While the men were out hunting, Stone Age women created a future

By Scott LaFee

For generations, archaeologists believed that Stone Age gender roles split neatly in two, like a well-struck piece of flint:



Paleolithic males were hunters of woolly mammoths and other daunting prey. Females stayed behind. They cared for the kids, or maybe gathered seeds and berries.

The image was widely disseminated and quickly popularized in movies, cartoons and museum dioramas. It was also based, contends James M. Adovasio, director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute in Pennsylvania, upon wrongheaded interpretations of scant evidence and some dubious assumptions.

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Uncovering history — Utah Prehistory Week offers a chance to tour archaeological site near prison

In 1998, the site was declared protected open space by the state Legislature, and set aside from any development. But it took until now before further excavations were made.
Andy Yentsch shows an excavation area at the prison site. (Ravell Call, Deseret Morning News)


Andy Yentsch shows an excavation area at the prison site.



Yentsch was brought in last October to oversee a one-year project. Actual digging at the site started last month and will continue through June.
Tours and explanations of the Prison Dig are being featured during Utah Prehistory Week, May 5-12. Other events include tours of Danger and Jukebox Caves in the West Desert and activities and lectures for the whole family.


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