Homo habilis (
IPA /ˈhoʊmoʊ ˈhæbələs/) ("handy man", "skillful person") is a
species of the genus
Homo, which lived from approximately 2.6 million to at least 1.4 million years ago at the beginning of the
Pleistocene.
[1] The definition of this species is credited to both
Mary and
Louis Leakey, who found fossils in
Tanzania,
East Africa, between
1962 and
1964.
[2] Homo habilis is arguably the first species of the Homo genus to appear. In its appearance and
morphology, H. habilis was the least similar to modern humans of all species to be placed in the genus Homo (except possibly
Homo rudolfensis). Homo habilis was short and had disproportionately long arms compared to modern humans; however, it had a reduction in the protrusion in the face. It is thought to have descended from a species of
australopithecine hominid. Its immediate ancestor may have been the more massive and ape-like Homo rudolfensis. Homo habilis had a
cranial capacity slightly less than half of the size of modern humans. Despite the ape-like morphology of the bodies, H. habilis remains are often accompanied by primitive stone tools (e.g.
Olduvai Gorge,
Tanzania and
Lake Turkana,
Kenya).
Homo habilis has often been thought to be the ancestor of the lankier and more sophisticated
Homo ergaster, which in turn gave rise to the more human-appearing species,
Homo erectus. Debates continue over whether H. habilis is a direct human ancestor, and whether all of the known fossils are properly attributed to the species. However, in 2007, new findings suggest that the two species coexisted and may be separate lineages from a common ancestor instead of H. erectus being descended from H. habilis.
[3] -
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