Primitive Women Were Hunters in Foraging Societies, Debunking the Traditional Gender Role Assumptions

It has been a common belief that among foraging societies of early humans, men typically hunted animals while women gathered plants for food. For many centuries, this theory has been widely accepted by historians and scientists alike. However, recent archeological evidence challenges this paradigm and suggest that the gender-based division of labor in ancient communities is a myth.

Debunking the Gender Stereotype

To investigate the possibility of women getting involved in hunting activities, a group of researchers led by Abigail Anderson of Seattle Pacific University analyzed data from the past 100 years on 63 hunter-gatherer societies around the world. These include societies in Africa, Oceania, Asia, North and South America, and Australia.

The research team found out that women hunt in at least 79% of these societies regardless of their status as mothers. Of these female hunting activities, over 70% appears to be intentional and not opportunistic killing of animals done while conducting other activities. The intentional animal hunting by women also appears to target wild animals of all sizes, most often large ones.

Another revelation from the study is the active involvement of women in teaching hunting practices and the possibility that they employ wide variety of weapon choice and hunting techniques than men. This claim was supported by discovered remains of women buried alongside hunting tools. In other words, women are skilled hunters in many foraging societies and play a significant contribution in the practice.

The long-held beliefs about gender roles in foraging communities have influenced the archeological studies in the past. For instance, some experts are hesitant to interpret the items buried with women as hunting tools. From the data provided by this research, Anderson and her team are confident that new insights can be used in future investigations on ancient human societies.

The Culture of Foraging Societies

In an attempt to explain human culture, anthropologists focus on the activities of hunter-gatherer or foraging societies. This is because having knowledge of these societies could possibly open a window to understand early human civilizations.

Foraging societies refer to communities where people do not have consistent control over their source of food, having their chance of survival at the mercy of nature. This subsistence lifestyle relied on hunting and fishing animals and foraging for wild edible plants and other sources of nutrients like honey.

Archeologists have discovered evidence that the hunter-gatherer culture was practiced by modern humans (Homo sapiens) and their close relatives as early as two million years ago. Before these cultures emerged, the earlier societies relied on the practice of scavenging the remains of animals left behind by predators.

Since there is no efficient system of obtaining food such as agriculture, hunter-gatherers depend on mobility as their survival strategy. This mode of obtaining food required the foraging societies to access large areas of land between seven and 500 square miles. In such type of lifestyle, it is not practical to establish long-term settlements or permanent dwellings. As a result, most of the foragers lived as nomads wandering from one place to another.