Homo Habilis

Homo habilis - ancestor of man?

The Homo habilis is an extinct species of the genus Homo. The word 'habilis' comes from Latin and means 'talented' or 'skilled'. Homo habilis therefore means 'gifted person'. This name was chosen because for the first time stone tools were clearly associated with an early hominid species. According to previous findings, the H. habilis is the oldest hominid with tool use, which does not mean that not even Homo rudolfensis or Australopithecinen tools used. Only this could not be proven so far reliably.

Simple stone tool Homo habilis lived 2.1 to 1.5 million years ago (Pleistocene) in an area that stretched from East Africa all the way down to South Africa. Findings in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa prove this. Like his close relatives, H. habilis may have been adapted to ecological niches in wet savannahs and gallery forests.

The image on the left shows an example of a machined stone tool with which Homo habilis probably relieved the flesh from the bones of its prey. Whether the H. habilis actively hunted, or only the remnants of other carnivores recycled, is currently still for scientific discussion. This type of primitive stone tools are known by the term 'Oldowan tools', as they were made as companions to the fossils from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.

With a size of about 1.0 - 1.2m and a weight of only 25 - 35kg the Homo habilis was significantly smaller than the Homo rudolfensis, its supposed predecessor. Accordingly, the brain volume of H. habilis is also slightly below that of H. rudolfensis at 600 - 700 cm³.

Homo habilis or Australopithecus habilis?

The existence of Homo habilis as a separate species of the genus Homo is doubted by some scientists. Instead of the genus Homo, they include him Australopithecines. One of the arguments in favor of this is that some features actually correspond to monkeys rather than early hominids, such as Homo ergaster. This includes, for example, the ratio of arm and leg length. In Homo habilis, this relative ratio is still clearly in favor of the arm length (a typical sign of predominantly primate trees), whereas Homo ergilis is no longer quite as distinct in phenotype.

Profile: Homo habilis

Genus: Homo
Type: H. habilis
Name: lat. 'Homo' = human; lat. 'habilis' = gifted
First found: 1960 in Tanzania
Period: 2.1 - 1.5 million years (Pleistocene)
Body size: about 1.0 - 1.2m
Weight: 25 - 35kg
Distribution area: East Africa, South Africa
Brain volume: 600 - 700cm³
Food: predominantly vegetable food, low content of animal food
Tool use: Simple stone tools
Upright gear: Yes, but only temporarily

Summary

The extinct species Homo Habilis of the genus Homo lived about 2.1 to 1.5 million years ago in East Africa and South Africa. Findings in today's Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa show this distribution area.

There is no consensus among paleontologists about the existence of Homo habilis. Quite a few scientists classify the Homo Habilis of the genus Australopithecines.