Neanderthal man may have preferred domestic chores to a rugged hunter gatherer lifestyle, researchers believe.

Archaeologists at the University of Cambridge studying the distinctive skeletal features of Neanderthal remains, say they have debunked the traditional image of our extinct prehistoric cousins.

They found that compared to modern and most prehistoric homo sapiens, Neanderthals had significantly overdeveloped right arms – in some cases 50 per cent stronger than their left.

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

Neanderthals may have spent many arduous hours scraping animals hides using stone tools, possibly to make clothes.

“The asymmetry we see in the arms of Neanderthals is far more profound than anything we encounter in modern humans except some sports people, such as cricketers and tennis players,” said Colin Shaw, from the Pave research group and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.

“The skeletal remains suggest that Neanderthals were doing something intense or repetitive, or both, that had a significant role in their lives.

“If it were hunting, it was taking up a great deal of their time. Not surprisingly, that theory has coloured our view of Neanderthal the hunter.

“Our research moves away from that perspective. Hunting was an important part of the lives of Neanderthals but for much of their time, they might have been performing other tasks, such as preparing skins.

“If we are right, it changes our picture of the daily activities of Neanderthals.”

The notion that the Neanderthal’s skeletal asymmetry might be the result of hunting became popular in the mid-1990s, he added.

But the bones in question are the wrong shape to support this theory and it is now thought they may have carried spears two-handed and underarm, like a pool cue.