JUNE 26, 2014

Understanding hand shape: evolution, genetics, sex, ethnicity & personality!

Hand shape can be understood properly as an expression of evolution, genetics, sexe, ethnicity & personality. This article describes how human hand shape can be recognized to have evolved towards 'ultimate proportional balance', where the proportions of finger length and palm shape (palm length & palm breadth) approach each other.




Evolution: hand shape evolved towards proportional balance!

The 1st picture below (click HERE for larger version) presents a detailed overview of how hand shape evolves inside the primate family towards a point expressing 'ultimate proportional balance' (where: finger length = palm breadth = palm length). This basically e.g. implicates that the human hand shape is more 'balanced' than the hand shapes seen in non-human primate species!


Hand shape re-defined in terms of palm length index & finger length index.

Human hand shape is most 'balanced' inside the primate evolution tree; this is illustrated inside the picture above by the fact that human hand shape is located at the smallest distance from the point expressing 'ultimate proportional balance' (see point B), where both the 'palm length index' [PLI] and the 'finger length index' [FLI] each have a score of 1.00.

Human international average values are: PLI = 1.27, FLI = 0.87; average human ape values are: PLI = 1.50, FLI = 0.79; average old world monkey values are: PLI = 1.78, FLI = 0.95; average new world monkey values are: PLI = 1.53, FLI = 0.99; average prosimian values are: PLI = 1.50, FLI = 1.28; average tarsier values: PLI = 1.34, FLI = 0.81. Source: Hand shape gives a clue about Genes, Chromosomes & DNA!.



Hand shape differences
in various human populations!

The 2nd picture (click HERE for larger version) presents a more detailed overview of how hand shape tends to vary among various human populations, e.g. illustrated with:

• The International average (males & females together);
• Sexe: males & females seperately;
• Genetics: averages + some male (m) and female (f) cases from four extraordinary populations, including achondroplasia (= dwarfism), Down syndrome, Fragile-X syndrome and Marfan syndrome;
• Ethnicity: averages for Europeans + Americans, Middle East + South Asians, and East Asians;
• Personality (Dutch populations): Dutch extraverts (males, females), Dutch introverts (males, females) & an estimate for the Dutch average.


Hand shape re-defined in terms of palm length index & finger length index.



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