¶ … role of women in foraging societies.
The role of women in foraging and horticultural-based societies
Women are equally respected for their foraging capacities, although their tasks may differ. Typically, men hunt and women gather, although sometimes these roles are sometimes and, to some extent, reversed with women hunting the small animal and men bringing the gathered food. To help each other with their specific tasks, women may inform men about animals that they have encountered, whilst males may inform females about ripe or abundant plant food.
There are cultures where women do hunt, but even though they may be more successful at the hunting than males, such as in the Agta rain forest, the women here confine themselves to small game bounty rather than to the large game which they leave to men. With the batek society, hunting for females, is voluntary although generally discouraged since males insist that their ability with the blowpipe (in that...
Whereas the men possesses greater knowledge of animal behavior, the women are, generally, more skilled in horticultural activities. Men, therefore, generally become involved in animal domestication, whilst horticulture is relegated to women. In a horticultural society, 39% of females are significantly involved in cultivation, as compared to an agrarian society where only 8% of the activity is a woman's responsibility.…
