Oxford study links human right-handedness to bipedalism and brain expansion
By
gmays
Crisped on the outside, thoughtful enough on the inside.
Summary
A new Oxford-led study published in PLOS Biology explains why humans are the only primates with a population-wide right-hand preference. Researchers found that when accounting for bipedalism (upright walking) and brain size, humans no longer appear as an evolutionary anomaly in handedness patterns. The study also estimated handedness in extinct human ancestors, revealing a gradient where early hominins like Ardipithecus showed less pronounced hand preference.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledHumans sat conspicuously outside the pattern that explained every other primate
once you account for upright walking and a large brain, humans stop looking like an evolutionary anomaly
The picture that emerges is a gradient; early hominins such as Ardipithecus...
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