Doctoral Dissertation Research: Coevolution of Stone Tools and Hominin Hand Morphology

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The origin and development of the human hand has been a focus of anthropological study as scientists try to understand the reasons why our hands look the way they do. One hypothesis is that making and using stone tools influenced the shape of our hands over millions of years. This doctoral research project explores how changes in the human wrist might have helped early humans make tools to modify their environment and diet for their survival. The study provides an in-depth experimental examination of the co-evolution of technology and human anatomy over millions of years. The project supports student training, international research collaborations, and science education outreach. The project considers whether the production of stone tools was a significant manipulative behavior that catalyzed evolutionary changes in the structure of the human hand through time. The investigator conducts a series of experiments on the production of stone tools with both a flexible wrist (similar to a modern human) and a braced wrist which may be more similar to the wrist of early human ancestors. In addition, specific stone tool sites associated with specific human fossils are examined for associations between stone tool and hominin wrist morphology. Finally, the investigator compares previously documented anatomical changes in the hand with coincident variation in stone tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.