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Article: Getting a grip on prehistoric tool makers. (analysis of thumb fossils indicates that Paranthropus hominids were as physically capable of making tools as Homo erectus) (Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- September 17, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A small, unassuming bone runs halfway up the thumb from its base. That same bone offers scientists a surefire way to tell which ancient members of the human evolutionary family, known as hominids, possessed hands capable of making stone tools, according to a report in the Sept. 9 Science.
Moreover, an analysis of thumb fossils indicates that an extinct line of small-brained hominids called Paranthropus (or robust australopithecines) proved as anatomically prepared to fashion such implements as Homo erectus, a direct human ancestor, asserts Randall L. Susman, an anthropologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
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