New Archaeological Findings Suggest That Female Hunters Were Common in Prehistoric Times
Contrary to the popular theories that males hunted and females mostly foraged
Kim Hale, a professor of anthropology at Arizona State University, once said “You can’t just stop in the middle of stalking a deer in order to nurse a crying baby,” in regards to the long-held belief that our prehistoric female ancestors didn’t participate in hunting wild animals; they mostly foraged and took care of the young ones. Hale’s view was not unique. It was shared by many historians and archaeologists throughout the last couple of centuries. After all, it makes sense, doesn’t it?
Males are generally bigger and more powerful and thus better biologically equipped to hunt. Also, the division of labor in most present-day hunter-gatherer societies in Africa and South America is indeed strictly gendered just like this. But it turns out that our theories about our ancestors are not always right, even when they seem logical. Prehistoric females did hunt, and not just small animals but big-game as well.
The Discovery of Burial Sites in the Andes
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