For several decades, it was largely assumed that stone tool use and production were
abilities limited to the genus Homo. However, growing palaeontological and archaeological …

Humans can feel, weigh and grasp diverse objects, and simultaneously infer their material
properties while applying the right amount of force—a challenging set of tasks for a modern …

The modern human hand is an intriguing mix of primitive morphology and derived function.
Traditionally, its form and function are explained as a functional “trade‐off” between the …

Systematic tool production and use is one of humanity's defining characteristics, possibly
originating as early as> 3 million years ago. 1–3 Although heightened manual dexterity is …

Although hand grip strength is critical to the daily lives of humans and our arboreal great ape
relatives, the human hand has changed in form and function throughout our evolution due to …

Neandertal manual activities, as previously reconstructed from their robust hand skeletons,
are thought to involve systematic power gras** rather than precise hand movements …

In 1994, Hunt published the 'postural feeding hypothesis'—a seminal paper on the origins of
hominin bipedalism—founded on the detailed study of chimpanzee positional behavior and …

Flexible force-sensitive devices capable of measuring and distinguishing multiple
mechanical stimuli are major components in the development of robot tactile applications …

Senses form the interface between animals and environments, and provide a window into
the ecology of past and present species. However, research on sensory behaviours by wild …

The inference of Neanderthal cognition, including their cultural and linguistic capabilities,
has persisted as a fiercely debated research topic for decades. This lack of consensus is …