Human fist may have evolved for punching out the other guy - Science Recorder

While it is commonly believed that human hands evolved to perform dexterous tasks, a recent study in the Journal of Experimental Biology suggests they may actually have evolved to fight.

When compared to apes, human hands have shorter fingers, smaller palms, and longer, more flexible thumbs. No one is sure why this is, but it has led to many different theories about how the human hand evolved. One is University of Utah Professor David Carrier’s “pugilism hypothesis,” which suggests that fist fighting was one of the main forces behind the hand’s evolution.

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