Cara Ocobock
Anthropology
Assistant Professor, Anthropology; Director, Human Energetics Laboratory; Fellow, Eck Institute for Global Health; Fellow, Institute for Educational Initiatives; Concurrent Faculty, Department of Gender Studies
- Human biology
- Cold climate physiology
- Cultural cold climate coping mechanisms
- Anthropology of sports
- Humans at the extremes
- Science communication
Ocobock’s Latest News
Ocobock in the News
Science Friday
Women Were Also Skilled Hunters In Ancient Times
Audio
December 01, 2023
Ira is joined by Dr. Cara Ocobock, assistant professor in the department of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, and Dr. Sarah Lacy, biological anthropologist at the University of Delaware, to discuss the details of their findings and why the myth of “Man the Hunter” has persisted for so long.
Yahoo! News
Prehistoric women were probably better at hunting than men, scientists suggest
November 29, 2023
Women have a metabolism better suited to endurance, according to Cara Ocobock, director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame.
Fox News
Prehistoric women believed to be hunters, not just gatherers, in new study of hormones and genetics
November 28, 2023
Cara Ocobock, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, recently discovered some interesting facts about prehistoric women.
The Ray D'Arcy Show | RTE Radio 1
Pre-historic women hunted just as much as men
Audio
November 27, 2023
Ray is joined by Cara Ocobock, from the University of Notre Dame in the U.S., a co-author of a new study which suggests that prehistoric women frequently engaged in hunting as much as men and their anatomy also made them better suited for it.
phys.org
Physiological and archaeological evidence rewrites assumptions about a gendered division of labor in prehistoric times
November 27, 2023
By Cara Ocobock, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame.
Popular Archaeology
‘Woman the hunter’: Studies aim to correct history
November 21, 2023
Many years later, [Cara] Ocobock, an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame, found herself as a human biologist studying physiology and prehistoric evidence and discovering that many of these conceptions about early women and men weren’t quite accurate.
The Conversation
Forget ‘Man the Hunter’ – physiological and archaeological evidence rewrites assumptions about a gendered division of labor in prehistoric times
November 17, 2023
Cara Ocobock, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame.
phys.org
Challenging prehistoric gender roles: Research finds that women were hunters, too
November 06, 2023
Lacy and her colleague Cara Ocobock from the University of Notre Dame examined the division of labor according to sex during the Paleolithic era, approximately 2.5 million to 12,000 years ago.
Wired
A myth overturned? Prehistoric women hunted alongside men
October 26, 2023
In her meticulous review of archaeological evidence and literature, [Sarah] Lacy, alongside her collaborator Cara Ocobock from the University of Notre Dame, found scant proof supporting this male-dominated narrative.
Earth.com
Prehistoric women were not just gatherers, they were also hunters
October 23, 2023
Professor Lacy, who specializes in the health of early humans, collaborated with Cara Ocobock from the University of Notre Dame, who bridges modern-day physiology with the fossil record.
Scientific American
The Theory That Men Evolved to Hunt and Women Evolved to Gather Is Wrong
October 18, 2023
Cara Ocobock is a human biologist at the University of Notre Dame. A former powerlifter, she explores the physiological and behavioral mechanisms necessary to cope with and adapt to extreme climates and high levels of physical activity.