Women in the Paleolithic Period
Reese Working
History 1110
Women in the Paleolithic Period The Paleolithic era in our worlds history was a difficult time for everyone, but for women, it became more and more difficult. Hunting and gathering society’s were most prevalent, although, later on the early formation of cities and larger community’s began to emerge. Ones job in the Paleolithic era would most likely consist of gathering food and protecting the small group he or she belonged to. Just surviving would have been a full time job in many of the harsh climates people inhabited. In the hunting and gathering community’s, social status was equal or close to equal for men and women. The men would be responsible for hunting and collecting meat for their family. Men would also provide the protection if another peoples were to attack. Women were just as important if not more important because of their role. Women did the majority of gathering: fruit, vegetables, plants and what ever else they found that was edible. The rolls played by both parties were in place for a few reasons. When the typical physical body is considered, men seem to be stronger overall; although women, no doubt, were strong and able bodied, they still lacked the physical strength of men. Hunting with primitive hand-held weapons such as spears and sharp sticks would require a lot of strength making men the perfect fit for this job. Plants made up nearly 70 percent of these peoples diet and the task of gathering them fell primarily on women. Gathering items is not as physically demanding of a task as hunting, this meant it could be performed by the pregnant or while keeping a close eye on near by children. Since women generally cared for children, gathering food is a excellent role for them. Women most likely were the first to experiment with agriculture but it wasn 't a effective form of food at first. It would have taken many years for them to develop the ability to produce worth wile crops. This
History 1110
Women in the Paleolithic Period The Paleolithic era in our worlds history was a difficult time for everyone, but for women, it became more and more difficult. Hunting and gathering society’s were most prevalent, although, later on the early formation of cities and larger community’s began to emerge. Ones job in the Paleolithic era would most likely consist of gathering food and protecting the small group he or she belonged to. Just surviving would have been a full time job in many of the harsh climates people inhabited. In the hunting and gathering community’s, social status was equal or close to equal for men and women. The men would be responsible for hunting and collecting meat for their family. Men would also provide the protection if another peoples were to attack. Women were just as important if not more important because of their role. Women did the majority of gathering: fruit, vegetables, plants and what ever else they found that was edible. The rolls played by both parties were in place for a few reasons. When the typical physical body is considered, men seem to be stronger overall; although women, no doubt, were strong and able bodied, they still lacked the physical strength of men. Hunting with primitive hand-held weapons such as spears and sharp sticks would require a lot of strength making men the perfect fit for this job. Plants made up nearly 70 percent of these peoples diet and the task of gathering them fell primarily on women. Gathering items is not as physically demanding of a task as hunting, this meant it could be performed by the pregnant or while keeping a close eye on near by children. Since women generally cared for children, gathering food is a excellent role for them. Women most likely were the first to experiment with agriculture but it wasn 't a effective form of food at first. It would have taken many years for them to develop the ability to produce worth wile crops. This