Neanderthals Didn’t Use Their Thumbs Like We Do, New Research Suggests - Gizmodo

An analysis of Neanderthal hand bones suggests these extinct humans possessed thumbs better suited for power grips, as opposed to precision grips, which could mean they used their hands differently than we do.

Researchers have found key physical differences in the thumbs of Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens), which suggests the two species used their hands in different ways.

Specifically, we use these power grips, as they’re also called, to hold tools or other objects between our fingers and the palm, while the thumb is used to direct force.

What the new research suggests, however, is that precision gripping wasn’t very comfortable for Neanderthals, and that they may have been more inclined towards power gripping.

That said, and as Bardo explained in her email, their “hand anatomy and the archaeological record makes abundantly clear that Neanderthals were very intelligent, sophisticated tool users and used many of the same tools that contemporary modern humans did.”.

Previous research in this area showed how the shapes of Neanderthal thumb bones varied in relation to those of modern humans, but these bones were studied in isolation.

Bardo and her colleagues sought to learn how Neanderthal hand bones actually moved through time and space, which they did by 3D mapping the joints between the bones responsible for making thumb movements.

For the analysis, the scientists studied the fossilized remains of five Neanderthal individuals (admittedly a small sample size), which were compared to bones from five early modern humans and 50 recent modern individuals.

A disadvantage of the Neanderthal anatomy is that it limited strong precision grips, such as using a small flake to cut meat, she explained.