Evolution of the human hand shows earlier use of tools than previously documente

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https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/10/21/bhlz-o21.html

Humans are fundamentally technological creatures. We depend on the manufacture and use of tools for our survival to a degree qualitatively greater than any other species. Therefore, an understanding of how and when the human capacity for technology developed is key to the study of our evolution.

Newly published research—“Humanlike manual activities in Australopithecus” (Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 196, November 2024)—indicates that the manufacture and use of tools occurred earlier than previously documented.

Until this new study, stone tools had not been found directly associated with the earliest members of the human lineage, belonging to the genus Australopithecus, but only with the first known members of the genus Homo (H. habilis), which evolved from Australopithecus. Therefore, although it was assumed that tool manufacture and use had earlier origins, specific evidence was lacking. It is likely that tools and other artifacts made from organic materials (e.g., wood, animal skins) were included in the earliest hominin technology. However, since such materials degrade over time, they are rarely, if ever, found in early archaeological sites.

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