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Grant support

We want to thank the University of Barcelona's body donation service, especially Cristina Manzanares, Juan Antonio Camara, Jose Luis Ramon Cayuela, and Gemma Ramon Cayuela for their assistance. We are grateful to Dr. Tracy Kivell who gave us the micro-CT data of the orangutan phalanx and to the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, where this specimen is housed. We are also grateful to Clement Zanolli for the translation into French. We acknowledge NESPOS, and KUPRI for the CT scans of the non-human primates used in this study and the original providers of the material: Tennoji Zoo, Fukuoka City Zoo and the Fukuchiyama City Zoo. This work was supported by the General Directorate of Research of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (MICINN-FEDER: grant number PGC2018-093925-BC32); the Government of Catalonia (AGAUR: grant number 2017SGR 1040); the URV Project 2016 PFR-URV-B2-17; the Becas Chile Program of the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT); the DFG, German Research Foundation (grant number KA 1525/9-2); and the Government of Catalonia's CERCA program. T.A.P was funded by the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (grant number ECF-2018-264).

Analysis of institutional authors

Lorenzo, CarlosAuthorMarcé Nogué, JordiAuthor

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October 26, 2020
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Finite element analysis of the proximal phalanx of the thumb in Hominoidea during simulated stone tool use

Publicated to:Comptes Rendus Palevol. 19 (2): 26-39 - 2020-08-10 19(2), DOI: 10.5852/cr-palevol2020v19a2

Authors: Bucchi, Ana; Puschel, Thomas A; Lorenzo, Carlos; Marce-Nogue, Jordi

Affiliations

Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Inst Catala Paleontol M Crusafont, Barcelona, Spain - Author
Univ Hamburg, Ctr Nat Hist, Hamburg, Germany - Author
Univ Oxford, Inst Cognit & Evolutionary & Anthropol, Primate Models Behav Evolut Lab, Oxford, England - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili URV, Area Prehist, Tarragona, Spain - Author
Univ Rovira & Virgili URV, Inst Catala Paleoecol Humana & Evolucio Social IP, Tarragona, Spain - Author
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Abstract

Finite element analysis was applied to analyze six individuals from different primate species (Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758, Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864, Pan troglodytes Blumenbach, 1779, Gorilla gorilla Savage, 1847, Pongo pygmaeus Linnaeus, 1760 and Hylobates lar Linnaeus, 1771) to identify stress distribution patterns on the pollical proximal phalanx during simulated hammerstone use. We expected the stress to be better distributed in our species than in other hominids based on the idea that, unlike apes, the human hand is adapted to tool-related behaviors. Our results indicate that the human phalanx unevenly distributes stresses and is one of the most fragile of all, especially when a small hammerstone is simulated. Tool orientation relative to the phalanx did not have a substantial effect on average stress or distribution. We conclude that great apes can resist loads exerted during this activity more efficiently than humans and that there were probably other evolutionary factors acting on this bone in our species.

Keywords

Apes viewArchitectureEvolutionFunctional morphologyFunctional-morphologyHand evolutionHuman handHumansKnuckle-walkingMusclePan-troglodytesPressure distributionPrimatesStress

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Comptes Rendus Palevol due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Paleontology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 3.72, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Oct 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-10-03, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 4
  • Scopus: 5

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-10-03:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 15 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9001834

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Germany; United Kingdom.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Bucchi, Ana) and Last Author (Marcé Nogué, Jordi).