Appearance: The Arms and Hands – Внешность: руки

The arms and hands of our prehistoric ancestors were probably not very different from the human arm and hand today. The upper and lower joints of the arm, elbow and wrist, were probably very similar, and the basic structure of the hand with its five fingers was also the same. But according to some scientists, there has been an important change — a change in the way we hold things.

Many hundreds of thousands years ago, our ancestors could hold things in only one way. This is called the power grip. The power grip is used, for example, to hold a hammer or a piece of wood. With this grip, you hold in the palm of the hand with four fingers on one side and the thumb on the other.

Later, the human hand developed a second grip, which we call the precision grip. This grip is used, for example, in holding a pen or a paintbrush. With this grip, you have much greater control over what you are holding. The object is usually held by the soft parts of the fingertips (below the fingernails) of the first three fingers — the thumb, the forefinger and the middle finger. With this grip thelittle finger and the ring finger do nothing.

The development of the precision grip was important. It made it possible for humans to become tool makers, and so humans became the first and only animals to create and use technology.


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Appearance: The Arms and Hands – Внешность: руки