Is the Thumb a Finger?

By jamie

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Our fingers are able to wrap tightly around objects. This is thanks to muscles that pull on tendons, causing the fingers to curl over tightly. The fingers and our palms also have tiny ridges on the skin and this helps to give us as much grip as possible.

For even more grip, however, we have also evolved opposable thumbs. This means that the thumbs can be curled inward to meet the fingers and the palm of the hand. This has helped to give us an evolutionary advantage that helped us to survive and evolve into the species we are today. Similarities between the fingers and thumbs often lead people to answer the question of whether or not the thumb is a finger.

1. What Are Thumbs For?

It is thought by many evolutionary scientists that the thumb is one of the key developments that helped to make us the superior species on our planet. Why? The answer is simply that it allows us to hold onto things, and this allowed us to start using tools. We are not the only animal to have thumbs. Our closest relatives, and some other species, also have them, and many of these will also use tools. When combined with our superior brainpower, however, the ability to hold onto things and use tools helps us to manipulate our environment in ways that no other species can.

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