Women are born hunters and not just housewives, scientists say

WOMEN are born hunters and not just housewives, scientists say.

They found females stalking prey in eight of 10 hunter-gatherer communities in North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia from 1888 to 2020.

And they were as likely as men to take down big game. The study of 63 communities challenges the historical idea that women are only left at home to care for children and gather fruits and berries.

Dr. Cara Wall-Scheffler said women had “greater flexibility” with weapons and strategies.

And there was evidence that they used knives, bows, nets, machetes, spears and crossbows.

They liked to hunt alone or together with partners, women, children or dogs, while men more often went alone, with another adult or a dog.

Dr. Wall-Scheffler of Seattle Pacific University added: “Females play an active and important role in hunting and teaching hunting – even if they use different tools and strategies.”

She told PLOS One magazine: “Sex-specific gender roles are often linked to gender characteristics, such as men being less emotional, while women tend to exhibit more nurturing behavior.”

Dr. Wall-Scheffler added: “The data on women's hunting directly contradicts the common view that women gather exclusively while men hunt exclusively.”