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Homo habilis, an extinct species of the genus Homo, lived in Africa about 1.5 million years ago. It had a different appearance from modern humans, with a smaller brain capacity, but developed complex societies and used fine tools. Discovered in the Olduvai Gorge in Africa, there is debate about its classification in the genus Homo. It is believed to have evolved into Homo ergaster and later Homo erectus, but new information is being discovered all the time. Several species of Homo coexisted until recently, including Homo neanderthalensis.
Homo habilis is a now-extinct species of the genus Homo, which perhaps most famously produced modern man, Homo sapiens. From the fossil record it appears that this species lived about 1.5 million years ago in Africa, during the Pleistocene. He wasn’t alone; these early hominids coexisted with other bipedal primates, and there is some debate as to the exact role of Homo habilis in human evolution.
A modern human being would probably have a hard time relating to these early hominids. Homo habilis looked markedly different from modern humans, with longer arms, short stature, and a protruding face, although it was one of the first hominin species to have a more flattened face like that of modern humans. These hominids had about half the brain capacity of Homo sapiens, although they did use their brains for some incredible accomplishments, including developing complex societies and using fine tools.
The credit for the discovery of Homo habilis goes to Louis Leaky, John Napier and Philip Tobias, who in 1964 found fossilized skeletal parts during excavations in the Olduvai Gorge in Africa. This unique location in Africa is part of the Great Rift Valley and was also home to many other early humans. Leaky made a number of important contributions to paleontology with his work in the Olduvai Gorge, including the discovery of other early hominin species.
Scientists discuss the classification of Homo habilis in the genus Homo. Some believe that this hominid should be included in the genus Australopithecus, placing it in an earlier stage of human evolution. However, Homo habilis is markedly different from earlier Australopithecines, and this species’ use of tools was quite new. So new, in fact, that the species was named for it; Homo habilis means “man of all trades” in Latin.
As of 2007, our current understanding of human evolution suggests that Homo habilis evolved into Homo ergaster and later Homo erectus, “upright man,” our closest ancestor. However, new information is being discovered all the time in archaeological excavations and it is possible that this species lived at the same time as Homo ergaster and that one species simply supplanted the other, rather than evolved from it. It is also clear that several species of Homo coexisted until quite recently, in terms of paleontology. Homo neanderthalensis, for example, lived until around 30,000 years ago, and clearly coexisted with Homo sapiens.
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