For decades, the image of a prehistory dominated by hunter men shaped our understanding of ancient societies. This vision, based on a gender reading of social tools and roles, remains anchored in many collective textbooks and imaginary. A study recently published in the journal Plos One, conducted by researchers from the University of York, the University of Belgrade and the National Museum of Latvia of Latvia, challenges these presuppositions.
An egalitarian distribution of funeral tools at prehistoric times
The study conducted on the Zvejnieki site, in Latvia, reveals a total absence of gender biases in the distribution of flint tools deposited in burials. Contrary to popular belief, lithic objects are not the prerogative of men. Analyzes show that women and children receive them as frequently as men, or even more sometimes. The site, dated between 7500 and 2500 BC. AD, includes more than 330 tombs containing at least 350 individuals. Among them, 33 burials contain lithic artifacts deposited in primary funeral context, representing 158 tools studied.
Researchers indicate that 12 % of identified women are associated with tools, compared to 11 % of men. An unexpected distribution at the scale of a mesolithic site. This statistical equality aims to be all the more remarkable as the tools have long been interpreted as markers of male, linked to hunting.
The types of tools deposited with women include bifacial points, blades, scrapers and bursts. Some female tombs even contain richer assemblies than those associated with men. This observation invites to reconsider the idea that technical tasks, manufacturing or using tools remained confined to male genre.
Researchers recall that this gendered reading of social roles has not only influenced archaeological interpretations, but also, sometimes, the determination of the sex of individuals in a funeral context, based solely on found furniture. A method now questioned.
Children as a full ritual actors
The results of the project reveal an equally unexpected fact. Children are the most frequently associated individuals with lithic tools in graves. In burials containing artifacts in primary context, children, especially those under the age of 14, represent the most recurring age category. This observation contradicts the idea of a lower or marginal social status for the youngest in prehistoric societies.
© A. Petrović et al., 2025Reconstruction of collective burials studied.
Among the most significant cases, tomb 207, identified as that of a genetically sexed young girl, presents exceptional funeral furniture. It contained seven bifacial points, six scrapers and sixteen shards, several of which are deposited in a secondary offering located at its feet. This configuration makes it one of the richest sets on the site. Bifacial points, often considered typically male, did not display any trace of use.
More broadly, the researchers found that children received simple tools (shards, blades) as well as more complex or symbolic forms. Some objects have been voluntarily broken before deposit, indicating a strong ritual load. Their locations in the grave (near the chest, hands or belt) show a conscious and symbolic provision.
According to Petrović and his colleagues, this over -representation of children in tool deposits could reflect specific beliefs: notions of renewal, lineage or ritual purity. It also reveals a strong emotional dimension of the funeral rite, reports Arkeonews. Children are not considered to be passive figures, but as essential members of the group, worthy of a complex and codified commemoration.
Function, manufacture and symbolism of the tools deposited
The study of tools reveals a typological and functional diversity much more complex than what we thought. The researchers identified five main categories of artefacts: bursts, blades, scrapers, bifacial tips and knives. The majority of objects (84 out of 158) are bursts, followed by the blades (29), bifacial points (25), scrapers (17) and knives (3). Microscopic analyzes show that almost half of the artifacts have never been used. They would have been produced specifically for funeral rites.
The remaining objects have very varied traces of wear. In particular: skins work, bone cutting, meat preparation or mineral treatment. The scrapers and bursts show marks of use on animal or plant materials. A particularity noted: the tools used for the work of minerals – probably for pigments such as ocher – remain exclusively associated with female burials.
© A. Petrović et al., 2025
The researcher loved Little underlines, in a press release, that these deposits can no longer be considered purely utility. The fact that certain tools are broken before burial, or carefully placed near specific parts of the body, indicates a strong symbolic intention. Some objects are even associated with additional ritual elements. There are clay masks, amber ornaments or red ocher layers.
The material used, mainly the flint, comes in part from regions outside the current Latvia (Lithuania, Russia, Belarus). There were therefore exchange networks and a neat selection for funeral deposits. All of these elements prove that the tools deposited were not waste or simple possessions. They must be considered as markers of identity and social memory.
A renewed reading of prehistoric companies
In fact, the analysis of the Zvejnieki cemetery requires a deep revision of the social models attributed to the Mesolithic and Neolithic societies of Northeast Europe. The observation of a non -gendered and transgenerational distribution of funeral objects breaks the linear narrative of prehistory hierarchical according to sex and physical strength. He invites us to consider individuals not according to a functional division man/hunter – woman/caregiver. They must be considered according to more complex community roles. Children, women and the elderly also carry symbolic statutes.
The case of the Baltic cemetery is not isolated. Similar practices are observed in other sites in northern Europe and Russia. This suggests shared regional funeral traditions. Lithic objects were part of standardized ritual scenarios, regardless of biological sex.
The implications are also methodological. The project recalls that for a long time, the stone tools have been dismissed from symbolic analyzes, because they are perceived as “utility”. By re-examining the old collections with current methods-micro-micro-use, space map, DNA analyzes-, researchers have opened a more inclusive field of interpretation. This integrative approach makes it possible to overcome the initial biases linked to the archeology of the years 1960-1980.
Dr Petrović insists on the need to apply these new reading grids to other contexts. “” If we want to understand our ancestors, we must stop projecting our contemporary standards on their gestures ». Zvejnieki's case illustrates a long -ignored cultural diversity. It reveals a society where memory, identity and death constituted affairs shared by all.
Source: Petrović, A., Bates, J., et al., (2025). “Multiproxy Study Reveals Equality in the Deposition of Flaked Loodic Grave Goods from the Baltic Stone Cemetery Zvejnieki (Latvia)”. Plos One,, 20(9), E0330623
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