Prehistoric man is also woman

A dazzling investigation into the origins of humankind to bring women out of the cave.

"An essay as erudite as it is vindicating. [...] Patou-Mathis shows that the change in perspective on prehistory does not only depend on science, but on perspective."
Guillermo Altares, Babelia

No, prehistoric women did not spend their days sweeping the cave and taking care of the children while waiting for men to return from hunting. They also pursued large mammals, made tools and jewelry, built homes, and explored forms of symbolic expression. Archaeological remains show that Neanderthal women used spears; thanks to DNA analysis, we know that some skeletons buried with their weapons belonged to robust young women who hunted, and their artistic intervention on cave walls is also attested. Nor is there any indication that, in Paleolithic societies, a period spanning hundreds of millennia, women were considered inferior and subordinate to men. Why, then, does the image spread by the first prehistorians in the 19th century persist?

One only needs to go back in time to understand that gender hierarchy is based solely on prejudices that urgently need to be deconstructed. From the hand of one of the leading specialists in Neanderthal behavior, this fascinating gender archaeology investigation reveals a prehistory as we have never read it before.

Critics have said...
"A return to our origins to begin to repair a (pre)historic injustice."
Laura Caso, Mujer Hoy

"A work that overwhelmingly addresses, with erudition, scientific evidence —from archaeological remains to the latest DNA analyses— and unavoidable questions, the prejudices on which those ideas of women only gathering fruits and doing light tasks are based."
David Barreira, El Español

"A must-read."
Ignasi Aragay, Diari Ara

"Patou-Mathis throws the flint against the wall and drops a bombshell: women have been the great forgotten of prehistory."
Sophie Carquain, Version Femina

"A powerful book, [...] healthy and inspiring [...] that we must incorporate into our heritage (or rather into our #matrimony#)."
Rachel Mulot, Sciences et Avenir

"It is not common for a scientist to become a media star, but that is what has happened with French researcher Marylène Patou-Mathis [thanks to] her sense of humor and her frank and direct way of explaining delicate matters [of prehistory]."
Guillermo Altares, El País Semanal

"This book opens a new path for thought and is read with delight. Full of information, [...] it is as solid as a menhir."
Françoise Cariès, MAG Centre

"A valuable essay that gives us the keys to renew, through the lens of prehistory, our vision of genders and individuals."
Camille Crosnier, La Terre au carré (France Inter)

"Dazzling: Patou-Mathis deconstructs our collective imaginary and tells a new history of women."
Guy Duplat, La Libre Belgique

"Patou-Mathis brings us happy news that provides us with new weapons to fight against naturalistic arguments."
Dorothée Werner, Elle