New research on australopithecine hand anatomy suggests that Lucy, one of the oldest known ancestors to humans, and her species might have engage in tool-related activities over 3 million years ago.
This revelation, based on muscle attachment studies, implies that some early hominins may have manipulate objects long before the Homo genus emerge.
The study, publish in Journal of Human Evolution, was led by paleoanthropologist Fotios Alexandros Karakostis from the University of Tübingen, Germany.
Researchers analyse hand muscle attachment sites, known as entheses, in three different australopithecine species and compare them with human and ape hand bones.
It was observe that muscle attachment points on these ancient hand bones suggest frequent use of grasping and manipulation similar to human tool use.
Alexandros Karakostis explain :
“While there is no direct evidence that these hominins created tools, their hand structures show they likely performed activities involving precise grip and object manipulation,”.
The study, which was publish in the November issue of the Journal of Human Evolution, indicate that australopithecines, particularly Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus sediba, may have possess dexterity akin to modern humans.
The recent species among these, A. sediba, had a more humanlike hand compare to its earlier relatives, which retain both ape and human traits in their hand structure.
This study further reveals that the placement and adaptation of muscle attachment sites in these species highlight how their hands might have been use to manage tasks such as food preparation, grasping, and perhaps even using primitive tools.
Jana Kunze, a paleoanthropologist also from the University of Tübingen, said that the development of the first dorsal interosseus muscle between the thumb and index finger might have support a precise grip.
This feature with adaptations in the pinky finger, would have enhance the species ability to manipulate objects effectively, providing essential functionality that may have led to technological advancements among early hominins.
Although Homo habilis, known as “handyman” due to its association with early stone tools, is traditionally credit as the first toolmaker, this study challenges the assumption that australopithecines lack the anatomical ability for tool creation.
Tracy Kivell, Director of Human Origins at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, observe that each australopithecine species may have develop unique hand adaptations, potentially using their dexterity for both tool use and climbing.
This analysis adds evidence to the hypothesis that certain humanlike traits in dexterity emerged before the evolution of the Homo genus, pushing back the timeline of possible tool use to australopithecines over 3 million years ago.
