this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2026
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How did humans maintain their fingernails from getting to long, before clippers or scissors were invented? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago by TehBamski@lemmy.world to c/askhistorians@lemmy.world
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[–] schwim@piefed.zip 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I imagine our ancestors didn't have to worry about that too much since if they weren't working at something every waking moment, they'd starve to death. The nails would have been kept in check just through constant contact with abrasive surfaces of some type.

[–] BloodMuffin@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

just like dogs. many domesticated dogs need nail trims, but if they're outside digging and running a lot, the nails just wear themselves down

[–] Asetru@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago

I imagine our ancestors didn't have to worry about that too much since if they weren't working at something ~~every waking moment~~ for a few hours per day , they'd starve to death.

FTFY