In hunter-gatherer societies, were hunters only men? Did the women hunt too? A new study provides elements. Women hunted as much as men. A collapsing myth.
Mathilde Fontez, editor-in-chief of the scientific magazine Epsiloonlooks back on a debate that agitates the community of prehistoric specialists.
franceinfo: In hunter-gatherer societies, did women also hunt? A new study sheds light on…
Mathilde Fontez: Yes, the debate has been quite heated, especially around the release of the book and the film Lady Sapiens, two years ago. How tasks were divided between men and women in prehistoric times. The women were devoted to gathering and raising children, while the men went hunting. Or were the women ultra-powerful, hunters dominating their society.
It feels like moving from one stereotype to another. And this new study brings a slightly offbeat look. The Seattle University researchers who conducted it did not rely on archaeological remains thousands of years old. Instead, they looked for the answer in contemporary hunter-gatherer populations, going back 100 years. They peeled the ethnographic reports, the descriptions of 63 of these societies, on the 5 continents. Tracking down all the places where hunting was mentioned…
And they find that women hunted in these societies?
Yes, they are far from being excluded from this activity. In 50 of the 63 societies studied, they hunt. In societies where hunting is the main activity to subsist, they participate 100%. In 87% of cases, hunting is a well-established activity among women: it is not just chance to come across an animal and enjoy it. It is an intentional hunt, an active hunt. Even if they use techniques that are sometimes different from those of men.
For example, among the Tiwi of Australia, women hunt small animals and men hunt big game. Among the Aka, in the Congo, they practice net hunting – the participation of women in this hunt is even compulsory in this society – whereas that of men is not. And among the Agta of the Philippines, they use various hunting techniques, when the men only use bows and arrows.
In short, the study goes well and truly against the prejudice of the division of labor between hunters and gatherers. It shows a whole diversity of practices and social organizations. But without questioning, often, a sexual distribution…
The study