Study found 75p of ancient handprints are female

A 2013 study published in American Antiquity looked at handprints in caves in France and Spain. Based on the ratios of the lengths of the index, ring and little fingers, the study found that 75 percent of the handprints (24 of 32) were of women’s hands. Only three were made by men; the other five were made by adolescent males.

This evidence suggests that women played a more important role in hunter-gatherer societies and perhaps in the spiritual life of these people than was previously thought.

We may not know why our ancestors painted on the walls of caves, but those paintings still have a lot to teach us.

Source: https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/why-did-our-paleolithic-ancestors-paint-cave-art