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Related Concept Videos

Anatomical Movements00:51

Anatomical Movements

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Anatomical movements refer to the various actions or motions that can be performed by the body's joints and muscles. These movements are described using specific terms to provide a standardized way of discussing and understanding the range of motion at different joints.
Here are some common anatomical movements:
Flexion and extension motions are in the sagittal (anterior–posterior) plane of motion. These movements take place at the shoulder, hip, elbow, knee, wrist,...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2025

Assessing Forelimb Function after Unilateral Cervical SCI using Novel Tasks: Limb Step-alternation, Postural Instability and Pasta Handling
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Humanlike manual activities in Australopithecus.

Jana Kunze1, Katerina Harvati2, Gerhard Hotz3

  • 1Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Rümelinstraße 23, Tübingen D-72070, Germany.

Journal of Human Evolution
|October 4, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Early human hands show evidence of humanlike manipulation. Australopithecus sediba used hands similarly to later Homo, while A. africanus and A. afarensis had mixed manipulation patterns.

Keywords:
Early homininsEnthesesHand useManipulation

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Area of Science:

  • Paleoanthropology
  • Human Evolution
  • Biomechanics

Background:

  • Understanding early hominin hand use is crucial for deciphering biocultural evolution.
  • Previous studies focused on bone shape, limiting insights into habitual activities.
  • Muscle attachment sites (entheses) offer a more direct measure of lifetime biomechanical loading.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the manual entheseal patterns of Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, and Australopithecus sediba.
  • To infer habitual hand use in these early hominins by analyzing muscle attachment site proportions.

Main Methods:

  • Applied the entheses-based reconstruction of activity method to fossil hominin hands.
  • Analyzed muscle attachment site proportions on the thumb, fifth ray, and third intermediate phalanx.
  • Used a comparative sample of later Homo and great ape genera, with novel statistical procedures for size correction.

Main Results:

  • Australopithecus sediba exhibited entheseal patterns suggesting muscle activation similar to later Homo, indicative of humanlike manipulation.
  • Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus afarensis displayed a mosaic pattern, combining humanlike and apelike manipulation indicators.
  • Key muscles of the first and fifth digits were important for the observed manipulation patterns.

Conclusions:

  • Some australopith species, particularly A. sediba, engaged in habitual humanlike manipulation.
  • These findings suggest that humanlike hand use evolved earlier than previously thought.
  • While capable of humanlike manipulation, australopith manual dexterity was likely less refined than in later Homo.