According to a recent study, evidence from the hunter gatherer society suggest that the gender disparities are not so natural

Traditionally it has been perceived that women’s place is at home, managing the domestic life of a household. This has not just been the stance in our part of the world but a notion that was considered the norm around the world. Over the course of history women have had to fight for their rights and still continue to do so.

A recent study has brought light to an alternative theory about the traditional role of women. According to this study women’s place might never have been at home to begin with.

Scientists from the University of California have discovered remains of a young women, which are around 9,000 year old, in the Peruvian Andes along with a well stocked hunting toolkit for big game. In addition to this a detailed analysis of additional 27 individuals at the burial sites with similar tools, the team of scientists led by Randall Haas, concluded that during this specific period between 30 to 50 per cent of Americas’ hunters may have been women.

The corresponding paper for this study has been published in the journal, Science Advances and contradicts the previously prevalent understanding that hunters during the age of hunter gatherer societies, were mainly men and women were limited to the function of being the gatherers.

As Haas told AFP, “I think it tells us that for at least some portion of human prehistory, that assumption was inaccurate.”

He further added that the results “highlight the disparities in labor practice today, in terms of things like gender pay gaps, titles, and rank. The results really underscore that there may be nothing ‘natural’ about those disparities.”

The skeletal remains of six people including two hunters were discovered in 2018 by Haas and members of the local Mulla Fasiri community at Wilamaya Patjxa, an important archaeological site in highland Peru.

Analysis of the hunters’ bone structure as well as biological molecules called peptides in their tooth enamel allowed scientists to identify one as a female between the ages of 17 to 19 years, and the second as a male of 25 to 30 years.

During the dig, the team uncovered an array of hunting and animal processing tools that provided a strong evidence of her status as a hunter. The tools included; stone projectile points for felling large animals, a knife and flakes of rock for removing internal organs, and tools for scraping and tanning hides. These artifacts were likely placed together in a perishable container like a leather bag.

According to the paper, the teen, dubbed “WMP6” by the scientists, would have used a weapon called an “atlatl,” a spear throwing lever that allowed our ancient ancestors to throw spears much further. Her main prey at the time would have been species like the vicuna, a wild ancestor of the alpaca, and Andean deer.

Originally published at https://pk.mashable.com on November 11, 2020.