title: OH-65: The earliest evidence for right-handedness in the fossil record.
abstract: Labial striations on the anterior teeth have been documented in numerous European pre-Neandertal and Neandertal fossils and serve as evidence for handedness. OH-65, dated at 1.8 mya, shows a concentration of oblique striations on, especially, the left I1and right I1, I2and C1, which signal that it was right-handed. From these patterns we contend that OH-65 was habitually using the right hand, over the left, in manipulating objects during some kind of oral processing. In living humans right-handedness is generally correlated with brain lateralization, although the strength of the association is questioned by some. We propose that as more specimens are found, right-handedness, as seen in living Homo, will most probably be typical of these early hominins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA. Electronic address: frayer@ku.edu.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Frayer
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2040, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: Polo Museale del Lazio, Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico "L. Pigorini", Sezione di Bioarcheologia, P. le G. Marconi, 14, 00144, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.affiliation: Paleontological Scientific Trust, P.O. Box 203, Parklands, 2121, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Blumenschine
authors.affiliation: Sect. Anthropology, Department on Animal Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Sect. Anthropology, Department on Animal Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Sect. Anthropology, Department on Animal Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ferran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Estebaranz
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.affiliation: Polo Museale del Lazio, Museo Nazionale Preistorico Etnografico "L. Pigorini", Sezione di Bioarcheologia, P. le G. Marconi, 14, 00144, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bondioli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D007802:Language; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D053001:Tool Use Behavior; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
keywords: Brain lateralization; Labial tooth striations; Tool use