Human Evolution. Comment on "Human-like Hand Use in Australopithecus Africanus"
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Skinner and colleagues (Research Article, 23 January 2015, p. 395), based on metacarpal trabecular bone structure, argue that Australopithecus africanus employed human-like dexterity for stone tool making and use 3 million years ago. However, their evolutionary and biological assumptions are misinformed, failing to refute the previously existing hypothesis that human-like manipulation preceded systematized stone tool manufacture, as indicated by the fossil record.
Metacarpal trabecular bone varies with distinct hand-positions used in hominid locomotion.
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