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Right-handed fossil humans
Marina Lozano1, Almudena Estalrrich2, Luca Bondioli3
1Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES) and University Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain.
Evolutionary Anthropology
|December 22, 2017
Summary
Fossil hominin teeth reveal a consistent 9:1 right- to left-handedness ratio, indicating modern handedness patterns existed long before Homo sapiens. This ancient trait is evident in early African and European hominin fossils.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Primate Evolution
- Human Origins
Background:
- Fossil hominins processed materials using their teeth, leaving impact marks.
- Analysis of these marks can reveal dominant hand use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of handedness in fossil hominins.
- To determine if modern handedness patterns existed in ancient human relatives.
Main Methods:
- Examining labial (lip) surfaces of fossil hominin incisors and canines for oblique striations.
- Quantifying the frequency of right- versus left-handed marks.
Main Results:
- A consistent 9:1 right- to left-handedness ratio was observed in fossil hominins.
- This pattern was found in European fossils and extended to early Pleistocene African Homo habilis (OH-65).
- Neandertal and earlier European hominin fossils predominantly show right-handedness.
Conclusions:
- The 9:1 handedness ratio is a uniquely modern human trait that extends deep into our evolutionary past.
- Evidence suggests modern handedness patterns predated the emergence of Homo sapiens, appearing in the early Pleistocene of Africa and Europe.
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