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A study has compared the bones of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age women to those of modern female athletes:
Grinding grain for hours a day gave prehistoric women stronger arms than today's elite female rowers, a study suggests. The discovery points to a "hidden history" of gruelling manual labour performed by women over millennia, say University of Cambridge researchers. The physical demands on prehistoric women may have been underestimated in the past, the study shows. In fact, women's work was a crucial driver of early farming economies.
"This is the first study to actually compare prehistoric female bones to those of living women," said lead researcher, Dr Alison Macintosh. "By interpreting women's bones in a female-specific context we can start to see how intensive, variable and laborious their behaviours were, hinting at a hidden history of women's work over thousands of years."
Also at Science Magazine, The Guardian, WUNC, and The Verge.
Prehistoric women's manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe (open, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao3893) (DX)
Related: Divergence in Male and Female Manipulative Behaviors with the Intensification of Metallurgy in Central Europe (open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112116) (DX)
Lower limb skeletal biomechanics track long-term decline in mobility across ∼6150 years of agriculture in Central Europe (DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2014.09.001) (DX)
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Snotnose on Sunday December 03 2017, @12:50AM (3 children)
Have you ever ground spices in a mortar/pestle? Have you ever kneaded dough for more than a couple minutes? Have you ever washed clothes by beating them against rocks for 20 minutes? Have you ever carried water for 20 minutes?
Ok, I've only done the first two and let me tell you, it gets exhausting fast. Real fast.
Why am I not surprised the average prehistoric woman could kick my ass 9 ways to sunday. Her husband? 81 ways to sunday. Her 2 month old kid? 50/50.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday December 03 2017, @01:03AM (2 children)
Hmm ... I'd like to option the broadcast rights to that one.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Sunday December 03 2017, @01:10AM (1 child)
That would suck for me. If I lose I'm a global laughingstock. If I win I go to jail for beating up a 2 month old kid. I'd rather be Matt Laur.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday December 03 2017, @01:17AM
"You heard me, I won't be in for the rest of the week. . . . I told you, my baby beat me up. . . . Oh, it is _not_ the worst excuse I ever thought up." - Homer Simpson