Have Right-Handers Always Been in the Majority?

Some experts say yes, some say no—there’s no easy answer to the question.

Studies of prehistoric peoples have at times yielded widely divergent conclusions. A study of Stone Age tools in France found that 55 percent of them were designed for left-handed use. Yet other studies (based on the excavated remains of animals) have claimed that the majority of blows inflicted on animals by prehistoric hunters were struck with the right hand. Some authorities assert that the Neanderthals were, for the most part, ambidextrous; others maintain they were predominantly right-handed; still others contend that the Neanderthal population was about equally divided between left- and right-handers.

In the 1970s, a Canadian team examined more than 12, 000 paintings, drawings, and sculptures—dating from 15, 000 B.C. to A.D. 1950—to (p. 7) gauge how left- and right-handedness had been depicted through human populations across the past fifty centuries. In general, the team concluded that human beings have been consistently portrayed as right-handed about 92 percent of the time, from prehistoric eras to the twentieth century.

Meanwhile, there is persuasive evidence that before the influx of European culture, one out of every three native American Indians was left-handed.

 

A Note on Ambidexterity

During the mid-nineteenth century, British painter Edwin Landseer used to astonish party guests by drawing a deer vat his left hand while simultaneously sketching a horse with his right. What particularly amazed people was that both sketches were dramatically detailed, perfectly realistic, and extraortftnaity beautiful.

True ambidexterity—that is, the ability to use both hands equally well—is rare. Although many people claim to be ambidextrous, very few actually are. In fact researchers estimate that only 2 out of every 100 people are ambidextrous—and some experts say that even that figure is too high. (One recent study put the figure at one-third of one percent.)

What many people really mean when they say they’re ambidextrous is that they do some important tasks with their non-dominant hand: a left-hander may deal cards or catch a ball with the right hand, and a right-hander may tie shoes or cut a steak with the left.

Left-handers tend more toward ambidexterity for obvious reasons: it’s primarily a right-handed world, and left-handers must learn to adapt to right-handed tools, gadgets, and machinery at an early age. Far more than right-handers, they learn to use both of their hands to some degree.

Interest in ambidexterity (What causes it? Can it be “taught”? Is the tendency inherited? ) has increased in the past several years, especially since it has numerous obvious advantages in (p. 8) professional sports (witness basketball player Larry Bird and tennis pro Luke Jensen).

One of the most celebrated ambidextrous individuals of modern times is tennis champion Martina Navratilova. Navratilova started out writing left-handed—just like her mother—but because she kept getting ink smears all over her writing hand, a teacher suggested she try writing with her right hand instead. She did—and found, to her surprise, that it came as naturally as left-handed writing. She has told interviewrs that, much of the time and while engaged in a wide variety of activities, it just doesn’t occur to her to favor one hand over the other. She has won more than 1, 300 singles matches, including nine Wimbledon titles. (p. 9)

 

EVERYBODY GOES TO “LEFTY’S” There’s one in almost every city in the United States: a “Lefty’s Bar and Grill, ” a “Lefty’s Motor Shop, ” a “Lefty’s Bike Repair.” “When we were kids, ” talk-show host Larry King once remarked, “we all admired ‘Lefty.’ ” For some, the nickname stuck, as illustrated by a sampling of businesses across the country:   Lefty’s Storage (Philadelphia) Lefty’s Cigar Store (Pittsburgh) Lefty’s Electrical and Refrigeration (Albuquerque) Lefty’s Welding (Detroit) Lefty’s Cocktail Lounge (Washington, D.C.) Lefty’s Moving Service (New Orleans) Lefty’s Barber Shop (Kansas City) Lefty’s Tavern (Cincinnati) Lefty’s Automotive (Chicago) Lefty’s Bar (Oklahoma City) Lefty’s Auto Electric (Phoenix)

(p. 10)

 

 

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