WOMEN are born hunters and not just homemakers, say scientists.
They found females stalking prey in eight out of ten hunter-gatherer societies across North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia from 1888 to 2020.
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And they were just as likely as men to take down big game. The study of 63 communities challenges the historic idea of women merely being left at home to care for children, and collect fruit and berries.
Dr Cara Wall-Scheffler said women had “greater flexibility” with weapons and strategies.
And there was proof of them using knives, bows, nets, machetes, spears and crossbows.
They were happy to hunt alone or alongside partners, women, children or dogs — while men were more likely to go alone, with one other adult or a dog.
Dr Wall-Scheffler, of Seattle Pacific University, added: “Females play an active and important role in hunting and the teaching of hunting — even if they use different tools and strategies.”
She told journal PLOS One: “Sex-specific gender roles are commonly linked to gendered traits such as men being less emotional, while women tend to demonstrate more nurturing behaviour.”
Dr Wall-Scheffler added: “The data on women hunting directly opposes the common belief that women exclusively gather while men exclusively hunt.”
