The Invisible Sex: Uncovering the True Roles of Women in Prehistory
When you think of prehistory, do the roles of women or women in general instantly come to mind? Probably not. Instead you’re probably thinking of a hairy Neanderthal man, spear in hand, ready to strike a giant mammoth. This image of prehistory is not only inaccurate, but there is something missing from this picture. Yes, women. In The Invisible Sex, the authors attempt to reveal the way in which women shaped human evolution and the roles women played in prehistory.
Now I don’t know a whole lot about evolution or natural selection, probably just the basics; but the authors of this book clearly explain how scientists and anthropologists have based many of their theories and assumptions about these concepts based on gender stereotypes. I remember taking anthropology in high school and rarely did we discuss women and how women’s roles in prehistory shaped human life today.
The authors argue that women played an integral role in the development of agriculture, language, hunting, and art. J.M. Adovasia and Olga Soffer, leading experts in archaeological artifacts, discuss how items such as spear heads and rope used for nets were crafted by women and used by both men and women to hunt (not large mammoths, but more likely smaller animals). As humans developed throughout thousands of years, artifacts such as the sculpture of the Venus of Willendorf (which the authors argue was crafted by a woman) revealed not only the importance of maternity, but the way in which humans developed art and concepts of symbolism. Did you ever learn that women were the ones who first developed what we can call modern language? Again, probably not. Yet, the authors explain (more coherently than I can here) that is was mothers who first began communicating with their children using verbal sounds that could be decoded into a specific language. And as women’s birth canals became narrower and the birthing process became more difficult, women depended on other women such as midwives to help in giving birth. Therefore, women formed close relationships with one another and communicated with one another more frequently.
As humans began to move out of Africa, they traveled further north to much cooler climates. In order to survive the colder climate, humans needed to be warmly dressed (duh). So, who do you think constructed and produced clothing that was warm enough for frail human bodies? Yup, women.
Women also played an important role in cultivating agriculture. While men did most of the hunting, women began growing food and domesticating plants. Soon, the plants and food that women grew became the main source of sustenance for villages. Being that women were in charge of agriculture, this gave them greater power over men. This type of dynamic is especially evident in many Native American cultures. These cultures also worshiped Goddesses and family lines were matrilineal; meaning, the family lines were traced on the mother’s side.
