The discovery of human finger bone fossils dates back to 1.84 million years

Spanish scientists have discovered an ancient human fossil finger bone. It may be the bones of the Hominin human body, existed 1.84 million years ago.

The world's first human bone finger fossil

Spanish scientists have found a special fossil in Tobias Korongo, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania . It is the fossil bones of ancient humans, probably the first in the world. The specimen labeled Olduvai Hominin 86 (OH 86), is a part of the youngest finger or bone that burns the ring finger (proximal phalanx).

" Assume that if the OH 86 is a near-fifth knuckle bone, the pinky finger is correct, it must be the bone of the left hand," Dr. Dominguez-Rodrigo said. What is remarkable about this fossil specimen is that it belongs to the period of human Hominin (one person in the subfamily Homininae). This person existed 1.84 million years ago with the primitive man (Paranthropus Boisei) and the clever gibbon (homo habilis).

Close up of OH 68. Finger bone fossil (Sci-news photo)

Scientists say the OH 68 specimen represents the earliest hand-like bones in human fossils. It has the size and shape not only different from Australopithecus - an extinct hominid limb of about 3 million years but also different from the knuckle bone of the penecontemporaneous period and the bones of the OH 07 specimen (part of the bone of Homo habilis - People living in Africa about 2.2 million years ago and have short bodies, large arms and brains like humanoid apes.

The overall size of this fossil bone lies in the range of modern humans and chimpanzees. In terms of relative length, it is in the middle of the human finger 's middle and the upper part of the gorilla's finger, but it belongs to the bottom of the chimp and monkey finger.

According to scientists, this result leads to the conclusion that OH 68 fossil represents Hominin , another family with the representative subspecies of OH 07 (Homo habilis) and forms similar to humans Homo sapiens modern. OH 86 was added to the collection of evidence 1.9 to 1.8 million years ago. It contributes to pointing out some important aspects of modern human body morphology that appeared very early in human evolution.