Research carried out by the School of Anthropology and Conservation has found differences between the knuckle joints of primates that will enable a better understanding of ancient human hand use.<\/p>\n
Using samples from the\u00a0Powell-Cotton Museum<\/a>\u00a0in Birchington-on-Sea, as well as samples from\u00a0Germany, Belgium and the USA, a team led by biological anthropology\u00a0PhD student\u00a0Christopher Dunmore\u00a0examined the internal bone structure, called trabeculae or cancellous bone, of\u00a0great apes.<\/p>\n Trabecular bone is a honeycomb structure that is found within most bones and\u00a0changes depending on what that bone is used for\u00a0during a lifetime. When it is preserved in fossils, researchers can learn more about\u00a0how ancient apes as well as humans moved\u00a0and interacted with their environment.<\/p>\n The study compared the internal bone structure of the\u00a0knuckle joints in chimpanzee, bonobo, orang-utan and gorilla hands, to assess whether this bone structure records how these apes moved when\u00a0knuckle-walking on the ground or hanging from trees.<\/p>\n The researchers found the knuckle joints of\u00a0orang-utans were consistent with flexing the knuckles while grasping branches, while the joints of chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas were consistent with knuckle-walking\u00a0\u2013 the most frequent ways in which these animals move around in their respective environments. The information will now enable scientists studying fossils to better understand\u00a0whether ancient humans were swinging from trees or walking on the ground.<\/p>\n Mr Dunmore said, “For the first time we see interesting internal bone patterns\u00a0differentiating subtle differences\u00a0between chimpanzee and gorilla knuckle-walking, as well as arboreal grasping in orang-utans. This matters because when we find\u00a0ancient human hand fossils that preserve their internal structure, we can work out if they were probably swinging from trees during their lifetime or if they were walking on the ground more like humans today.”<\/p>\n The study, entitled\u00a0Metacarpal trabecular bone varies with distinct hand-positions used in hominid locomotion\u00a0<\/em><\/a>(Christopher Dunmore, Dr Ameline Bardo<\/a>, Professor Tracy Kivell<\/a> and Dr Matthew Skinner<\/a>, Skeletal Biology Research Centre<\/a>, University of Kent) was published in the\u00a0Journal of Anatomy.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"