Human hands and hastas

Human hand evolution and hastas...

Pup's paw in my hand

We use our hands for everything we do but rarely think about how our hands evolved. Indeed, the evolution of human hands could be the story of human evolution!
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In the next several posts, I will explore what is so special about human hands, how scientists think our hands evolved for holding, throwing, and gesturing, and how our brains and hands work together. I will also link human hand evolution with hastas in Bharatanatyam, an art form that makes use of a large and distinct set of specific hand gestures (hastas) to communicate narrative and emotions.

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