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| Figure 1: Depiction of female big game hunter (Source: Matthew Verdolivo / UC Davis IET Academic Technology Services) |
In the 1960s the idea of “Man the Hunter” was introduced. It was based on ethnographic evidence of African hunting and gathering groups wherein men were solely responsible for big game hunting, while women were relegated to caring for the children and foraging for food. There has since been evidence that suggests that women did hunt. They were opportunistic hunters who brought along hunting and fishing equipment and used them if and when small game or fish were available. Now there is even newer evidence that suggests that in the ancient past that women and men were equal when it came to hunting activities. This blog post will address this new evidence and what it means for understanding gender differences in the past.
In 2018 a team of American and Peruvian archaeologists were excavating at the southern Peruvian site of Wilamaya Patjxa. They discovered two notable burials of adults found with a large cache of hunting tools, specifically blades and stone points, and they initially concluded that these were two high status male burials. Subsequent analysis of both burials demonstrated that they were partially correct in this initial conclusion. Using a new sexing method derived from forensic anthropological studies a protein analysis of tooth enamel showed that one of the burials belonged to a male and the other was of a 17–19-year-old female.
She was buried with over 20 stone blades and points found near her leg, along with the bones of large game animals. Isotopic analysis of her remains was completed to determine her diet, and it was found that she subsisted on a diet made up largely of meat and minimally of vegetative materials. Taken together this led the team to conclude that she was indeed a hunter, as was the other male.
This led the team to further analyze other burials that had been previously excavated, and they realized that 30-50% of the burials with similar blade tool assemblages in their graves were women, not men. They concluded that women must have had equal opportunities to be hunters and that hunting was not an exclusively male occupation. This conclusion is in line with other studies of later cultural groups that showed that women participated in “male activities”. Ancient Viking and Scythian women were warriors, women may have been leaders in the Argaric culture of modern day Spain, and there are a few modern hunter-gatherer groups that show women are primarily the hunters, not doing so opportunistically.
Ultimately, this shows that both in the past and today women were of equal or greater status to men, but it is unclear when the switch occurred. More study is required to identify when this happened. In the end this and other studies show that women can do anything men can do based on modern cultural norms.
Bibliography
Gershon, L. (2021, November 5). This Prehistoric Peruvian Woman Was a Big-Game Hunter. Smithsonian Magazine.
Gibbons, A. (2021, November 4). Woman the hunter: Ancient Andean remains challenge old ideas of who speared big game. Science.
Kelleher, S. (2021, November 5). Female Big Game Hunters May Have Been Common in the Early Americas. American Association for the Advancement of Science .
Milks, A. (2021, November 30). Women at the Hearth and on the Hunt. Retrieved from Sapiens: https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/female-hunters/
8 comments:
According to gender differences male and females are expected to act a certain way. Typically women are supposed to be more loving, caring and house wives while men are supposed to be the providers and protectors. Hunting was seen as a man’s thing up until women began elevating and becoming more involved when they were able to hunt primarily small things . Evidence has shown that women burials were surrounded by momentous hunting tools. Women worked just as hard as men to provide for their family. These traditional roles were seen as a foscade in the past and many women surpassed these norms that society instilled upon us. Highlighting these women achievements shows not only were women capable of doing similar jobs of a man but they were seen as warriors and heroes throughout history. Sexual division seems to be absent and gender disparities was not a conflict back then. Females participated in many men's activities and worked alongside them. It turned out that 30-50% of the burials that were found were women and not men. These indegous women worked hard and exceeded the standards that were set for them. Evidence concluded that women were hunters and were able to do the things that a man could do. Gender equality is important for the growth and the economic prosperity of all things that will help this world succeed.
Most times when we hear about hunting men come to mind. This is probably due to the way society is, where men are thought of as the bread winners while women are seen as caregivers. Just like in contemporary society where females are found in abundance in the working field, from simple teachers to Military work, instead of being housewives, females have been doing what might be thought of as a "mans job" from as early as the 19060s as proven by the corpse of the (17-19 year old) female hunter.
Jameaka Mannings
I agree as I know that as I studied some indian tribes and women did the hunting while the men did the village work. This goes to show that humans have always been teams.
Elaine Christopher
In the ancient world, as discovered, not only were men considered hunters but also women. Women went out and worked equally as men for the sake of providing for their families. The woman being buried with more than 20 stone blades shows that she was a hunter providing for her family. Women had equal rights and responsibilities and were involved in male activities. They exceeded the expected standards. It clearly illustrates that gender equality is crucial for any success.
The term " a man's job" is often placed on activities that women are just as capable of completing. Hunting was one of those tasks labeled for a man. Due to the hunting tools found buried with two bodies both people were automatically assumed to be male, which was incorrect. The information presented in this post proves that women were also hunters and not just the children's caregiver or foragers. Women were equally as important in providing food and proved how capable a woman truly is to be able to take on so many tasks and execute them so well.
McKenzie Williams
This post further confirms the abilities of women. I wonder what influenced the switch of women becoming of equal or greater status to men? Was it a cultural or environmental phenomenon? Perhaps survival depended on more people hunting. Hopefully more historical information will become available to answer this question. -Tala Caples
It is usually thought that when it comes to hunting that that was a mans job especially way back then. I love that from the findings of these burials we are able to conclude that women most likely had equal opportunities. So the fact that she was buried with 20 blades and they were able to conclude that she was a hunter as well is really cool.
-Keira Robinson
I was surprised to learn about the new discovery that women were engaged in hunting on an equal footing with men in ancient times, as introduced in this blog. I was particularly impressed by the fact that young women were buried with hunting tools at archaeological sites in Peru, which is evidence that overturns the conventional stereotype that “men hunt and women gather”.
The fact that Viking and Scythian women were warriors, and that there are societies today where women are the main hunters, shows that the division of labor by gender is not universal. I felt that this discovery could be a chance to reconsider modern gender views.
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