Tantalizing Evidence Hints Ancient Humans Had Stone Tools Before Opposable Thumbs

[Judi Lynn]

CARLY CASSELLA29 JANUARY 2021

The evolution of the opposable thumb is often placed hand-in-hand with the rise of stone tools.

Without the ability to grasp or manipulate objects with power and precision, some scientists think our early human ancestors may never have driven our species to such great success.

It's an interesting hypothesis, but opposable thumbs and tools might not be as intertwined as we once thought. In fact, early humans may have been making and using tools long before their thumbs matched our own.

A new study has found that opposable thumbs evolved around 2 million years ago - and there's evidence of human ancestors making stone tools before that.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-earliest-humans-to-make-tools-may-not-have-had-fully-opposable-thumbs

[ret5hd]

1. Don't tell the cats...or we are DOOMED!

[brush]

2. How would they be called human without opposable thumbs?

Even apes have opposable thumbs.

[Duppers]

3. Wow!