Final answer:
The idea that males exclusively hunt and females exclusively gather in all hunter-gatherer populations is false. There is flexibility in the division of labor across different societies, with evidence of female hunters and male gatherers, leading to relatively equal social roles.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that among all hunter-gatherer populations males hunt and women gather exclusively is false. While it is common for men to do most of the hunting and women to do most of the gathering, this gendered division of labor in gathering-hunting societies is actually more flexible than previously thought. Archaeological evidence and studies of contemporary hunter-gatherer societies suggest that women have participated in hunting, and men engage in gathering activities as well. Such shared responsibilities contribute to a greater balance of social equality and power between genders within these societies.
In contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, it has been observed that gathering contributes more to diets than hunting does, and women, who are the main gatherers, play a crucial role in supplying calories. Also, it's important to note that gathering and hunting roles may overlap, and the activity of gathering or hunting does not enforce a dominance of one gender over the other. For example, evidence of female hunters has been found in archaeological sites, challenging earlier assumptions of rigid gender roles predicated on the "man the hunter" hypothesis.