Ancient Origins of Tool Use: Australopithecine Hands Suggest Early Manipulation Abilities

New research into australopithecine hand anatomy suggests that dexterity and tool use may have predated the rise of Homo, challenging long-standing views on early human evolution.

Uncovering Tool Use in Early Hominins

A recent study¹ into the hand bones of Australopithecus afarensis — the species that includes the famous "Lucy" — suggests that early hominins may have been adept at using tools more than 3 million years ago. Researchers from the University of Tübingen have found that australopithecine hands exhibited the necessary mu…