Woman the hunter: The archaeological evidence

The Paleo-fantasy of a deep history to a sexual division of labor, often described as Man the Hunter and Woman the Gatherer, continues to dominate the literature. We see it used as the default hypothesis in anatomical and physiological reconstructions of the past as well as studies of modern people evoking evolutionary explanations. However, the idea of a strict sexual labor division in the Paleolithic is an assumption with little supporting evidence, which reflects a failure to question how modern gender roles color our reconstructions of the past. Here we present examples to support women's roles as hunters in the past as well as challenge oft-cited interpretations of the material culture. Such evidence includes stone tool function, diet, art, anatomy and paleopathology, and burials. By pulling together the current state of the archaeological evidence along with the modern human physiology presented in the accompanying paper (Ocobock and Lacy, this issue), we argue that not only are women well-suited to endurance activities like hunting, but there is little evidence to support that they were not hunting in the Paleolithic. Going forward, paleoanthropology should embrace the idea that all sexes contributed equally to life in the past, including via hunting activities. La Paleo-fantasia de una historia profunda a una division sexual del trabajo, a menudo descrita como el hombre el cazador y la mujer la recolectora, continuan dominando la literatura. La vemos como la hipotesis por defecto en reconstrucciones anatomicas y fisiologicas del pasado, asi como estudios de las personas modernas evocando explicaciones evolucionarias. Sin embargo, la idea de una division sexual del trabajo estricta en el Paleolitico es una asuncion con poca evidencia de apoyo, que refleja una falla a la cuestion de como los roles de genero modernos influencian nuestras construcciones del pasado. Aqui presentamos ejemplos para argumentar los roles de las mujeres como cazadoras en el pasado, asi como retar las interpretaciones frecuentemente citadas de la cultura material. Tal evidencia incluye la funcion de las herramientas de piedra, la dieta, el arte, la anatomia, y la paleopatologia y los entierros. Al aunar el estado actual de la evidencia arqueologica con la fisiologia humana moderna presentada en el trabajo adjunto (Ocobock and Lacy, en este numero), argumentamos que no solo las mujeres son aptas para actividades de resistencia como cazar, sino hay poca evidencia para sustentar que ellas no estaban cazando en el Paleolitico. En adelante, la paleoantropologia debe acoger la idea que todos los sexos contribuyeron igualmente a la vida en el pasado, incluyendo a traves de las actividades de caceria. [arqueologia feminista, division sexual del trabajo, neandertales, Paleolitico]

Automated summary

Research suggests that there was no strict sexual division of labor in the Paleolithic era, and women also participated in hunting activities. We need to examine how modern gender roles shape our reconstructions of the past.