I recently had a reviewer complain that I made my female characters in my Archer of the Heathland series too strong, that women couldn’t possibly compete with men physically on the battlefield. The historical record proves this notion to be completely wrong.
I am a historian by profession, and I research my books. Even though I usually write speculative fiction in the fantasy and science fiction genres, I do my best to make sure my information is accurate. I also teach a course on warfare in world history, so I do have some expertise in the area of warfare in the past.
There are real biological and psychological differences between men and women, of course. But often, our notions about the capabilities of any given gender are based more on cultural biases than on real biological or psychological limitations.
The Scythian and Viking female warriors of the ancient world are cases in point. For years, male historians assumed that Greek and Scandinavian stories about female warriors among the Scythians and Vikings were just fairy tales. Archaeological discoveries of the last few years have demonstrated beyond doubt that those female warriors not only existed but that they saw combat.
In 2019, four female Scythian warriors, from about 2500 BCE in southern Russia, were found buried with iron arrowheads, spears, and horse harnesses. In 2017, Armenian archaeologists excavated the grave of a 20- to 29-year-old woman, whose skeleton showed the strong musculature characteristic of an archer regularly drawing a bow. She had a healed injury caused by an arrow whose point remained embedded in her thighbone and multiple stab and cut fractures to her pelvis, femur, and tibia, all indicative of a woman who regularly engaged in combat.
Recently, archaeologists did DNA analysis of a four-thousand-year-old skeleton found in 1988 buried with a bow and arrows and an axe. Scientists long thought the skeleton was of a thirteen-year-old boy, but the DNA proved that it was, in fact, a girl. This demonstrates that not only did Scythian girls participate in hunting and warfare, but they were also trained at an early age to do so. We could go on, as there are now dozens of archeological sites proving that Scythian women lived as warriors and experienced combat.
One might argue that this is a rare cultural example, but it is not. Viking graves have also revealed that some of the famous Viking warriors were, indeed, women. A 2017 DNA analysis of a skeleton buried in a warrior’s grave in the town of Birka, Sweden, and long assumed to be male, proved that the skeleton belonged to a female warrior. The grave included “a sword, an axe, a spear, armour‐piercing arrows, a battle knife, two shields, and two horses, one mare and one stallion; thus, the complete equipment of a professional warrior. Furthermore, a full set of gaming pieces indicates knowledge of tactics and strategy, stressing the buried individual’s role as a high‐ranking officer.” Later analysis showed that she had a serious wound to her forehead consistent with a sword strike.
Historical examples of women in combat can be found from Native American, African, and Asian societies, as well. Several famous Apache and Cheyenne women played significant roles in battle in the western USA. The Onna-bugeisha, “female martial artists,” of Japan belonged to the bushi (warrior) class and fought alongside the samurai in battle. The all-female army of the Kingdom of Dahomey in what is now the Republic of Benin, Africa, was a powerful force that served as a personal bodyguard for the king.
These examples could be multiplied many times from many different cultures. Thus, the preponderance of the historical evidence demonstrates that women could, and did, engage in combat and could demonstrate considerable skill and prowess, reaching high status in their own societies.
Modern notions that women did not participate in combat in the days of swords and spears and could not compete on the battlefield with men speak more to our own cultural blinders than to any real biological or psychological limitations. Hence, I will continue to write about strong women who can, and do, fight effectively in battle.
Image of Hangaku Gozen, a female general, during the Genpei War (1180–1185)
Sources:
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/arsc-aft122519.php;
Anahit Y. Khudaverdyan, “An Early Armenian Female Warrior of the 8-6 century BC from Bover I Site (Armenia),” International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, vol. 30 (2020), 119-128. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/oa.2838?referrer_access_token=XvbBBThtGhvvqrWD3PFRCU4keas67K9QMdWULTWMo8MFnrZ9Oax_fkEbtEhTvNwI7KUlnWmBJFJRuNhiOHEDWhOQshcpQ_SVk6Ui2oxY641z8PFrm43TEbYZ_eEBIK0_AnEfHYqZ_05AaIfEcWbnNg%3D%3D
Tesa Koumoundouros, “New DNA Analysis Reveals Ancient Scythian Warrior Was a 13-Year-Old Girl,” ScienceAlert (June 24, 2020). https://www.sciencealert.com/new-dna-analysis-reveals-an-ancient-scythian-warrior-was-a-13-year-old-girl?fbclid=IwAR2vj9rzVQ_5BTGyyOSCLn250slLnGU_lv-3qLhQ83PF8u0AY2g7-aYQLPg
Charlotte Hedenstierna‐Jonson, et al., “A Female Viking Warrior Confirmed by Genomics,” The American Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 164, Issue 4 (December 2017), 853-860. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajpa.23308
Brandon Specktor, “Battle-Scarred Viking Shield-Maiden Gets Facial Reconstruction for First Time,” LiveScience (November 08, 2019). https://www.livescience.com/Viking-shield-maiden-facial-reconstruction.html