July 22, 2026

If you ever find yourself stuck in the kitchen on a hot day, or folding laundry while everyone else is watching football or playing outside, you are in good company. But not for the reasons you expect. 

There was a time in world history when working in the kitchen meant carving a whole dead animal into pieces, roasting its meat over a fire and using its marrow-filled bones for candles. And laundry? Well, here we actually need to part ways with some of our most ancient ancestors. For many, it was not on their radar at all. Instead, they wore furs and pelts smelling of campfire smoke and rancid animal fat. And their partner would still find them to be amazing people. None of this garbage of needing to wear dresses or makeup existed at all. Shaving hadn’t even been invented yet. Sounds like a relief to me. Well, almost. 

Imagine being required to go out and hunt for your next meal, bringing home the biggest game you can get your grubby hands on. And, gasp! Imagine you’re doing this, and are a woman.

I remember growing up in the 80s and 90s, and being taught in school that men were the hunters, while women stayed behind to forage for nuts and berries. Thankfully, real science has rendered those old textbooks useless along with the outdated image of family life within them. 

Full-grown women were EXPECTED to hunt down prey, thrusting it through with weapons of death and destruction, and risking their lives in pursuit of their next meal. Women were apex predators with the creativity and natural strength required to complete these tasks. 

Women’s physical power and potential have been evident long before recorded history. We did not sit around in caves telling our children stories by firelight with nothing else to do, while men were out chasing down the only mastodon in the region for miles. We worked on our feet, grabbing tools for the hunt, and left our homes for what was often a community effort to bring down the largest creature we could find and kill. 

Some look at our prehistoric predecessors, believing much of their evolution was part of some partially divine grand experiment. While theories abound, I would dare say the “real” experiment was the lab created in the era of agriculture, when women began to be viewed as property to be watched over and protected, while men did the grueling work of bringing home the proverbial bacon. For hundreds of thousands of years prior to this, women worked alongside men to achieve mammoth-sized goals. Then all of a sudden, without our consent, the concept of patriarchy and women being property in need of management entered the scene. 

But without 30% to 50% of the women actively participating in sustaining nomadic life in Earth’s prehistoric times, it’s likely our species would not have survived. Thank you, Neanderthal and “homo” women of all types. Without you, I wouldn’t be here today to write about your contribution to our advancement as human beings. Thank you for your extraordinary hard work, and reminding me today of the stock from which I personally come. It is empowering, to say the least. 

In today’s flash fiction, “Survival of the Fittest,” a woman of prehistoric yet unknown origin battles flora and fauna to reach her destination, all while maintaining the way of the warrior. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do. 🙂