Human hands are much, much older than you think. According to a new study, this part of the human body has not evolved for the past 6 million years. Even if the hands did, their anatomical evolution is so little, no one would doubt that they didn't change at all. 

Based on the study published in the journal Nature Communications, the human hands are actually more primitive than those of other primates. For example, the hands of the human beings are more anatomically primitive than the hands of dexterous chimpanzees, according to Science Mag. 

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This finding by the Stony Brook University researchers led by paleoanthropologist Sergio Almécija is quite interesting because evolution scientists have maintained that the ancestors of humans are primates. As per the evolution theory, the primate ancestors of man slowly lost their animalistic traits and features until such time the modern man was formed.

"These findings indicate that the structure of the modern human hand is largely primitive in nature, rather than the result of selective pressures in the context of stone tool-making," the press summary of the new study published Tuesday read.

The researchers also noted that contrary to the former belief, the orangutans and the chimps' hands were actually the ones that really evolved through time. Phys.org has learned that through time the hands of the said primates branched out and developed longer fingers, which they now use for their daily physical activities, like swinging on the branches of trees.

Almécija noted that the finding of their newly published study could actually affect how paleoanthropologists view and approach the evolution of humans. 

In an interview with Christian Science Monitor, Almécija said, "Contrarily to most studies in the field of human evolution, we did not assume that the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees was like a chimpanzee. Instead, we tested that assumption by incorporating actual morphological and phylogenetic information in a large sample of primate species."

Almécija then continued saying that the significance of their study is bigger than what it seems. For one thing, the belief that man had chimpanzee-like ancestors could be questioned and could have been flawed from the very beginning. 

"When the humans first started to produce stone tools systematically, their hands were pretty much like ours today," he finally quipped.

TagsHuman Hands, evolution, primates, Study