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The real females of human evolution
Author(s) -
Zihlman Adrienne L.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
evolutionary anthropology: issues, news, and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1520-6505
pISSN - 1060-1538
DOI - 10.1002/evan.21331
Subject(s) - homo sapiens , perspective (graphical) , human evolution , evolutionary biology , space (punctuation) , primate , key (lock) , geography , biology , ecology , archaeology , computer science , artificial intelligence , operating system
When “woman‐the‐gatherer” was first proposed as a counter to “man‐the‐hunter,” we were only beginning to understand the many faces of primate females. In ensuing decades we have learned about the skills and talents of female chimpanzees in tool using, hunting, and transmitting behaviors from one generation to the next as teachers, and across space as newcomers to neighboring communities. The perspective of evolutionary time highlights the continuity of female lives from the origin of mammals to the origin of Homo sapiens . The combination of behavioral, fossil, and archeological information aid in reconstructing key ingredients acquired by females along the way that contributed to the success of our species. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.