American anthropologists from the University of Notre Dame came to the conclusion that the generally accepted division of primitive people into male hunters and female gatherers is not entirely correct. According to scientists, women also participated in hunting and even had some advantages over men. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine American Anthropologist (AmAnt).
Experts have studied the division of labor by gender in the Paleolithic era, from 2.5 million to 12 thousand years ago. After analyzing modern archaeological data and literature, they found little evidence of precise role harmony in prehistoric society.
Anthropologists have also found examples of gender equality in ancient tools, diets, art, and burials.
Because men are stronger and faster than women, physiological differences remained a strong argument for splitting roles into men and women; This is critical for successful hunting. However, scientists believe that prehistoric women took advantage of their endurance in long-distance running, allowing them to chase their prey for longer. Women’s endurance is determined by the hormone estrogen, which increases fat metabolism and provides longer-lasting energy to muscles.
According to study co-author Professor Sarah Lacey, for millions of years humans have needed to be constantly flexible and perform different tasks, regardless of their gender, to survive. Therefore, gender role distribution cannot be considered an integral feature of our ancestors.
Earlier archaeologists I learnedDue to the extinction of large game animals, primitive people became smarter.