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The division of labor in these ancient times was not as clear and sharp as earlier scholars thought, as women participated in hunting as well as gathering.
A research team from the University of Delaware in the United States concluded that women participated in hunting in the Paleolithic Age, which is the oldest and longest Stone Age, which ended about 12 thousand years ago, and in which humans used stones to make their tools, not metals.
During that period, humans managed their lives according to the system of gathering and gathering. They searched for food day after day, which included collecting fruits from trees on one side, and on the other side hunting animals with spears and knives whose blades were made of stones.
Abyssal physiology
According to two studies published by the team in the American Anthropologist, the division of labor in these ancient times was not as clear and sharp as scientists previously thought. Rather, women participated in hunting operations in addition to gathering operations.
The theory that there was a clear division of labor between men and women in ancient times emerged in 1968, when anthropologists Richard B. Lee and Irvin Devore published the book “The Hunter-Man,” a collection of scientific papers presented in 1966 Symposium on Ancient Hunter-Gatherer Societies.
According to the two new studies, there is archaeological and physiological evidence that contradicts this relatively old hypothesis, as the team studied the anatomical and physiological differences between men and women, and found that men had an advantage in activities that require speed and strength, but women had an advantage in activities that require endurance, and both were The two sets of activities are essential, and complementary, to hunting in ancient times.
On the other hand, scientists examined the role of estrogen (the female hormone) in this process, and found that it can increase fat metabolism, giving muscles a long-term source of energy, as it slows the breakdown and wear of muscles, which helps with endurance.
Huntresses of the contemporary world
Recently, evidence began to appear that women in ancient times participated in hunting with men, as a research team concluded in 2020 that women were hunting in partnership with men 9,000 years ago. This team examined human remains found in a cave in the “Wilamaya Bachxa” area. Which is located on the Andes Mountains in Peru, South America.
According to the study, which the team published in the journal Science Advances, these remains were the bodies of women, and fishing tools were found next to them. It was the custom of humans in that ancient period to bury a person with his possessions.
A study published in the journal PLOS ONE last June showed that women still practice hunting in indigenous societies that currently live in our world on separate continents (the Americas, Asia, and Africa). The study found that some skills and practices within gathering and gathering societies The current one allows women to become successful fishermen.
It appeared in the context of this study that of the 63 gathering and gathering societies that were studied, 79% of them witnessed women participating in hunting.
In addition, more than 70% of the hunting operations carried out by women in these societies are interpreted as intentional and not for a compensatory purpose (for example, when a man is injured), which means that women had an active and important role in hunting and teaching it.
