Customer Reviews

Women In Human Evolution

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Women in Human Evolution edited by Lori D. Hager means two things. Women in the field of Paleoanthropology and women in human prehistory. The collection questions if our knowledge and interpretations of human evolution is objective and gender free.
The only problem I have with the book was that I WAS looking for a book about women in evolution - how did they shape it, along side the males. In other words, something to counter balance all the information about males in prehistory.
The book deals more, in fact, about women's place as researchers in paleoanthropology than as subjects of that research. And when it dealt with the subject of evolution it wasted a lot of time trying to bring down the traditional 'Man The Hunter' idea of prehistory. I already know a lot of that is flawed, early man was mostly HUNTED, so don't waste your time and space attacking the ideas from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and so on.
Give me YOUR ideas of how evolution was shaped by both genders. The readers who buy this book, in the most cases, are buying it to hear the role of females in human evolution not to read about how invisible women are in science. It is sad but we already know that also. A book published in 1997 should be going beyond such barriers, to explaining the THEORIES these scientists have about EVOLUTION.

The volume Women in Human Evolution provides an excellent collection of short essays debating the role of women in human evolution, an event where typically men are only examined as key actors. The volume looks beyond a female's role as a passive child rearing observor, and gives her an active role in the evolution of the species. The topic is explored by Lori Hager, questioning the long renowned theory of the "food sharing" hypothesis, and the sexing of the infamous skeletal remains of "Lucy." Mary Leaky is hailed. Other topics in the volume include feminism's relationship with science, the female impact of primatology, the "African Eve" hypothesis, and the evolution of the brain. Each essay, written by females in the paleoanthropology field, causes the reader to pause and reflcet upon the fact that science cannot be value-free and unbiased, but will carry with it the preconceived notions of the researcher. Most researchers having been male, this gives the field an extremely biased view on the evolution of Man, and subordinates women to a negligable role in bringing the Human species to its current condition. The volume presents alternative views to this Male-biased history and provides women their undeniable and long overdue role in evolution. A must-read for all in the field of physical anthropology who may have been taught in the biased tradition of assigning gender roles baselessly to the past that women are passive sex-objects, male play-things, and nothing of themselves.

I found this collection of essays generally disappointing though they may be of interest to those who are new to evolutionary theories or to the male bias within them.

I had expected greater insights into the possible life experiences of women during evolution such as the significance of mating systems (with probable female dispersal) and the consequences of this for all human relationships then and now.

The faults of male bias are revealed but unfortunately powerful alternatives are not provided.