Materialist or Idealist

I know prof told us that Durkheim is a materialist, but I am actually still struggle a bit why Durkheim is a materialist? Could anyone please explain it for me.

I think we discussed how Durkheim is a materialist because of his concepts of "social facts" and "social roles". These things exist in the world as already-present facts and it is these roles (what's prescribed already in our realities) that we come into the world to assume and experience. In this way, Durkheim is more than an idealist. He is a materialist because what we experience in the world is real, material, and tangible. Our experiences are not constructed simply through our consciousness. These roles are real, material, and tangible social constructs. For example, with assuming the mother role, having a child is a material fact.

I think there is a shift on whether Durkheim is materialist or idealist. In his earlier work, he has more materialist characteristics and as time goes, he become more of a idealist. So, I don't think we can specifically categorize him as either materialist or idealist. His emphasis on collective consciousness and representations made him an idealist.