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

Off the Grid September/October 2026

Xunantunich, Belize

Learning to draw monkeys at an ancient Maya art academy

Read Article
El Castillo, Xunantunich, Belize
milosk50/AdobeStock

Letter from Ireland September/October 2026

A War Between Friends

How IRA volunteers survived the Irish Civil War in a secret mountain hideout

Read Article
James Bosnall

Features September/October 2026

A Change in Fashion

Hoards of lavish gold and silver neck rings buried on an English hill reflect dramatic social change

Read Article
Torc hoard
Photo © 2026 The Trustees of the British Museum

Features September/October 2026

Cultivating Fields of Stone

Peru’s ancient farmers used intricate rock maps to plan for the future

Read Article
Courtesy Patricia Aparicio Martínez

More to Discover

Features January/February 2015

Top 10 Discoveries of 2014

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

Read Article
(Paul Nicklen/National Geographic)

  • 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