In September of this year, the French book of the same name and the documentary “Women Homo sapiens: Prehistoric Women” will be released in the United Kingdom. The filmmakers say they have studied prehistoric human bones, cemeteries, art and ethnographic history. They found that the traditional prehistoric gender division of labor was too simplistic .
Previously, researchers believed in academic writing that prehistoric men were hunter-gatherers and women were supporting roles. They believed that when men strode their spears at mammoths, women were used as mothers or tools of male sexuality, hiding in caves to avoid violence. .
In September of this year, the French book of the same name and the documentary “Women Homo sapiens: Prehistoric Women” will be released in the United Kingdom. The filmmakers say they have studied prehistoric human bones, cemeteries, art and ethnographic history. They found that the traditional prehistoric gender division of labor was too simplistic .
The image of prehistoric women depicted by the makers of the documentary “Women Homo sapiens: Prehistoric Women”, which shows prehistoric women not only breastfeeding young children, but also engaged in tasks such as small tribal hunting.
Sophie de Beaune, a professor of prehistoric history at the University of Lyon III in France, said that for a long time, prehistory was written from a male perspective, and when women were mentioned, they were portrayed as helpless, The timid group is protected by strong male hunters. Since prehistoric historians began to pay attention to prehistoric women, a picture of the real life of prehistoric people has gradually emerged…
Sophie points out that readers may be surprised to learn that the roles of men and women in prehistoric times were not clearly defined, and that many divisions of labor other than reproduction were collaboratively male and female, and their lives were based on close cooperation among all members of the group, Regardless of gender or age, this lifestyle ensures their survival. Meanwhile, newly released books and documentaries highlight that modern humans’ “fixed perception” of prehistoric women was caused by a lack of interest in prehistoric women’s roles by 19th-century research pioneers.
Thomas Cirotteau, one of the producers of the documentary “Women Homo sapiens: Prehistoric Women,” pointed out that the documentary was not made to portray dark-skinned, blue-eyed prehistoric women as “supergirls.” , but to broaden the possibilities of their roles in life, they would hunt like men, play an important role in group economic production, and at the same time, they would make art, and prehistoric men and women had mutual respect and tenderness.
The book of the same name is centered on the late Paleolithic period 10,000-40,000 years ago, and focuses on a rock panel found at the prehistoric human site in Gonnersdorf, Germany, which depicts a woman carrying a baby with her hands free to hunt and forage.
The documentary filmmakers emphasized that, through bone research and analysis, we found that prehistoric women had strong upper arm muscles. In addition, prehistoric human groups, including women, were recently discovered at the Wilamaya Patjxa site in Peru to hunt large prey. Archaeologists discovered 5 cemeteries and excavated 6 prehistoric human corpses, two of which had hunting tools next to them. The two corpses are: a man in his 30s and a woman under 20. Next to the young woman were 24 stone tools, including all the tools needed for hunting and slaughtering large game, including: 6 A thrower, 4 scrapers, a knife and several broken stones.
In addition, among 10 early to late Pleistocene sites in the United States, burial weapons were found in 11 female burial chambers, suggesting that the discovery at the Wilamaya Patjxa site in Peru has broader implications.
Archaeologists have discovered a prehistoric human group, including women, hunting large game at the Wilamaya Patjxa site in Peru. The young female deceased was placed next to 24 stone tools, including everything needed to hunt and slaughter large game, including : 6 projectiles, 4 scrapers, a knife and several broken stones.
Byrne pointed out the importance of small-scale hunting has also been underestimated researchers, prehistoric mammoth addition to rounding up groups, as well as fishing, hunting and gathering shellfish small marine animals, foraging behavior, such activity is the ability of women participate.
Motherhood is only a stage of prehistoric women’s lifestyle. Archaeologists’ latest research on the diet and lifestyle of prehistoric women of childbearing age shows that they did not continue to conceive and bear children. A study of carbon, strontium and calcium in their bones showed that mothers who breastfeed their young children until age 4 significantly reduce fertility.
Vincent Balter, director of the French National Research Center, said that the maximum age of childbearing for Stone Age women was around 30 years old. Will have 5-6 children.
At the same time, in newly released books and documentaries, researchers speculate that prehistoric women held a high status in the group. The remains of a woman with a shell ornament on her head were found at the Cavellon Female Site of the Balzi Rossi Caves in Italy. The site provides important archaeological clues that the woman was respected by members of the tribe during her lifetime.
It is reported that the documentary will be broadcast on French Channel 5 in October 2021.televisionIt was broadcast on TV and reached 1.5 million viewers. Some scientists raised controversy. Nine prehistorians said that the documentary systematically eliminated various factors of prehistoric male dominance and more or less ignored prehistoric male rule in tribes status.
Sirotto responded that we have no evidence of prehistoric women engaging in armed conflict, and we are not highlighting the roles of prehistoric men and women in tribes, but rather showing the various possibilities of their activities and positions in prehistoric history.
