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Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Behavioral Assessment of Manual Dexterity in Non-Human Primates
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Human evolution. Human-like hand use in Australopithecus africanus.

Matthew M Skinner1, Nicholas B Stephens2, Zewdi J Tsegai2

  • 1School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK. Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig Germany. Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa. m.skinner@kent.ac.uk t.l.kivell@kent.ac.uk.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|January 24, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human-like hand bone structure in early hominins like Australopithecus africanus suggests tool use occurred much earlier than previously thought. This finding sheds light on key evolutionary transitions in human hand evolution and manipulative capabilities.

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Area of Science:

  • Paleoanthropology
  • Human Evolution
  • Skeletal Biology

Background:

  • Forceful precision and power gripping are key human abilities.
  • These abilities are linked to reduced arboreal climbing and tool manufacture/use.
  • The timing of these evolutionary transitions in hominin hand use remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the timing of evolutionary transitions in hominin hand use.
  • To determine when human-like hand postures for tool use emerged.
  • To provide morphological evidence for early hominin manipulative capabilities.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of trabecular bone patterns in the metacarpals of Australopithecus africanus and Pleistocene hominins.
  • Comparison of fossil hominin hand bone morphology with modern human patterns associated with tool use.
  • Integration of morphological findings with existing archaeological evidence for stone tool use.

Main Results:

  • Australopithecus africanus and several Pleistocene hominins exhibit human-like trabecular bone patterns in their metacarpals.
  • These patterns are consistent with the forceful opposition of the thumb and fingers characteristic of tool use.
  • The findings indicate these hominins engaged in human-like hand postures for tool use.

Conclusions:

  • Early hominins, including australopiths, possessed hand bone morphology suitable for tool use.
  • Human-like hand postures for manipulation evolved earlier than traditionally assumed, potentially in the Pliocene epoch.
  • Morphological evidence supports earlier and more frequent tool use among Pliocene hominins.