Museums should rearrange their Neanderthal displays to include the sick, old and infirm rather than strapping healthy hunters, an archaeologist has claimed.

Dioramas of prehistoric communities traditionally show young and fit men clutching flint tools, spears or clubs, in a bucolic impression of an idealised past.

But according to Dr Penny Spikins, an archaeology lecturer from The University of York, hunter-gatherers were only healthy for around 10 per cent of their lives, because the extreme rigours of their demanding existence often left them injured or starving.

She argues that Neanderthals and early humans spent large parts of their lives tending to sick relatives, and that should be represented in displays, as it was that ‘interdependency’ that makes us unique, and evolutionarily successful.

The ability to care for the sick also allowed foraging communities to begin hunting large animals, as they could be sure they would be looked after when they were injured.