It can be very hard to tell gender from bones archaeologically, even gender assigned at birth.
Specialists use the terms “gracile” vs “robust” because that’s what they’re actually seeing, not female vs male.
There have been some famous mis-identifications like the triple burial at dolni vestonice that was thought to be a husband and wife, maybe with a shaman who failed to save a baby, since the third person’s hand was in the woman’s crotch. Then ancient genetics confirmed they all had Y-chromosome. Oops!
It can be very hard to tell gender from bones archaeologically, even gender assigned at birth.
Specialists use the terms “gracile” vs “robust” because that’s what they’re actually seeing, not female vs male.
There have been some famous mis-identifications like the triple burial at dolni vestonice that was thought to be a husband and wife, maybe with a shaman who failed to save a baby, since the third person’s hand was in the woman’s crotch. Then ancient genetics confirmed they all had Y-chromosome. Oops!