Can hominin ‘handedness’ be accurately assessed?

Abstract

The expression of a strong, population-level right hand preference has, to date only been unequivocally identified in Homo sapiens and is often considered to be unique to this species. For this reason, and because of purported co-evolutionary links between this trait and language capabilities in modern humans, the identification of hand preference in the hominin fossil record has long been of interest to researchers studying the evolution of ‘handedness’ within the genus Homo.

Identifying hand preference in skeletal samples, however, is not straightforward. Problems arise from difficulties in determining the precise nature of the relationship between hand use and bone morphology, the methods by which hand preference is assessed, the paucity of material available for study, and even what is meant by the term ‘handedness’.

Various attempts have been made to address these issues, encompassing a range of methodological approaches, such as comparisons of osteological techniques, studies of prehistoric material culture and ethnographic analysis of hand use behaviours in modern hunter–gatherer societies and non-human primate groups. What such research suggests is that hand preference is a complex phenomenon, in both extant and extinct groups, and in order to assess its expression in extinct populations care must be paid to the questions asked of the available material and the methodologies used to answer them.

• Homo
• asymmetry
• hand use