How did early humans trim their fingernails? It is possible to derive an estimate by looking at fossilized fingernail fossils from early Caveman times to understand the early days of man. During the early days, our ancestors walked upright with hands and legs that could support the body’s weight.
Humans were not considered as big as other hominids yet because they possessed a very fast-moving tongue which helped them in their hunt for prey.
The early humans likely used this tongue to swipe meat from trees. They would likely also use this same tongue to trim fingernails on sticks for a manual dexterity tool.
The fossilized finger fossils would suggest that early man may have been a simple finger eater. This means that he would have used his fingernails more often than other hominids like chimpanzees and gorillas.
The early days of human may have seen the first use of a nail clipper or a nail file. Our ancestors would have used such tools as they would have done during the hunting season. During this time, early humans would have had no difficulty cutting and trimming their fingernails on sticks.
How did early humans trim their fingernails? How did early humans build tools to aid them in their manual dexterity?
These are some of the questions that have fascinated historians and anthropologists for years. There is only one way to find out. If early humans had made their tracks, fossils of early man will help us find them.
What Did Ancient People Use To Cut Their Nails?
Everyone knows that early humans pricked their nails, but just how did they do it? One theory is that early humans would use twigs and other objects to poke at their finger nails to remove any excess skin, then remove the remaining skin with what would have been a sharp object.
Another theory on what did ancient people use to cut their nails is that they used copper coins and hammered nails for this purpose.
Even though copper was considered an excellent metal for tools back then and probably still is, it’s probably not the best choice to design a tool for early humans since copper would have been too soft and malleable for the task.
Ancient people weren’t the only ones with nail cutting abilities though. Even though the nails of dinosaurs have largely become extinct, there are some evidences that they may have used scraping and suction methods to get rid of their nail problems.
Dinosaurs also sported nails that were covered with scales which are made up of keratin and protein. These are the same proteins that we use in our fingernails today.
How exactly did early humans remove their nail cuts though? The best guess is that they used something simple like a pair of scissors. Even though the nail hole was covered, the edges of the cut were often nicked so that bleeding occurred and the wound would take longer to heal.
It’s likely that ancient people would also scrape off any dead tissue along the cut so that the blood wouldn’t collect in the area. Clearly, it’s possible to learn a lot about what did ancient people use to cut their fingernails from oral records and other archaeological finds throughout the years.
How did Stone Age men and women first trim their fingernails?
Some experts suggest that early ancestors used primitive tools to remove the sharp ends from branches or twigs of their trees. In doing so, early humans would have been able to make use of whatever they could find around their camps. They may also have borrowed objects from one another or borrowed these tools from the animals they’d kill for food and other necessities.
It’s also believed by some researchers that early man would use semi-precious stones embedded in their nails as tools.
Others say that early humans would use semi precious gemstones attached to sinew and hair to create a hard cover over the nails. Either way, one thing is certain. Man would have done what they had to do to keep their hands from getting too long and their nails from being too short.
What was an early man’s tool to cut his food with? A simple stone. With just his bare hands, he could easily create fire with a flint rock, a sort of early version of firewood, and start a campfire. He would then roast meat over the open flame until the meat was roasted, which would cook the meat and bring it to life.
He would then be able to cut it into necessary parts to prepare for eating. These simple raw foods may sound simplistic, but they represented the very basis of early man’s diet and way of life.
How Did Caveman Trim Their Toenails?
In prehistoric times, how did cavemen (and early humans for that matter) trim their toenails? Well, there is no way of knowing this, but it appears that early humans used primitive tools such as flint rock and other tools to crack open tough nuts and bolts, and they used what was available around them to file down their nails to make them more comfortable to rest on.
It is also possible that early humans simply did not have the skills or the technology to properly trim their nails, so they had to do it the “old school” way: by hand.
Of course, cutting your own nails has its advantages as well as disadvantages – humans are prone to disease and infection far more easily than animals are, and it can also be painful and difficult to do, especially if you are a woman.
Additionally, it makes you look very silly in your bare hands, and is therefore not very attractive to a mate if you are trying to form a lasting relationship.
So, although it is unclear how early humans actually accomplished this grooming task, it is likely that they were either doing it when they were not on the beach and thus had no reason to get wet, or they were on the beach and caught some disease from other beach-goers.
Cavemen apparently did not have the luxury of modern medicine or devices such as clippers and razors to trim their toenails, so they had to get creative – and that’s where primitive medical tools like hollow bones came into play.
The early days of human life were filled with pain and disease, and if a man could simply avoid getting sick then he could avoid having his nail trimming performed at all.
Therefore, it is likely that cavemen simply scratched their toenails until they got tired, then whittled them down until they were nice and smooth – just enough to look natural.
Did Native Americans Trim Their Nails?
Back in prehistoric times, did Native Americans trim their nails? It’s a question that scientists and anthropologists have been debating for decades.
Traditionally, the hands and fingernails were tied to strings so that they would not fall off. However, some experts think that early people may have used antiseptic greases or plant dyes to color their nails. Another idea is that people may have used sharp rocks or wood to trim their fingernails back then.
Trimming your nails back then may have been an important part of your life. No, one would have known what diseases could be caught from a person with broken or missing fingernails. Many of today’s nail clippers come with a design that allows for you to trim your nails at home.
While many people use them, it is not clear how early humans actually trimmed their nails. It may have been done manually, or it may have just been something that people did on their own as they lived in those times.
Today, people use mechanical devices in order to trim the tips of their fingers and to straighten them out. They are also used to make sure that one’s nails are trimmed neatly and to even out the shape of one’s nail bed.
Some of the more advanced mechanical clippers can do more than just straighten and trim nails. For example, some models can be programmed so that they will stop growing at certain points in one’s life.
This way, people can ensure that they never have too many nail clippers lying around, or they can save the clippers for use when they are actually looking for work.
What Are Humans Supposed to Cut Their Nails With?
Back in the early days, long before modern medicine and technology, humans were supposed to use their hands to trim off or cut off their own finger nails. One well-known early example of this is the Caveman, whose early days are dated back to between three and two million years ago.
It is said that these early men would use a stone to scrape off the nail and then beat the rock over the finger until it came off clean.
Another purported early method involves placing glue under the fingernail and waiting for the glue to dry so that it would stick to the nail. If the glue hardened, then it was time to pull it off.
Today, it seems that we have taken all of those methods for granted. While we have the technology and equipment necessary to do this today with the aid of high tech scissors and nail clippers, back in the early days no such tools were available.
Therefore, a person would have to make do with whatever he or she could lay their hands on which, judging from oral history, included twigs, grass and other dead plant material. While these methods would probably work just fine for the time being, they would definitely be outdated in today’s world.
Conclusion
In early times, it was also not uncommon for people to go without nail polish. As it turns out, humans would only polish their fingernails once per year, which is extremely difficult to do when you consider that humans first started using permanent nails about three hundred thousand years ago.
Therefore, it is very likely that at some point in early times people started trimming off their finger nails. Of course, this would be done for fun, as nail polish was not yet widely used and could only be removed by soaking in water and using a piece of string or wool to pull the color off. Therefore, we can see that both people and their nails have been grooming and cut for millions of years.
