In modern matriarchal studies, a new and adequate definition of "matriarchy" has been developed based on living societies of this type worldwide. This is now applied to cultural history and is able to reinterpret previously misunderstood social patterns and place them within a comprehensive theoretical framework. The relationship between the genders is examined more closely, and egalitarian, matriarchal societal patterns are explored in their diversity and transformations. Volume III is dedicated to the cultural space of West Asia, the Mediterranean region, and Europe from the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods to the Bronze Age, and it presents the emergence of patriarchy in these countries.