The lifestyles of the early people were simple and temporary. Very little fossil records are available as they disappeared in the rain and mud. We know that over 300,000 years ago, nomadic people walked the earth. To keep things simple, each person in the tribe had a job.

In these early times men and women were equals in hunting and gathering groups. Status was given to those who always helped the group more than was required. The hunters (usually men) provided flesh. Women in these nomadic groups gained prominence and status by the way they organized the daily search for comestibles.

Becoming Sapient

Humans became sapient – having great wisdom and discernment – by grouping together. When they met others like themselves, they met in peace, living closely and comfortably with one another. They all had jobs that they were good at and gave them status within their groups.

These simple egalitarian behaviors between folks and others were catching. People from outside had quick alterations in their personal habits when joining a group. Within a short time, they had become culturally acclimated to the domestic scenarios of lives in new groups.

With new groups, the first languages were devised to effectively communicate locations, animals or plants. The focus was on commonalities with simple gestures and young languages that connected spiritually with others.

Women Save the Day

If the hunters came back empty handed, it was up to the women and their squads of trained kids to save the day. They had the extremely important knowledge of what plants could be eaten and those that could not.

Women were more orientated to family because they spent more time with family and organized the domestic operations that tied the gatherers together. They searched for plants with a child on their hip and kept the fires burning. Today we call that multitasking. Women then were revered for their skills of providing and keeping the family together.

Agricultural Revolution Brings Social Changes

The beginning of the ‘Agricultural Revolution’ spurred by the beginnings of patriarchy, advanced by the need for men to dominate and subjugate were not good social changes. Anthropologists have surmised that the reason men became dominant was their need to buy, sell and trade. The fact that they were the hunter part of hunting and gathering was not lost on the researchers, who are still reviewing their calculus.

These attitudes gave rise to the constant diminishing of others by people who had dominance. Where violence and death were the answer to any problems. This also gave rise to the disrespect and marginalizing of women since the end of the walkers or nomadic groups.

Lucy, the 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecine from the Olduvai Gorge was, of course, a gatherer, a progenitor of the gene pool that still carries influence with us today. The matriarchal DNA in our mitochondria may have some possibilities of reminding us where we came from.

Men Need to Step Up

Think of our families without a mom, a sister, a grandmother, an aunt, a niece or a daughter. Not a happy thought.

Our male children are fraught with senseless behavioral inconsistencies that are confusing. It’s a false premise that boys learn early, by demeaning women as incapable and not as strong or important as men. This is tantamount to lying about social structures and keeping the lie going by making tribal philosophy and power structure pro-men, everything else takes a back seat.

Endurance Projects like Moondance are tools for incremental change. What has made women great in the nomadic times – their service – as gatherers, artists, leaders, doers, whatever the family needed – they gained status and recognition because they did their jobs well. They were nice to all their fellow walkers, showing respect for the people that were doing the same things that they were doing – an appreciation for similar methods and activities.

Moondance is a sandbox, not a bubble. A place where men and women are equal and dwellers and friends play and work together in an atmosphere of trust and respect. Like the walkers of old – only with modern capabilities.