essay
Woman the hunter: ethnoarchaeological lessons from Chipewyan life-cycle dynamics
women in prehistory : north america and mesoamerica • Philadelphia • Published In 1997 • Pages: 17-32, 249-289
By: Brumbach, Hetty Jo, Jarvenpa, Robert.
Abstract
Based on interviews, direct observations, and the interpretation of the archaeological record, this study presents an in-depth analysis of women as hunters in Chipewyan society. Contrary to the assumption "…that women in prehistory were 'immobilized' by pregnancy, lactation, and child care, and therefore needed to be left as a home base while the males ranged "freely and widely across the landscape' (p. 32), the authors demonstrate in this work that there is recent evidence to show that women did indeed have a significant role in hunting and although they did not kill large mammals as a rule or as frequently as did men, they were "…inextricably involved in the broader system, of provisioning through pursuit, harvesting, and processing of mammals, fish, and birds" (p. 21). One of the major conclusions of this study suggest that prior to European contact and even late into the historical period, Chipewyan women bore fewer children, took care of smaller families, and were fully integrated into a comprehensive range of hunting activities (p. 32).
- HRAF PubDate
- 2000
- Region
- North America
- Sub Region
- Arctic and Subarctic
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Types
- Archaeologist
- Sociocultural Anthropologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- John Beierle; 1999
- Field Date
- 1970s, 1992
- Coverage Date
- late eighteenth - mid twentieth centuries
- Coverage Place
- Patuanak and Knee Lake, upper Churchill River area, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Notes
- Hetty Jo Brumbach and Robert Jarvenpa
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-289)
- LCCN
- 96034559
- LCSH
- Chipewyan Indians