Preference for the right hand in ancient fossils

It is thought that about 90% of humans preferably use the right hand; in the other primates, the ratio is 50-50. Apparently, this our prevalence has distant origins: the analysis of ancient fossils found in
the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, has unearthed the oldest traces of destrismo ever discovered.



EVIDENCE. On the front teeth of a perfectly preserved specimen of Homo habilis lived 1.8 million years ago, have come to light streaks caused by a sharp tool used to cut meat probably.

From the direction of the scratches, which develop from left to right, it was deduced that the man, who clutched between his teeth a piece of food, was using his left hand to stretch it, and the right to try to cut the bite with a lama. In this operation, the "knife" Stone was sometimes slip on the teeth: a fortune, for scientists are now able to analyze the signs.



ROOTS REMOTE. The study South African and an Italian contribution, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, tells us that single Homo habilis was right, but not only that: even if the sample is very small, it's still a hint of the potential prevalence of destrismo already before 'advent of the Neanderthals.