Biomaterial Database

Fossil evidence for early hominid tool use. 1994

R L Susman

Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, State University at Stony Brook, NY 11794-8081.

Although several Plio-Pleistocene hominids are found in association with stone and bone tools, it has been generally assumed that at any one time the hominid with the largest brain was the toolmaker. Fossils recovered over the last decade suggest that early hominids subsequent to 2.5 million years ago all might have used tools and occupied "cultural" niches. A test for humanlike precision grasping (the enhanced ability to manipulate tools) is proposed and applied to australopithecines and early Homo. The results indicate that tools were likely to have been used by all early hominids at around 2.0 million years ago. The earliest australopithecines, which predate the appearance of stone tools in the archaeological record, do not show signs of advanced precision grasping.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008663	Metacarpus	The region of the HAND between the WRIST and the FINGERS.
D009048	Motor Skills	Performance of complex motor acts.	Motor Skill,Skill, Motor,Skills, Motor
D009132	Muscles	Contractile tissue that produces movement in animals.	Muscle Tissue,Muscle,Muscle Tissues,Tissue, Muscle,Tissues, Muscle
D002679	Pan troglodytes	The common chimpanzee, a species of the genus Pan, family HOMINIDAE. It lives in Africa, primarily in the tropical rainforests. There are a number of recognized subspecies.	Chimpanzee,Chimpanzee troglodytes,Chimpanzee troglodyte,Chimpanzees,Pan troglodyte,troglodyte, Pan,troglodytes, Chimpanzee
D005580	Fossils	Remains, impressions, or traces of animals or plants of past geological times which have been preserved in the earth's crust.	Fossil
D006225	Hand	The distal part of the arm beyond the wrist in humans and primates, that includes the palm, fingers, and thumb.	Hands
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001696	Biomechanical Phenomena	The properties, processes, and behavior of biological systems under the action of mechanical forces.	Biomechanics,Kinematics,Biomechanic Phenomena,Mechanobiological Phenomena,Biomechanic,Biomechanic Phenomenas,Phenomena, Biomechanic,Phenomena, Biomechanical,Phenomena, Mechanobiological,Phenomenas, Biomechanic
D013933	Thumb	The first digit on the radial side of the hand which in humans lies opposite the other four.	Thumbs