In an online article by Bob Yirka on Phys.org entitled 'Archeologist suggests much of Paleolithic cave art was done by women', the author reveals the hypothesis put forward by Pennsylvania State University Archaeologist Dean Snow.

Snow believes he has evidence to suggest that much of Palaeolithic art was done by women, not men as is commonly believed, based largely on the analysis of one the most ubiquitous motifs of this period - the hand.

According to research carried out by John Manning, the average finger lengths in people vary by gender. Men tend to have longer ring fingers than index fingers, while the opposite is true for women. Dean Snow related this to Palaeolithic hand prints and hand stencils, such as the powerful horse panel of Peche Merle in France, suggesting that approximately 75 percent was likely done by women.

To read more about prehistoric art visit the Palaeolithic Cave Art in France section.

And to read more about the 'hand' motif visit the Hand Paintings section.