Tracing the origins of human-like tool use by combining functional morphology and musculoskeletal modeling

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Daniel Häufle; Privatdozent Fotios Alexandros Karakostis, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Tracy L. Kivell
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 558831523

The proposed project aims to shed new light on the evolutionary factors that led to the emergence of one of humanity’s defining behavioral characteristics: human-like tool use. To achieve this, we will focus on tracing skeletal evidence for one of the most fundamental transitions in the early hominin record, involving the introduction of habitual cutting via the fine manipulation of small stone flakes. We hypothesize that at least some early fossil hominin individuals will exhibit direct evidence of habitual and precise cutting behaviors (based on phenotypic plasticity), regardless of their degree of evolved dexterity (biomechanical efficiency). Furthermore, if adapting this manual behavior represented a considerable evolutionary advantage, we expect later hominin species to show both increased frequency and evolved dexterity for this task. To address these hypotheses, we will build upon our previously developed interdisciplinary approaches integrating hand musculoskeletal modeling (PI Häufle & PI Kivell) with the 3D morphometric analysis of functional morphology (PI Karakostis & PI Kivell), while relying on our existing experimental data pinpointing the exact functional requirements of human-like stone flake cutting. Our comparative materials comprise a wide range of fossil hominin specimens combined with a diverse and well-preserved sample of extant primate species (i.e., chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, macaques, and extensively documented modern humans).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants