Stone Age Women Hunted Big Game, Study Finds
2020-11-16
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1In the Stone Age Americas, a woman's place may have been on the hunt, a new study reports.
2The study has archaeologists rethinking ideas about gender roles in prehistoric hunter-gatherer cultures.
3But some scientists are not so sure about the results.
4The new study appeared this month in the publication Science Advances.
5Archaeologists involved in the research found the remains of a young woman at a 9,000-year-old burial site in Peru.
6She is buried with what appears to be a complete set of big-game hunting tools: spear points, scrapers, blades and more.
7"Big-game hunting" means the hunting of very large animals.
8Researchers could not tell the individual's sex at the place where the remains were found.
9"We all just assumed it was a dude" or male, said University of California Davis archaeologist Randy Haas.
10Around the site, the scientists told each other "he" must have been a great hunter, Haas said.
11"Maybe he was a big chief or a great warrior or something," the scientists would say.
12But after studying the remains back at a laboratory, scientist Jim Watson of the University of Arizona said, "I think 'he' is a 'she.'"
13"It definitely was a surprise for me," Haas added.
14In nearly every hunter-gatherer culture studied, big-game hunting is done almost always by men.
15Scientists had guessed that, for the most part, that is how it has always been.
16So, was this a special case? Or were prehistoric women hunters more common than thought?
17These are hard questions to answer because these kinds of sites are hard to find.
18"You don't just stumble across a burial like this every day," Haas said.
19So, the researchers decided to look at published records from 50 years of past digs across North and South America.
20They found that, out of 429 sets of remains, 16 males and 11 females were buried alongside big-game hunting gear.
21The numbers are not very different.
22However, scientists in those studies did not identify many of these women as hunters.
23Haas notes that at some other sites, the tools were described not as hunting tools but as tools for preparing food or clothing, which were considered women's work.
24In one case, a researcher questioned DNA results that identified the person as female just because the remains were found with hunting tools.
25Sexism could be affecting such studies and results, Haas said.
26Still, a lot can happen to a burial site in 9,000 years.
27Remains break down, and sex gets harder to identify.
28Also, objects found near an individual may not have been there when the body was buried.
29Of the 11 females found with hunting gear, scientists found the sex and connection with the tools for only three of them, including the one Haas' team found.
30Archaeologist Ben Potter is with the Liaocheng University Arctic Studies Center in China.
31He said he does not believe the new study should affect "the extensive data on hunter-gatherer sexual division of labor."
32Other experts described the study as compelling.
33Archaeologist Bill Hildebrandt said the study does a "good job" of showing that gender roles at the time may have been less official than in later times.
34Hildebrandt is with the Far Western Anthropological Research Group in California.
35He has studied an 8,000-year-old culture in Southern California that did not seem to have especially strong gender roles.
36Looking at more recent hunter-gatherer cultures, "we would think that there wasn't much change in how men and women interacted with one another," Hildebrandt said.
37"But when you're willing to look at the old archaeological record, sometimes you find things you don't expect."
38"That's why we do archaeology," he said, "to discover things that we didn't know."
39I'm Ashley Thompson.
1In the Stone Age Americas, a woman's place may have been on the hunt, a new study reports. 2The study has archaeologists rethinking ideas about gender roles in prehistoric hunter-gatherer cultures. But some scientists are not so sure about the results. 3The new study appeared this month in the publication Science Advances. Archaeologists involved in the research found the remains of a young woman at a 9,000-year-old burial site in Peru. She is buried with what appears to be a complete set of big-game hunting tools: spear points, scrapers, blades and more. "Big-game hunting" means the hunting of very large animals. 4Researchers could not tell the individual's sex at the place where the remains were found. "We all just assumed it was a dude" or male, said University of California Davis archaeologist Randy Haas. 5Around the site, the scientists told each other "he" must have been a great hunter, Haas said. "Maybe he was a big chief or a great warrior or something," the scientists would say. 6But after studying the remains back at a laboratory, scientist Jim Watson of the University of Arizona said, "I think 'he' is a 'she.'" 7"It definitely was a surprise for me," Haas added. 8In nearly every hunter-gatherer culture studied, big-game hunting is done almost always by men. Scientists had guessed that, for the most part, that is how it has always been. 9So, was this a special case? Or were prehistoric women hunters more common than thought? 10These are hard questions to answer because these kinds of sites are hard to find. 11"You don't just stumble across a burial like this every day," Haas said. 12So, the researchers decided to look at published records from 50 years of past digs across North and South America. 13They found that, out of 429 sets of remains, 16 males and 11 females were buried alongside big-game hunting gear. The numbers are not very different. 14However, scientists in those studies did not identify many of these women as hunters. Haas notes that at some other sites, the tools were described not as hunting tools but as tools for preparing food or clothing, which were considered women's work. 15In one case, a researcher questioned DNA results that identified the person as female just because the remains were found with hunting tools. 16Sexism could be affecting such studies and results, Haas said. 17Still, a lot can happen to a burial site in 9,000 years. Remains break down, and sex gets harder to identify. Also, objects found near an individual may not have been there when the body was buried. Of the 11 females found with hunting gear, scientists found the sex and connection with the tools for only three of them, including the one Haas' team found. 18Archaeologist Ben Potter is with the Liaocheng University Arctic Studies Center in China. He said he does not believe the new study should affect "the extensive data on hunter-gatherer sexual division of labor." 19Other experts described the study as compelling. 20Archaeologist Bill Hildebrandt said the study does a "good job" of showing that gender roles at the time may have been less official than in later times. Hildebrandt is with the Far Western Anthropological Research Group in California. He has studied an 8,000-year-old culture in Southern California that did not seem to have especially strong gender roles. 21Looking at more recent hunter-gatherer cultures, "we would think that there wasn't much change in how men and women interacted with one another," Hildebrandt said. "But when you're willing to look at the old archaeological record, sometimes you find things you don't expect." 22"That's why we do archaeology," he said, "to discover things that we didn't know." 23I'm Ashley Thompson. 24Steve Baragona reported this story for VOA News. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 25________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27archaeologist - n. a scientist who studies past human life and activities by studying the bones, tools, etc., of ancient people 28gender - n. the state of being male or female; sex. 29role - n. the part that someone has in a family, society, or other group 30site - n. a place that is used for a particular activity 31assume - v. to think that something is true or probably true without knowing that it is true 32stumble (upon) - v. to find or learn about something unexpectedly 33compelling - adj. very interesting : able to capture and hold your attention 34We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.