I'm sure there were numerous women hunters throughout prehistory, after all everyone's got to eat regardless of if they're a man or a woman. But the idea of men being the hunters while the women were in charge of the home/village/children, probably arises from what would happen in a more standard situation where there's fairly equal numbers of both sexes.
Humans were persistence hunters. Every failed attempt meant having to chase the prey for another couple of miles at least. Men are faster, more accurate (hand-eye coordination) and significantly stronger. Even if a woman managed to kill an animal, she wouldn't be able to carry it 15-20 miles back to the settlement.
I agree actually. I'm talking more about situations where a woman was on her own or dealing with specific situations where men may not be able to hunt. Men were most definitely the hunters 99% of the time though.
I'm sure there were numerous women hunters throughout prehistory, after all everyone's got to eat regardless of if they're a man or a woman. But the idea of men being the hunters while the women were in charge of the home/village/children, probably arises from what would happen in a more standard situation where there's fairly equal numbers of both sexes.
Humans were persistence hunters. Every failed attempt meant having to chase the prey for another couple of miles at least. Men are faster, more accurate (hand-eye coordination) and significantly stronger. Even if a woman managed to kill an animal, she wouldn't be able to carry it 15-20 miles back to the settlement.
I agree actually. I'm talking more about situations where a woman was on her own or dealing with specific situations where men may not be able to hunt. Men were most definitely the hunters 99% of the time though.
Lone humans don't survive.