University of Cambridge archaeological excavations analyzed the strength of 89 shinbones and 78 upper arm bones from women who lived in Europe about 7,500 years ago up until the Medieval age. Then they compared those bones to those of young women in Cambridge, U.K., today, including athletes from various sports.Their findings were somewhat startling:
This finding seems to blow up the popular perception that ancient women were relegated to domestic work around the home and child rearing.
The study's conclusions:
- Women's manual labor was a driving force behind the agricultural revolution
- Since ancient times women have balanced a full time workload with child rearing duties. The "working mom" is not a modern phenomenon.
Let's hear it for the real women out there, not these do nothing beaches.