“Anthropological research in current hunter-gatherer societies, such as the Hadza in Tanzania, suggests that mothers’ and grandmothers’ foraging supplies the large majority of families’ caloric intake, as male hunters are successful on only 3.4% of hunting excursions (Hawkes, 2017). First-time mothers’ foraging skills are correlated with infants’ growth, but after the birth of a second infant, the correlation between mothers’ foraging and infant growth disappears, and a correlation between grandmothers’ foraging skills and infant growth emerges (Hawkes, 2017). These findings have several implications for understanding human evolution, including why humans are the only great apes in which women live long past reproductive age and why social orientation and cooperation are so central to our species (Hrdy, 2009).”
– John W. Santrock, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Jennifer Lansford, Jamie Piercy, Angie Rosati. Child Development. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf (2nd Edition). McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2022.
It’s the women here who are really feeding the family, but there’s a pervasive self-image of men as strong providers LOL
Addendum (9 days later): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHamfYHP8fs
Skytalker 