Most People Are Right-Handed Due to Ancient Ancestors

Scientists at Oxford and the University of Reading in the UK investigated the origins of right-handedness in over 2,000 primates. The team connected the preference to the evolution of walking on two legs and increasing brain size in hominins. They performed a meta-analysis of data from 41 primate species, noting a strong right-hand bias in humans.

The study found that earlier hominins, like Australopithecus afarensis, showed only slight right-hand preferences. Neanderthals exhibited a stronger bias, though not as pronounced as modern humans. An exception was Homo floresiensis—known as “hobbits”—who showed little hand preference, potentially due to their smaller brains and arboreal lifestyle.

Researchers acknowledge that the persistence of left-handedness remains unexplained. They also plan to explore whether similar evolutionary patterns exist in other animals with limb preferences, such as kangaroos and parrots. The work continues to refine understanding of this widespread trait.