The sexual division of labor among human foraging populations has typically been recognized as involving males as hunters and females as gatherers. Recent archeological research has questioned this paradigm with evidence that females hunted — and went to war — throughout the Homo sapiens lineage, though many of scientists assert the pattern of women hunting may only have occurred in the past. In a new study, researchers at Seattle Pacific University investigate the prevalence of women hunting in foraging societies in more recent times.
A common belief holds that, among foraging populations, men have typically hunted animals while women gathered plant products for food.
However, mounting archaeological evidence from across human history and prehistory is challenging this paradigm.
For instance, women in many societies have been found buried alongside big-game hunting tools.
Some researchers have suggested that women’s role as hunters was confined to the past, with more recent foraging societies following the paradigm of men as hunters and women as gatherers.
To investigate that possibility, Seattle Pacific University researcher Abigail Anderson and colleagues analyzed data from the past 100 years on 63 foraging societies around the world, including societies in North and South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and the Oceanic region.
They found that women hunt in 79% of the analyzed societies, regardless of their status as mothers.
More than 70% of female hunting appears to be intentional — as opposed to opportunistic killing of animals encountered while performing other activities, and intentional hunting by women appears to target game of all sizes, most often large game.
The researchers also revealed that women are actively involved in teaching hunting practices and that they often employ a greater variety of weapon choice and hunting strategies than men.
The findings suggest that, in many foraging societies, women are skilled hunters and play an…
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