Fossils of a coat of 1.84 million years – El Universal (Venezuela)

Madrid .- A team of scientists from several countries in Africa have found the oldest fossils that record has modern hand, similar to ours. It is estimated that these fossils are over 1.84 million years.

The evolution of the hand is vital to understand how we became human.

The fossils were found in the Throat Olduvai (Tanzania) and belong to a phalanx of the little finger of his left hand from an individual measured between 1.70 and 1.80 meters.

This is a modern hand, ie belonged a “land only” individual who did not use his hands to climb in the trees, told Efe Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, the Institute of Development in Africa, Madrid, and director of the research, published in the journal Nature Communications .

The hominids became bipedal about 6 million years ago, continued the researcher.

During the first four million years, all hominids were characterized by a mixed pattern. climbed trees and were bipedal on the ground, hence their hands have a double function, manipulation and locomotion in trees

When the hands were freed from the arboreal locomotion, his face changed to adapt and to become “specialists handling stringent,” said Dominguez-Rodrigo.

“Our hand evolved, enabling a variety of grips and sufficient strength to allow pressor the widest range of manipulations, “he said.

” It is this ability of handling which interacted with the brain to the development of our intelligence through the invention and use of tools “(the first They are 2.6 million years ago, found in Gona, Ethiopia).

Our hand changed. Modified thumbs, fingers phalanges widened or straightened

It is this last feature evolved only once abandoned arboreal life, which until work researchers had established that happened about 1.5 billion years ago and that was the center of Homo erectus.

However, this new study states that the hands of these “modern” features have a length of at least 1.84 million years.

“Our findings not only show that 1.84 million years ago there was already a creature with one hand modern features but also that this creature was larger than any previous or contemporary hominid that species. “

And to what species the individual hand found? “We’re not sure, because the teeth we lack, is risky, according to Domínguez-Rodrigo, adding that they know the species that did not belong. Homo habilis and Paranthropus boisei

And that fossils hand described now are very different to those found in the hands of these two species.

According to this work, also signed by US scientists, the characteristics of the new individual fit “very well” with . those of Homo erectus in Africa could coexist with the other two species

So far the fossil remains of Homo erectus identified in Africa dating back 1.5 million years, these are almost 400,000 years older, told the Spanish researcher, who nevertheless said the study can not rule out trying to call a creature yet that closely resembled Homo erectus.

In recent years, researchers have gathered evidence on that the Olduvai site was a central place where hominids carrying up to 350 kilograms case they got through hunting, but had always doubted, at least Dominguez, Homo habilis could do it (was a meter).

This work is an explanation for this: the site it inhabited a much larger and more modern creature.