Kangaroo choke, martial philosophy and nature.

[nordin]

That's all true but did the changes in hand come about for reasons of manual dexterity or was it because of fighting? As the early humanoids developed they were using tools and sticks. They would have used the sticks as weapons of choice just as now you wouldn't try to fight a war without weapons.

I'm not saying humans didn't fight using clenched fists, but I am saying that it is a tenuous link to suggest that our hands were a result of our ancestors beating the crap out of each other with their fists.

Good question. I don't know. I'm guessing it depends on how important (in survival and reproductive competition) was gene variations that regulated growth of hand joints and muscles that allow us to clench fist. The researcher argues in one of those articles that just for increased dexterity reasons, for example, chimps hand could be quiet different, but not necessarily better for forming fist.
Anyway it is just theory, and your questions are valid. Unfortunately we will probably never know the answers for sure

 

[K-man]

Yes, but if we knew the answer we wouldn't have the fun of arguing about it.