Female big-game hunters may have been surprisingly common in the ancient Americas
A woman buried 9,000 years ago with her hunting toolkit is shedding new light on gender roles
![an illustration of a woman throwing a spear](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/110420_bb_female-hunter_feat.jpg?fit=1028%2C579&ssl=1)
In this illustration based on new archaeological finds, ancient hunters in the Andes Mountains surround their prey, wild relatives of the alpaca called vicuña. A woman in the foreground stands poised to hurl a spear with a spear thrower.
Matthew Verdolivo/UC Davis IET Academic Technology Services