近日，美国石溪大学Carrie S. Mongle团队报道了新发现化石揭示鲍氏傍人手部结构。该项研究成果发表在2025年10月15日出版的《自然》杂志上。

当玛丽·利基在奥杜威石器旁发现鲍氏傍人OH 5头骨时，该物种曾被誉为"迄今最古老的石器制造者"。但傍人属是否制造和使用工具始终存在争议，主要原因是目前尚无明确属于该属的手部骨骼化石。研究组报道了与鲍氏傍人头骨及牙齿材料明确相关联的手足骨骼化石。KNM-ER 101000标本表明鲍氏傍人具有与人属相同的关键性操作适应性与直立行走特征。

此外，该手骨形态在与大猩猩的趋同演化中形成了适于徒手处理食物的特征，这种结构同时有利于进行攀爬所需的强力抓握。这些化石证实鲍氏傍人具备一定程度的工具制造与使用能力，也支持了傍人属与人属存在食性适应差异的假说。该发现不仅为认知度极低的傍人属颅后骨功能解剖提供新见解，更为厘清古人类手部演化与工具使用的宏观图景提供了关键证据。

附：英文原文

Title: New fossils reveal the hand of Paranthropus boisei

Author: Mongle, Carrie S., Orr, Caley M., Tocheri, Matthew W., Prang, Thomas Cody, Grine, Frederick E., Feibel, Craig, Patel, Biren A., Laureijs, Olivia, Hobbs, Tara E., Maiolino, Stephanie, Rossie, James, Mbogo, Winfred, Du Plessis, Anton, Lonyericho, John, Woto Huka, William, Sale, Hilary, Umuro, Abdi, Yirgudo, Peter, Dalacha, Ibrae, Kirinya, Martin, Linga, Ezekiel, Loki, Richard, Longaye, Apolo, Longaye, Malmalo, Lonyericho, Emmanuel, Loyapan, Iyole, Nakudo, Nyiber, Nyete, Cyprian, Leakey, Meave G., Leakey, Louise N.

Issue&Volume: 2025-10-15

Abstract: When Mary Leakey discovered the OH5 cranium of Paranthropus boisei alongside Oldowan stone artefacts, it was declared “the oldest yet discovered maker of stone tools”1. Whether Paranthropus made and used tools has been debated ever since2,3,4, largely because there are no known hand bones that can be definitively attributed to this genus. Here we report fossil hand and foot bones unambiguously associated with craniodental material of P.boisei. KNM-ER 101000 demonstrates that P.boisei shared key manipulative and bipedal adaptations with the genus Homo. Moreover, the hand morphology of KNM-ER 101000 converges on that of gorillas in ways that are consistent with manual food processing and would have facilitated powerful grasping, such as that used in climbing. These fossils suggest that P.boisei was capable of tool making and use in some capacity while also supporting the proposed dichotomy of distinct dietary adaptations between Paranthropus and Homo. In addition to offering insights into the poorly known postcranial functional anatomy of Paranthropus, this discovery illuminates broader patterns of hominin hand evolution and tool use.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09594-8

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09594-8