JOIN TODAY
JOIN TODAY

Neanderthal Division of Labor

News February 19, 2015

SHARE:

neanderthal-households-men-women-labor
(CSIC Communications Department)
MADRID, SPAIN—A study published by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has concluded that within communities of Neanderthals, some jobs were divvied up between men and women according to their sex. While the research showed that both sexes had dental grooves as a result of the use of their mouths as a kind of third hand, the grooves in the teeth of adult women were longer than those in adult men, leading to the conclusion that each sex performed different jobs, although it is not yet clear exactly which belonged to men and which to women. "Nevertheless, we believe that the specialization of labor by sex of the individuals was probably limited to a few tasks, as it is possible that both men and women participated equally in the hunting of big animals,” says Almudena Estalrrich of the CSIC. To read about the Neanderthal genome project, go to “Neanderthal Genome Decoded.” 

 

Recommended Articles

Model Homes March/April 2026

Doorways for the Dead

LOCATION: Thebes, Egypt
DATES: Ca. 1981–1975 b.c.

Read Article
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund and Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1920

Model Homes March/April 2026

A Maya God’s Humble Abode

LOCATION: Copán, Honduras
DATE: Ca. a.d. 700–850

Read Article
Peabody Museum Expedition, 1891-1892. Courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 92-49-20/C21

Model Homes March/April 2026

Pigpens and Penthouses

LOCATION: China
DATE: a.d. 25–220

Read Article
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Charlotte C. and John C. Weber Collection, Gift of Charlotte C. and John C. Weber, 1994

Model Homes March/April 2026

A Hut for the Afterlife

LOCATION: Central Italy
DATE: Ca. 900–700 b.c.

Read Article
G. Dagli Orti/© NPL-DeA Picture Library/Bridgeman Images

More to Discover

Features January/February 2015

Top 10 Discoveries of 2014

ARCHAEOLOGY's editors reveal the year's most compelling finds

Read Article

  • Features January/February 2015

    Shipwreck Alley

    From wood to steel, from sail to steam, from early pioneers to established industry, the history of the Great Lakes can be found deep beneath Thunder Bay

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary/NOAA)

  • Letter From Cambodia January/February 2015

    Storied Landscape

    Through centuries—and perhaps even millennia—of cultural, political, and environmental change, Phnom Kulen has retained its central role in the spiritual life of a people

    Read Article

  • Artifacts January/February 2015

    Bronze Age Dagger

    Read Article
    (Courtesy Anders Rosendahl)

  • Digs & Discoveries January/February 2015

    The Price of Plunder

    Read Article