Women were hunters, athletes, and important political figures, among other things.
May 14, 2021
A reconstruction of a Wilamaya Patjxa vicuña hunt by artist Matthew Verdolivo, UC Davis IET Academic Technology Services. Courtesy Randall Haas.
We like to think we know what our ancient female forebears were like. Yet a spate of recent discoveries confirms the truth: that we really have no idea.
Clues from ancient texts and archaeological studies can give us a succinct picture of the important roles women have always played (and almost always without applause). So to give them their due, we rounded up a list of the major achievements of ancient women, the original revolutionaries subverting the gender roles we have in place today.