The contour and dexterity of our handwriting enable us to compose , paint , gesture and even take part in afist battle . The general consensus is that the nimble human hand evolve as our ancient ancestors start using tools – but that might not be the whole story , harmonise to a study published in theJournal of Human Evolution .
First things first . Human handwriting are very different from those of other primate mintage . ( Thoughnot of necessity any more evolved . ) Our wrist joint are more flexible . Our joints are magnanimous . Our thumb are long and more brawny but our fingers are unforesightful . These adaptation aid us with task like building a fire , throwing spears at woolly mammoth and , of course , making and using tools .
research worker at Chatham University , Pennsylvania , and the University of Kent , UK , trust that some tool demeanour are more essential to the evolution of the human hand than others . " Though archaeological evidence suggests that early hominins enter in a variety of tool deportment , it is unlikely that all behaviors equally influenced mod human hand anatomy , " they indite in the subject area .
Of specific importance , they say , is weapon - making and our root ' appreciation for the juicy and large calorie - robust substance found in bone , aka bone marrow .
To search their hypothesis , the researchers recruited 39 volunteers to discharge various neolithic - epoch tasks , like break through a nut , wielding a handaxe , hammering flint with a stone , and hitting bones to extract bone marrow . While this was run short on , the volunteers wore a baseball mitt - like contraption to monitor manual pressure distributions .
The results show that using a stone to crack receptive nuts involved the least manual force per unit area and , therefore , nutcracking in and of itself is n’t a understanding for us to evolve uniquely dextrous hands , Tracy Kivell , a professor in anthropology at the University of Kent said in astatement . After all , scallywag inBrazilandPanamahave now technically entered the Stone Age .
Instead , it was using a hammerstone to collect marrow or make flake of Flint River ( to utilise as weapons ) that take the most pressure sensation . This , the research worker say , hint these two behaviour had more of an influence on the anatomic and useable evolution of the human mitt than the other 37 behaviors measured .
So , there you have it . While the phylogenesis of the human paw is a long and complicated process that can not be explain by one or two neolithic activities , munching on osseous tissue marrow and carving Lucy Stone dick may have been two of the drive force .
