killeeeeees
... ah the glories of PC.
Doublespeak rides again.
"I woulda thought that the killers were the more powerful..."
Not when it is likely a indoctrinated feminist graduate student "interpreting" the scene. Frankly, I doubt they have the slightest clue to what was going on. They think they know something, of course, but I'll wager they know even less correct information about past events than most academics know about today's events.
Like you I find the conclusions drawn by these authorities a little counter to common sense. I can't see how these women could be considered powerful. It sounds to me like all they really got was a nice funeral. The women themselves could have been considered prize property and their deaths more had a more symbolic effect than as an expression of these women's power alone. The artifacts that point to them as having warrior status could also mean they were killed an prisoners of war and were honored for that fact.