{"id":134648,"date":"2023-10-02T00:06:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T04:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=134648"},"modified":"2023-10-01T13:41:44","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T17:41:44","slug":"media-puffs-up-study-on-spears-to-claim-female-hunters-were-equal-to-males","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/media-puffs-up-study-on-spears-to-claim-female-hunters-were-equal-to-males\/","title":{"rendered":"Media puffs up study on spears to claim female hunters were ‘equal’ to males"},"content":{"rendered":"

Study authors suggested their findings warranted future inquiry, while media went much further<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Some media outlets were quick to trumpet a Kent State University study which suggested a possibility that primitive female hunters may have been able to kill as well as males if they used a specific weapon.<\/p>\n

\u201cAncient spear find proves cave women had more ‘equal’ role in hunting,\u201d Yahoo News<\/em><\/a> wrote in its article.<\/p>\n

An article in Interesting Engineering<\/em><\/a> took a similar approach, claiming \u201cstone age female hunters launched this weapon for equality\u201d and that \u201cwomen often outperformed men without relying on brute strength.\u201d Other<\/a> science news outlets ran with headlines that claimed the weapon \u201cequalized\u201d hunting.<\/p>\n

But the professor leading the study<\/a> never made such a claim.<\/p>\n

Assistant Professor Michelle Bebber at Kent State University\u2019s anthropology department, along with four other researchers, co-authored a study titled \u201cAtlatl Use Equalizes Female and Male Projectile Velocity.\u201d An atlatl is a type of spear.<\/p>\n

The researchers in the abstract directly state they are out to test the hypothesis that \u201cthe atlatl acted as an equalizer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne hypothesis for forager atlatl adoption over its presumed predecessor, the thrown javelin, is that a diverse array of people could achieve equal performance results, thereby facilitating inclusive participation of more people in hunting activities,\u201d the authors wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tested this hypothesis via a systematic assessment of 2160 weapon launch events by 108 people who used both technologies,\u201d they wrote. \u201cOur results show that, unlike the javelin, the atlatl equalizes the velocity of female- and male-launched projectiles.\u201d<\/p>\n

The College Fix<\/em> reached out to four of the study members via email multiple times in the last two weeks and requested comment on the hypothesis of the study and whether there were any biological changes in the human body in the last tens of thousands of years that may have bearing on the study.<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> also asked if there was any direct correlation between atlatl equalizing velocity between males and females and proof that women hunted in similar capacities to men on a broad scale. There has been no response from any author.<\/p>\n

The median velocity for the atlatl was still higher for males than for females, according to the results (pictured<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The study presents two primary conclusions in the results and discussion sections: the first, that the \u201catlatl \u2018likely\u2019 introduced a unification rather than a division of labor,\u201d and the second, that the near equal velocity of female darts to male darts, along with the close accuracy scores, should call into question \u201cthe assumption\u201d that man was the only hunter.<\/p>\n

The study does not directly claim that women had an equal role to men in this capacity.<\/p>\n

In fact, the authors write that the “practice of female hunting should be a prediction to be tested, or at least not prematurely disregarded, in archaeological contexts in which the atlatl is either documented as the dominant weapon system or inferred to be employed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The key phrases are \u201cshould be a prediction to be tested\u201d and \u201cat least not prematurely disregarded.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors are trying to address the dismissal of the \u201cpossibility of past female hunting.\u201d They note a \u201clack of consistent javelin, atlatl, dart, bow, and arrow preservation in the Pleistocene archaeological record.\u201d<\/p>\n

They conclude that the use of atlatl \u201cwould have been an elegant, effective weaponry solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> reached out to a handful of anthropologists at Hunter College and Ohio State University for comment on the study, but none responded.<\/p>\n

Right now\u00a0The College Fix<\/em>\u00a0has a back-to-school campaign to help us continue to support our amazing student journalists. A\u00a0donation today<\/span><\/a>\u00a0will be matched thanks to a generous limited-time matching gift opportunity from a friend of\u00a0The Fix<\/em>!\u00a0CLICK HERE<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for more details \u2014 and thank you!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Professors explore ‘feminist epistemologies’ of paywalls<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE: Outdoor Life\/YouTube<\/p>\n

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