hands were stenciled palm downward

[melika1373]

Hi there Could you please explain to me what the sentence mean?

Even though the paint was often sprayed on by mouth, one can assume that the dominant hand assisted in the operation. One also has to make the assumption that hands were stenciled palm downward—a left hand stenciled palm upward might of course look as if it were a right hand.

Toefl resources

 

[owlman5]

Hi. This sounds like a passage about the method of stenciling hand-prints that some prehistoric culture used.

When you imagine what a person might have done to make these prints, it makes sense to believe that people placed their palms against the surface of the rock and then colored around the outline of their hands. If you placed the palm upward and colored around your left hand, it would look as if it were the print of somebody's right hand.

 

[melika1373]

thanks a million I got it