Medium Article Review Part Nine (TikTok Edition)
Dismantling "Caveman Logic": Why Evolution Actually Debunks Modern Patriarchy.
This is a disclaimer: any reference to history, sociology, and psychology from this point onward is a result of my own research, tailored to suit my arguments, my objectives, and to push my own narrative. I advise you to do your own research for the sake of this conversation. Grab a pen and paper for pointers; this is crucial information you might not get anywhere else.
Today’s excerpt reads as follows:
This is yet another excerpt from my article on Medium, and I hope the following, very necessary critique dismantles the lazy, pseudo-historical justifications for modern patriarchy. I'd like to think a lot of us have a bone to pick, well here is an in-depth analysis with research to back up my bone.
1. The Existence of "Cavemen and Women" in Africa
Most of us treat the concept of evolution as a far-fetched phenomenon, and when terms like cavemen or primates are mentioned, we don’t imagine ourselves originating from that—especially as black people. However, much of what we consider far from us is actually used to define, describe, and determine our way of living today.
I’m bothered by the fact that we, as Black people, are not as interested in these phenomena, and that people who uphold oppressive systems understand these concepts far better than we do. If anything, we should understand these concepts and not depend on being educated by people who use this knowledge not only to their advantage in oppressing us but also to gain ground in terms of advancing themselves, if they can make a black person lose belief in themselves, then they'll be stuck chasing their own tail while they advance ahead as a race.
I hope you catch my drift wansati wa muNtima.
To justify why I, as a black South African woman, used the term "caveman," I will say this: the term “caveman” is a pop-culture stereotype, but early Homo sapiens certainly lived in Africa, using caves and rock shelters as key habitats. The evidence overwhelmingly points to Africa as the cradle of humanity. Hence, I am bothered by us not being well-versed in these concepts. This disconnection from our own deep history isn't accidental; it's a form of epistemic dispossession that leaves us weaponizing stereotypes against ourselves.
Valentine's is coming up, I'd say a gift that keeps giving for black men and women alike would be my article, but if a vacation was your original plan, well a "gender role" decolonial trip would do what therapists could never do for your relationship or marriage (if that still exists).
You Can Make a Stop at These Key Sites:
Blombos Cave, South Africa: Famous for ochre engravings (77,000 years old) and shell beads, providing the earliest evidence of symbolic thought and artistic expression—traits that define modern humans. This wasn't just survival; it was culture.
Border Cave, South Africa/Swaziland: Contains evidence of early human occupation, burial practices, and tool use dating back over 200,000 years.
Pinnacle Point, South Africa: Evidence shows early humans here were harvesting and cooking seafood 164,000 years ago, demonstrating advanced planning and adaptation.
When people say "caveman," they're often picturing a simplistic European Neanderthal trope. Our African ancestors were not brutish simpletons. They were innovative, social, and culturally complex Homo sapiens on the southern tip of Africa. Their story is one of creativity and adaptation, not just raw, gendered brute force. And that is why it’s important that I justify why I wrote the excerpt I’m reviewing today.
2. Their Societal Structure (It Was Likely More Egalitarian)
The common assumption is a strict "man the hunter, woman the gatherer" patriarchy. Modern anthropology and archaeology suggest this is a vast oversimplification and likely wrong for many early societies. But when have we ever paid attention to anthropology or archaeology? Since we're picking bones, here's another one to sit with, We pay the price for this neglect by accepting myths as biological truth. I'd say let that sink in but I don't want to be cliche.
The Evidence for Flexibility:
Study on Hunter-Gatherers (University of Tübingen, 2023): A review of foraging societies found that women hunted in 80% of the studied groups. The division of labor was fluid, not rigidly prescribed by gender.
The "Woman the Hunter" Thesis: Archaeological evidence, like the 9,000-year-old burial of a female hunter in the Andes with a big-game toolkit, shatters the myth that hunting was exclusively male. Strength and childcare needs did not preclude women from participating in hunting.
Social Structure: Many extant hunter-gatherer societies studied by anthropologists (like the Hadza of Tanzania or the San of Southern Africa) exhibit fiercely egalitarian structures. Leadership is often situational, resources are shared, and decisions are made communally. Male dominance is not a given; it's often a feature of settled agricultural societies where property and lineage become central.
The "caveman" model used to justify patriarchy is a projection of Victorian-era values onto the past. The Victorian-era values huh, who is Victoria, for a society that flinches at the sight of black femininity we are sure a gobbling "prescribed" femininity aren't we? And of course there's a possibility that Victorian-era values weren't Victoria's values, if so I don't think the men in her court would blindly follow, makes you wonder how much was said in her name, doesn't it. The fact that she went down in history as the "villain" isn't helping is it?
Any who...
Early human societies in Africa likely prioritized group survival through cooperation and flexible roles, not through the subjugation of women by men.
3. What Evolution & History Actually Tell Us About Gender Power
Evolution favoured traits that ensured group survival, not male domination. Let’s start there.
Cooperation Over Competition: Our species' success is attributed to hyper-cooperation, communication, and shared childcare (a system called "allo-parenting"). This required strong, cooperative bonds between men and women.
The Historical Shift to Patriarchy: Scholars like David Graeber and David Wengrow argue in The Dawn of Everything that early humans experimented with many social forms. Systematic patriarchy, as a dominant structure, is often linked to the rise of agriculture, surplus wealth, and private property (starting ~10,000 years ago). Controlling property meant controlling female reproduction to ensure legitimate heirs. This is a social and economic shift, not an inevitable evolutionary outcome.
The African Context: Pre-colonial African societies displayed a vast spectrum of gender relations—from patriarchal kingdoms to matrilineal societies (where lineage is traced through the mother, as in some Akan groups) and societies with powerful female spiritual and political leaders (e.g., Rain Queens, Sangoma). The rigid patriarchy attributed to "tradition" was often hardened and codified by colonial administrations who imposed their own gender norms through laws like the Black Administration Act.
4. Analysis of The Core Argument From My Statement
Research shows that the statement from the excerpt is a “masterful” use of reductio ad absurdum—taking your opponent's flawed logic to its absurd conclusion to reveal its weakness. Let me cook:
"If we’ve evolved so much...": I’m calling out the hypocrisy of selective evolution. We're happy to claim evolution for our technology (clothes, cooking, economy) but ignore it for our social and ethical development. This is a cognitive dissonance.
"...why should we justify reducing other people’s (women's) evolution by caveman standards?": This is the knockout punch. I reframe the argument:
It's not about "biology" or "tradition." It's about actively choosing to regress others based on a fictionalized, simplistic past.
It frames patriarchy not as natural, but as a conscious suppression of women's parallel evolution—their intellectual, social, and political progress.
The Ultimate Point: The "caveman" argument is not an appeal to history. It's a moral and political excuse for maintaining power. It asks women to forfeit the fruits of humanity's collective evolution—education, economic agency, legal personhood—so that a specific power dynamic can be preserved.
“So here’s the truth: when someone uses 'caveman logic' to justify modern sexism, they're not making a smart point. They're admitting they want to live in a world where women's evolution—our education, our ambitions, our autonomy—is intentionally held back, so an outdated power structure can feel 'natural.' We didn't evolve clothes, cooking, and computers just to keep one group of people in a primitive social box. Let that sink in.”
 |
| Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, if the text was long and rigorous, I hope it was informative at least, that is me on the picture 😉😜 |
Comments
Post a Comment