Human Hand Closes Evolutionary Gap

Summary
Humans have a recognizable hand anatomy that is specific to our species. It allows us to make and use tools. Apes do not have these distinctive features, and it was unsure when in time these features first appeared in our evolution. Now, a Missouri researcher and team of colleagues found a hand bone of a human who roamed East Africa 1.42 million years ago. They believe the hand belongs to the early human species, Homo erectus. This bone is the earliest evidence of the human ancestor having a modern day hand. This fossil find pushes the time this modern hand come about a whole half million years earlier then had been previously thought.

Relevance
This story connects to our recent evolution unit. The anatomy of the human had is something that would have had to evolve many many years and generations. The survival pressures that could have sculpted the adaption of this modern day hand, is its ability to grasp and use tools. The better the hand can use tools, the more likely the person will survive to create more offspring with this better functioning hand. As the human population struggled for food, those with the tool using hand were able to get more food, and as a result, have more children. The more children, the better your traits (like the tool using hand) will be passed on.

Author- Jerett Rion
Published- Dec. 16, 2013
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131216154902.htm