Ecology=Equality

In a 2002 study on ancient arctic peoples it was found that the harsh environmental condtions created a form of necassary social equality between men and women that may not have occured in a more hospitable environment.

The differences that are observed across the whole of the data file on the isotope composition of paleo-population from Ekven are related rather to cultural tradition than to sex and age. This characteristic requires further consideration. In the ancient and ethnographically known communities the gender dietary specializations are quite common. The uniformity of the isotopic composition of the skeletal tissue of men and women of all ages in the paleo-population from Ekven can be considered as significant weakening of cultural traditions serving as the expression of social roles of both genders.
From the modern point of view this fact can be considered as the manifestation of the social equality of men and women. On the other hand, the dietary monotony and uniformity dictated by severe ecological conditions a priori deprived this population of the cultural means to express their ideal notions in the dietary codes. In this way the tough rules of survival imposed by ecology limited the applicability of some forms of cultural self-expression.

Kozlovskaya Maria V.. The Dietary System of the Ancient Arctic Population: Cultural and Biological Adaptation.



Tags
science
evolution
paleoanthropology
arctic
aboriginal
Russia
V.P. Alexeev
genetics