• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Archaeology News
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum
Archaeology News
No Result
View All Result
Home News Anthropology

Latvian Stone Age burials challenge gender stereotypes: women and children buried with stone tools

by Dario Radley
September 10, 2025

A recent study of the Zvejnieki cemetery in northern Latvia, one of the largest burial sites of the Stone Age in Europe, has revealed sensational new information about the use of stone tools during burial. The research, undertaken as part of the Stone Dead Project led by the University of York’s Dr. Aimée Little, shows that stone tools were not solely associated with men, as was previously thought, but were equally frequently buried with women, children, and elderly individuals.

Latvian Stone Age burials challenge gender stereotypes: women and children buried with stone tools
Reconstruction drawing of collective burial 263, 264 and 264a. Credit: A. Petrović et al., PloS One (2025)

Zvejnieki, active for more than 5,000 years, contains more than 330 graves with more than 350 individuals. Although previous research focused on skeletal remains or grave goods such as animal tooth pendants, stone artifacts—which were largely characterized as being purely utilitarian—had not been investigated extensively.

Using a multiproxy approach that considered geological, technological, functional, spatial, and depositional data, the researchers were able to trace how tools were made, used, and sometimes intentionally broken as part of funerary rites.

The analysis revealed that some lithic tools were used in the processing of animal hides, but others appear to have been deliberately created and deposited in graves, sometimes even broken before burial. Children were among the most frequent recipients of lithic grave goods, which implies that tools were symbolic rather than merely practical. Women were also repeatedly buried with stone tools, contrary to former ideas about gender roles in prehistoric societies and the tendency to describe women as having been primarily engaged in domestic tasks.

Latvian Stone Age burials challenge gender stereotypes: women and children buried with stone tools
Stone Age tools. Credit: A. Petrović et al., PloS One (2025)

“This research overturns the old stereotype of ‘Man the Hunter,’ which has been a dominant theme in Stone Age studies, and has even influenced, on occasion, how some infants were sexed, on the basis that they were given lithic tools,” said Dr. Little.

RelatedStories

Rare 30,000-year-old personal toolkit reveals life of a Stone Age hunter

Rare 30,000-year-old personal toolkit reveals life of a Stone Age hunter

September 28, 2025
9,000-year-old workshop discovery in Senegal reveals life of West Africa’s last hunter-gatherers

9,000-year-old workshop discovery in Senegal reveals life of West Africa’s last hunter-gatherers

September 5, 2025

The study also highlights the importance of methodological rigor in archaeological research. Through detailed examination of lithic assemblages along with burial data, scientists can come closer to understanding the symbolic and practical significance of such artifacts.

The researchers recommended that future research should target comparative studies of cemetery tools and modern settlement artifacts, and integrate lithic data with other categories of grave goods with a view to building a more complete picture of Stone Age mortuary practices.

The findings reveal the reality that stone tools were far from everyday tools—they were focal points of the rituals and memorials surrounding death.

More information: University of York
Publication: Petrović, A., Bates, J., Macāne, A., Zagorska, I., Edmonds, M., Nordqvist, K., & Little, A. (2025). Multiproxy study reveals equality in the deposition of flaked lithic grave goods from the Baltic Stone Age cemetery Zvejnieki (Latvia). PloS One, 20(9), e0330623. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0330623
Share14Tweet9Share2ShareSend

You May Also Like...

Scientists digitally reconstruct faces of Colombian mummies, removing death masks for the first time
Anthropology

Scientists digitally reconstruct faces of Colombian mummies, removing death masks for the first time

October 2, 2025
Early South American hunters primarily hunted giant megafauna, including sloths, new study reveals
Archaeology

Early South American hunters primarily hunted giant megafauna, including sloths, new study reveals

October 2, 2025
Well-preserved Roman shipwreck in Croatia reveals ancient trade and seafaring insights
Archaeology

Well-preserved Roman shipwreck in Croatia reveals ancient trade and seafaring insights

October 2, 2025
Study finds Levantine ivory came from Africa through Nubian trade, not Egypt
Archaeology

Study finds Levantine ivory came from Africa through Nubian trade, not Egypt

October 1, 2025
Ancient life-size rock art in Saudi Arabia reveals earliest human presence and desert oases
Archaeology

Ancient life-size rock art in Saudi Arabia reveals earliest human presence and desert oases

October 1, 2025
Earliest evidence of blue pigment in Europe unearthed at Paleolithic site in Germany
Archaeology

Earliest evidence of blue pigment in Europe unearthed at Paleolithic site in Germany

September 30, 2025

Comments 0

  1. Editorial Team says:
    1 second ago
    Disclaimer: This website is a science-focused magazine that welcomes both academic and non-academic audiences. Comments are written by users and may include personal opinions or unverified claims. They do not necessarily reflect the views of our editorial team or rely on scientific evidence.
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow us


Instagram
245K

Facebook
116K

Threads
44K

LinkedIn
13K

Twitter
6K

YouTube
1K
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Shipwreck Salvage. Credit: rawpixel.com / Public Domain

2,000-year-old shipwreck discovered off Turkish coast with remarkably preserved stacked ceramics

July 2, 2025
Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

May 18, 2025
Complete copy of the Canopus Decree unearthed in Egypt after 150 years

Complete copy of the Canopus Decree unearthed in Egypt after 150 years

September 13, 2025
Mystery of Armenia’s 6,000-year-old dragon stones solved

Mystery of Armenia’s 6,000-year-old dragon stones solved

September 23, 2025
Moses may be named in ancient Egyptian mine inscriptions, sparking debate over earliest biblical references

Moses may be named in ancient Egyptian mine inscriptions, sparking debate over earliest biblical references

July 31, 2025
Moses may be named in ancient Egyptian mine inscriptions, sparking debate over earliest biblical references

Moses may be named in ancient Egyptian mine inscriptions, sparking debate over earliest biblical references

$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

3D analysis reveals Shroud of Turin image likely came from sculpture, not Jesus’ body

3D analysis reveals Shroud of Turin image likely came from sculpture, not Jesus’ body

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

Scientists digitally reconstruct faces of Colombian mummies, removing death masks for the first time

Scientists digitally reconstruct faces of Colombian mummies, removing death masks for the first time

October 2, 2025
Early South American hunters primarily hunted giant megafauna, including sloths, new study reveals

Early South American hunters primarily hunted giant megafauna, including sloths, new study reveals

October 2, 2025
Well-preserved Roman shipwreck in Croatia reveals ancient trade and seafaring insights

Well-preserved Roman shipwreck in Croatia reveals ancient trade and seafaring insights

October 2, 2025
Study finds Levantine ivory came from Africa through Nubian trade, not Egypt

Study finds Levantine ivory came from Africa through Nubian trade, not Egypt

October 1, 2025
Ancient life-size rock art in Saudi Arabia reveals earliest human presence and desert oases

Ancient life-size rock art in Saudi Arabia reveals earliest human presence and desert oases

October 1, 2025

Archaeology News online magazine

Archaeology News is an international online magazine that covers all aspects of archaeology.











Categories

  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • Download
  • Game
  • News
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Paleontology
  • Quiz
  • Tours

Subscribe to our newsletter

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum

About  .  Contact  .  Donation

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved