US EditionBurial Site Challenges Stereotypes of Stone Age Women and Children
Stone tools were integral to burial rituals and were equally buried with women, children, and men, challenging traditional Stone Age gender roles, researchers found.
- Archaeologists studied a young woman buried about 6,000 years ago at the Zvejnieki cemetery in northern Latvia, a site with over 330 Stone Age graves.
- The excavation followed discoveries in the 20th century when stone tools found in burials had not been analyzed in detail, prompting new research into gender roles and funerary practices.
- The young woman was interred with 45 stone tools, including a stone ax, scraper, 28 flint flakes, and 15 blades, with some tools unused or deliberately broken as part of burial rites.
- The September 10 study published in PLOS One found that women and children were as likely, or even more likely, than men to have stone tools included in their graves, challenging the traditional 'Man the Hunter' narrative.
- These findings suggest lithic grave goods had important symbolic roles in mourning across genders and ages, advocating broader interpretations of social identities in prehistoric Europe.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Secrets unearthed: Women and children buried with stone tools
Archaeologists studying the vast Zvejnieki cemetery in Latvia have uncovered surprising truths about Stone Age life. Stone tools, long thought to symbolize male hunters, were actually buried just as often with women, children, and elders. Some were deliberately crafted and broken as part of funerary rituals, revealing a symbolic and emotional dimension to these objects. The research overturns stereotypes about gender roles in prehistory and show…
New Research Shatters the Myth of Men As Hunters and Women As Gatherers
Data from foraging societies around the world indicates that women often hunt large game skillfully. Analysis of data from dozens of foraging societies around the world demonstrates that in at least 79 percent of these groups, women partake in hunting. This challenges the prevailing notion that h
Burial site challenges stereotypes of Stone Age women and children - Tech and Science Post
A study has revealed new insights into Stone Age life and death, showing that stone tools were just as likely to be buried with women and children as with men. The discovery, which took place at Zvejnieki cemetery in northern Latvia, one of the largest Stone Age burial sites in Europe, challenges the idea that stone tools were strictly associated with men. The research appears in PLOS One. The site was used for more than 5,000 years, and contain…
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