Analysis of data from dozens of foraging societies around the world shows that women hunt in at least 79% of these societies, opposing the widespread belief that men exclusively hunt and women exclusively gather. Abigail Anderson of Seattle Pacific University, US, and colleagues presented these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on June 28, 2023.
Yeah I’ll let the scientists debate this one out before believing this. Every time this comes up there’s not enough evidence to make a convincing case. This one seems to have evidence from all around the world and makes some very bold claims.
Will be interested in how this new information changes things. It wouldn’t surprise me that women hunted. There’s always been girls in every traditional “male” activity I’ve done throughout my life.
And it’s not like all hunting requires top-tier physicality, if someone is just good at tracking that’s arguably the most important part of hunting, since you have to find game to kill it.
I’ve found it notable that a lot of people have latched onto the idea of humans as endurance/persistence hunters, tracking their prey down slowly until it’s exhausted… While also entirely ignoring that women tend to do better than men in ultra-marathons (and more so the longer the ultra-marathon is).
And also how some people latch onto the idea of teamwork and communication being essential for hunting, and also decide that women are better at communication and cooperation, then fail to consider that maybe such a communication advantage might outweigh a physical advantage.
Also there can be advantages to being small in some situations, too, like for stealth, or for climbing trees, or making their way through dense brush. Or for surviving with less food and water on long journeys.
Also literally anyone in a society like that, even the least built of them, would be in better shape than the vast majority of humans from modern sedentary cultures. Including gym bros, I’d argue, because building a physique by active lifestyle (vs a few hours of targeted exercise within an overwhelmingly sedentary lifestyle) optimizes for that lifestyle in a balanced way and won’t leave you with odd weak spots (no forgetting leg day, or forgetting to work out your core, then ending up with weird aches and pains).