Terracotta Army Built by Women and Children, Study Finds
The famous Chinese clay army wasn't just made by men—women and kids helped too.
Deep Dive
A new study shows that a portion of China’s Terracotta Army was largely made by adult women and minors, not solely by men as previously thought. Published October 13 in the Journal of Cultural Heritage, the research provides what author Shen Jingyi calls the first quantitative biological evidence for a diverse workforce including women and children, challenging the long-held assumption that Terracotta Army production relied exclusively on adult male labor.
Key Points
- Fingerprint analysis shows women and children made a significant portion of the Terracotta Army.
- About 40% of the fingerprints studied came from females and minors.
- This challenges the long-held belief that only adult men built the ancient figures.
Why It Matters
It changes how we picture ancient labor and shows that history's greatest achievements were often family affairs.