Ancient Hands Reveal Early Human Ancestors' Lives

Our hands can show us how people lived. This is also true for our early human relatives. Different jobs make our fingers work in different ways.

Scientists used 3D scans to study old human hands. They measured the bones in the fingers. This helped them learn about how these humans used their hands.

They looked at fossils from two types of early humans. These were Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi. These humans lived a very long time ago in Africa.

Both types of humans used their hands in many ways. They climbed and held things at the same time. This means they could use tools and move around easily.

The study shows hand use did not change in a simple way. It was not just going from ape-like to human-like. Hands help us understand how early humans lived in the world.