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Neanderthal man's 'life of domesticity'

 

Wednesday 18 July 2012 21:42 BST
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Neanderthal man may have preferred domestic chores to a rugged hunter-gatherer lifestyle, researchers have said.

Archaeologists at Cambridge University believe they have debunked the traditional image of our extinct prehistoric cousins. They found that compared to modern and most prehistoric Homosapiens, Neanderthals had significantly overdeveloped right arms.

In the past this has been interpreted as a sign they carried spears in their right hands, but now researchers say it was probably the result of less glamorous subsistence tasks.

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