Question

When we read about prehistoric people, most of it is about cave men. There isn't much about cave

women. Most of us think of prehistoric women from cartoons, many of which show men dragging
women by their hair. In other words, we get the idea that men were the dominant gender of ancient
times.
Science tells a very different story. Evidence from prehistoric statues and cave art tells us that
women were probably held in high regard and probably invented many things necessary to human
societies. For example, it seems likely that women, not men, invented gardening, as well as created
the first baskets and pottery. This makes sense for two reasons. First, women had to care for young
children, so they remained close to the camp or cave. Men were often away somewhere hunting for
game. Women were also the ones who had the time to weave baskets, make clay pots, and help
feed the people by tending to gardens.
1. Use your own words to explain the main idea in the paragraph.
2. List two details that support the main idea.
3. List two details that give information about why women probably were the ones to invent
potterv. baskets and gardening

Answer 1

1. The main idea in the paragraph is that women played a bigger role in prehistoric progress than is commonly thought.
2. Two details supporting this claim are statues and cave paintings from prehistoric times, which represent scenes from the life of the people who created them. This art has apparently been studied by experts and seems to provide evidence of women's various pioneering roles.
3. Women are likely to have invented pottery, baskets and gardening because they had to watch over young children and therefore were staying near the living spaces instead of going out hunting, for example. This means that they had more time to spend experimenting with tools and techniques. What's more, because they were not hunting, women were expected to help men bring food to the community by growing crops, which is why it is thought they invented gardening.