of radical Marxist, and the fundamental valence went from ‘Capitalism is good and an enabler of the good society’ to ‘Capitalism is evil and should be torn down.’ And then the other part was social revolution and the social revolution, of course, was the Great Awokening, and then those conjoined.” • Well, fortunately the Democrats nobbled Sanders and prevented the social revolution part. But does Andreesen give them credit for that? N-o-o-o-o. Why, the ingratitude.
Realignment and Legitimacy
“Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban, clears way for app to shut down in U.S. as soon as Sunday” [CBS]. “‘We conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate the petitioners’ First Amendment rights,’ the court said in a unanimous unsigned opinion, which upholds the lower court decision against TikTok. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch wrote separately, with Gorsuch agreeing with the outcome of the case but splitting with the court’s reasoning. The court’s ruling comes days before the law, which was passed with bipartisan majorities of Congress last April, is set to take effect. TikTok and a group of content creators who use the app argued the law infringes on their free speech rights, and the Supreme Court heard arguments in their bid to block it one week ago. ‘There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,’ the court’s opinion said.’” • I personally would prefer to hand my data over to the Chinese government, because what are they going to do with it? Rather than a US corporation, which has all kinds of ways of doing me harm.
Syndemics
“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).
Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!
Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, thump, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).
Stay safe out there!
Celebrity Watch
Oddly, this page has disappeared from the intertubes:
Commentary:
Celebrities getting COVID at the hotel they’re all staying at and let me remind you the industry-standard US film&TV industry COVID safety protocols (vaccines, quarantines, paid sick leave, masking, PCR testing of all crew) completely ended in May 2023 and not a single one spoke
— thomas 🛠 gazafunds.com/all (@t_NYC) January 14, 2025
Not that we’re bitter.
Lambert here: I don’t like a lot of this week’s charts. In wastewater, too many red dots concentrated in the Midwest and the Atlantic coast, so I started circling areas in red, again. New York’s weirdly persistent higher hospitalization rate continues. Traveler positivity is up, and worse, the dominant traveler variants are JN* and KP*, which, while present in the national variants, are very low. And in the two death charts, the projected deaths seem to have leveled out, when in the past they decreased. Nothing earth-shattering, but it does make me queasy, and it’s well after the holiday bump.
| Wastewater | |
| ★ This week[1] CDC January 10 | Last week[2] CDC (until next week): |
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| ★ Variants [3] CDC January 18 |  ★ Emergency Room Visits[4] CDC January 11 |
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| Hospitalization | |
| ★ New York[5] New York State, data January 16: | ★ National [6] CDC Janurary 16: |
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| Positivity | |
| National[7] Walgreens January 13: | Ohio[8] Cleveland Clinic January 4: |
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| Travelers Data | |
| ★ Positivity[9] CDC December 30: | ★ Variants[10] CDC December 30 |
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| Deaths | |
| ★ Weekly Deaths vs. % Positivity [11] CDC January 11: | ★ Weekly Deaths vs. ED Visits [12] CDC January 11: |
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LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new today; all others are not updated.
2) For a full-size/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open image in new tab.”
NOTES
[1] (CDC) Seeing more red and more orange, but nothing new at major hubs.
[2] (CDC) Last week’s wastewater map.
[3] (CDC Variants) XEC takes over. That WHO label, “Ommicron,” has done a great job normalizing successive waves of infection.
[4] (ED) A little uptick.
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Definitely jumped.
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC). Leveling out.
[7] (Walgreens) Leveling out.
[8] (Cleveland) Continued upward trend since, well, Thanksgiving.
[9] (Travelers: Positivity) Leveling out.
[10] (Travelers: Variants). Positivity is new, but variants have not yet been released.
[11] Deaths low, positivity leveling out.
[12] Deaths low, ED leveling out.
Stats Watch
Manufacturing: “United States Industrial Production” [Trading Economics]. “Industrial production in the United States surged by 0.9% in December 2024, marking the strongest increase since February and significantly surpassing market expectations of a 0.3% rise. A key driver of this growth was a 0.2 percentage point contribution from the production of aircraft and parts, following the resolution of a work stoppage at a major aircraft manufacturer.”
Capacity: “United States Capacity Utilization” [Trading Economics]. “Capacity utilization in the US rose sharply to 77.6% in December of 2024, the highest since August, to rebound from the downwardly revised 77% recorded in the two prior months, which were the lowest since May 2020.”
Housing: “United States Housing Starts” [Trading Economics]. “Housing stars in the United States surged by 15.8% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.499 Million units in December of 2024, the most since March 2021. It is the highest number of starts since February 2024, above market expectations of a softer increase to 1.320 Million.”
Tech: “KABOOM! SpaceX rocket EXPLODES as vid shows glowing debris raining down…but upbeat Elon Musk says ‘entertainment is guaranteed!’” [The U.S. Sun]. “Incredible footage shows glowing debris raining down across the sky after the 400ft behemoth failed after launching from Boca Chica, southern Texas, on Thursday…. Confirming the explosion, SpaceX wrote on X: “Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly during its ascent burn.” • “Rapid unscheduled disassembly” is, of course, GENIUS. Hat tip, McKinsey?
Tech: “Apple pauses AI-generated news alerts after headline notification errors” [Axios]. “The BBC lodged an official complaint after the Apple Intelligence summaries generated an inaccurate headline of a report by the British outlet that incorrectly represented a report on Luigi Mangione, the suspect in last month’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, by suggesting he had committed suicide…. Following the BBC false headline controversy, the nonprofit Reporters Without Borders called generative AI services “a danger to the public’s right to reliable information on current affairs.’” • As if anybody cared about that!
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 38 Fear (previous close: 28 Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 26 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jan 17 at 1:37:47 PM ET.
“Ancient burials reveal ‘remarkable’ women-dominated society in UK. ‘Relatively rare’” [News and Observer]. “When the Romans reached Britain in the first century, they were shocked to find ‘remarkable’ women standing in their way. Female tribal leaders Cartimandua and Boudica became legends, leading uprisings that destroyed Roman towns and challenged the authority of the empire, and women in their community were able to own property, divorce and lead the Celtic armies. Julius Caesar himself noted the seemingly exotic practice of British women taking more than one husband in his book ‘Commentarii de Bello Gallico.’ But, because bodies were commonly cremated, excarnated or placed in wetlands during the Iron Age, proof of these powerful matriarchal lineages was absent from the archaeological record in Britain — until now…. ‘This was the cemetery of a large kin group,’ study author Lara Cassidy, a professor genetics at Trinity College, said in the release. ‘We reconstructed a family tree with many different branches and found most members traced their maternal lineage back to a single woman, who would have lived centuries before. In contrast, relationships through the father’s line were almost absent.’ This means when a man was ready to marry, he would have left his community to go and join his wife’s, and that family land would have been passed from mother to daughter, Cassidy said. ‘This is the first time this type of system has been documented in European prehistory and it predicts female social and political empowerment,’ Cassidy said. ‘It’s relatively rare in modern societies, but this might not always have been the case.’” • Headline from the original (abstract only): “Women were at the centre of social networks in Iron Age Britain.”
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