Hunter-gatherer societies are often put on a pedestal as paragons of equality – but the reality is more complicated

Researchers studying the Hadza of Tanzania and the Tsimane of Bolivia report that hunter-gatherer societies long celebrated as egalitarian in fact contain real inequalities of gender, age, property and status. A Hadza kudu kill gets shared widely, but the review finds the sharing often comes from vociferous demands rather than generosity, and older men keep certain cuts of meat for themselves.

The study, drawing on over a century of ethnography, also documents controlled hunting territories among the Ju/'Hoansi, hoarded ritual knowledge among the Bayaka, and arranged marriages discriminating against orphans among the Philippine Agta. Across societies examined, women did more direct parenting while men dominated community decision-making, and informal leadership by elders was universal rather than absent.

The researchers conclude that equality in these societies functions less as shared virtue and more as a toolkit, including ridicule of the greedy and collective demands, that keeps inequality in check without eliminating it.

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