Speculative Fact #148: Hands for Weapons

    David Carrier, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Utah, has been making controversies with his theory that human hands might have evolved to be used as
clubs.              
     In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology it was found that while an open palm strike can achieve as much force as a punch, a clenched fist can focus the force into a smaller area. Additionally, a clenched fist reduces the risk of injury to the delicate fingers. The shape of the human hand, in contrast to the hands of other apes, allows for such a unique configuration.
    The study has been challenged and raises questions about form versus function (did the hands evolve to be used as a club or was that just a secondary result?).             
     Are human beings natural born killers? Are we killer
apes?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=human-hands-evolved-for-fighting

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