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The tool wielding skills of human beings began half a million earlier than previously thought.
As per the work printed in the Journal Science, the talent of inventing tools is not merely associated with genus Homo. A hand bone of an ancient human reveals that they had characteristics which are required for crafting tools.
Researchers at University of Kent measured up the density and shape of hand bones of numerous species. They came across metacarpal bone which located at the lower part of the thumb. The major function of the bone is to provide a strong and accurate hand grip
Archeologists closely analyzed the bone structure through a robust X-ray technique. The bone offered significant information regarding the functioning of hands.
Later on, researchers concluded that early human beings have a distinctive structural pattern. Such kind of patterns are usually created when a person powerfully oppose his thumb with fingers.
Matthew Skinner, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Kent states that it is certainly strong evidence that these australopiths used their hands to hold tools. The traits are quite similar to the characteristics of modern humans and Neanderthals.
It signifies that Homo habilis were not the first one to handle the tools. The Australopithecus africanus were the first one to craft the tools. These species lived in Southern Africa for nearly 2-3 million years ago.
