Interesting article about a Peruvian Woman Warrior, A.D. 450. Reports indicate that she was buried with spear throwers and spears, and had tattoos and other pigmentation on her skin. It also reports that she was a young adult.
Since bones will identify a person incontrovertibly as male or female, regardless of how they dressed, acted, or were even surgically modified, I wonder if perhaps this woman adopted a male persona during her lifetime and hid the fact that she was actually female? If she did, it would be a fascinating discovery of the role that transgenderism has played going back as far as 1,600 years.
Whoever she was, she was clearly a leader who had the respect of her people at a young age, whether by birthright, or accomplishment, and that fact alone is interesting.
She's not the earliest such person - there is at least one prehistoric cave painting of a group of hunters, most of whom have penises and one without. The discussion surrounding that image includes the possibility that a woman hunted alongside the men.
While the evidence is not conclusive, women from the earliest times took part in what we now view as strictly male pursuits.
I’m hoping archeological findings about other stone age peoples leads to a better understanding and acceptance of modern day cannibals. ;)