women died young in neolithic Asikli Hoyuk and Abu Hureyra

bicicleur 2

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... and child mortality was high

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aşıklı_Höyük#Burials

The male population had individuals up to the age of 55–57 years of age, while the majority of females died between the ages of 20-25. The skeletal remains of these women show spinal deformities indicating that they had to carry heavy loads. This does not itself prove that there was a division of labour between the sexes. The fact that the men seem to have outlived the women might be interpreted as sign that the women were subject to more strenuous physical labour than their male counterparts.[12] From Natufian Abu Hureyra there are similar osteological signs; such as pathologies in metatarsals, phalanges, arm, and shoulder joints - being specific to females resulting from habitual kneeling in the use of saddle querns.[13] The Neolithic evidence show indications of increased physical workload in the osteological material on both genders, where the male skeletons show signs of joint disease and trauma arguably caused by cutting timber and tilling.[14]
Children represent 37. 8% of the deceased, with 43.7% mortality within a year of birth.[1]


they are just guessing what could be the reason
 
... and child mortality was high

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aşıklı_Höyük#Burials

The male population had individuals up to the age of 55–57 years of age, while the majority of females died between the ages of 20-25. The skeletal remains of these women show spinal deformities indicating that they had to carry heavy loads. This does not itself prove that there was a division of labour between the sexes. The fact that the men seem to have outlived the women might be interpreted as sign that the women were subject to more strenuous physical labour than their male counterparts.[12] From Natufian Abu Hureyra there are similar osteological signs; such as pathologies in metatarsals, phalanges, arm, and shoulder joints - being specific to females resulting from habitual kneeling in the use of saddle querns.[13] The Neolithic evidence show indications of increased physical workload in the osteological material on both genders, where the male skeletons show signs of joint disease and trauma arguably caused by cutting timber and tilling.[14]
Children represent 37. 8% of the deceased, with 43.7% mortality within a year of birth.[1]


they are just guessing what could be the reason

Did the article never suggest childbirth? Until recently I think that's always been one of the leading causes of death in women, particularly if the mother is too young or too old. I remember studying the history of the area to which we immigrated. For a paper I went to local cemeteries. It made such an impression on me that you'd see plot after plot with a man and two to three wives, many of them saying "dead in childbirth". There were a lot of graves of young men too, of course, with a lot of them dying in various skirmishes with the Indians.

Amazing, when you think about it, that despite such high mortality the population growth was so high with the transition to agriculture. Makes you realize how difficult it must have been to survive as a hunter-gatherer. I've wondered if it's just that so many of all of them died, or if in some way they controlled their own fertility because the resources just didn't exist.

Ed.
Historical analyses, particularly on things like blogs, often seem to pull figures out of their hats, so who knows if this is accurate, but assuming it is, those are pretty bad odds. Your odds were actually worse if you went to a doctor, because they could go from treating someone with an infection to reaching inside a woman in labor, and all without washing their hands! :(

See:
" a woman's chances of dying during childbirth were between one and two percent -for each birth. If a woman gave birth to eight or ten children, her chances of eventually dying in childbirth were pretty high."
http://mentalfloss.com/article/50513/historical-horror-childbirth

Overworked, underfed women would have higher rates as well.
 
the figures come from studying burrial remains at Asikli Hüyük, so it's not just a wild guess

but they don't seem to have a clue what is the cause, at least not for the difference in age between male and female

you may be right, or it may be something else

life seems to have been pretty stressfull over there, especialy for women

they found very little human remains at Asikli, so they think they only found the upper class burrials
and Asikli must have had some pretty prosperous chiefs, because it was the oldest city in the middle of one of the richest places in obsidian with exports as far as northern Mesopotamia, the Levant and Cyprus
it's strange they only found worn-out bodies
 
Another excellent example of how tough the life was in the past, especially for h-gs early switched to farming. Wear and tear to the point of deformation, even in kids! And yet they managed to overpopulate hunter gatherers.
I should add the link to my piece about Inglourious lives of our ancestors.
 

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