His name, which means “skilled man”, was given to him in 1964 because this species was thought to represent the first manufacturer of stone tools. Today, the oldest stone tools are dated slightly older than the oldest evidence of the genus Homo. Homo habilis is a primitive hominid species that lived between 1.5 and 2.3 million years ago in the grasslands of East Africa. Known as the skilled man, this species is characterized by having a larger brain compared to that of its previous ancestors, as well as because of their smaller facial features.
Fossils attributed to Homo habilis were first discovered in the 1960s along with stone tools, leading researchers to believe that this species may have been the first to use tools, although this theory has come under scrutiny. As scientific research progressed, many scientists have reevaluated the position of Homo habilis in the human evolutionary tree, and some suggest that it may represent an extinct branch and not a direct ancestor of modern humans. The term Homo habilis translates to “skilled man” and was named in 1964 in honor of the discovery of fossils in the Olduvai Gorge, in Tanzania. These fossils, which date back approximately 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago, were discovered together with stone tools known as Oldowan tools, which are among the first tools ever made by hominids.
The first confirmed remains found at Olduvai consist of several teeth and a lower jaw associated with fragments of a skull and some hand bones. As more specimens were unearthed in places like Koobi Fora, in northern Kenya, researchers began to realize that these hominids were anatomically different from Australopithecus, a genus of more ape-like creatures whose remains had been found in many African sites. Anthropologists Louis S, B. Leakey, Phillip Tobias and John Napier formally announced the discoveries in 1964. As a justification for designating their new creature Homo rather than Australopithecus, they described the increased cranial capacity and the comparatively smaller molar and premolar teeth of fossils, a human-like foot and hand bones that suggested the ability to manipulate objects with precision, hence the name of the species Homo habilis, or “skilled man”.
In addition, simple stone tools were found along with the fossils. All of these characteristics foreshadow the anatomy and behavior of H. Erectus and, later, of humans, which is why H. Habilis is extremely important, although few remains of it remain.
Habilis manufactured and used the first stone tools found in the archaeological record, which also date back to about 2.6 million years ago; however, this hypothesis is difficult to prove because several other species of primitive humans lived at the same time and in the same geographical area, where traces of the oldest use of tools have been found. Fossils of this species have been found in the countries of Kenya and Tanzania in Africa, in particular in Lake Turkana, the Olduvai Gorge and Koobi Fora. Although archaeologists are not sure that the species was the first to use tools, it seems likely that Homo habilis used chipped and flaked stones to scrape meat from the bones of dead animals. The discovery of LD 350-1, the oldest Homo specimen, dating back 2.8 million years, in the Afar region of Ethiopia may indicate that the genus evolved from A.
The presumed female specimen OH 62 is traditionally interpreted to measure 100 to 120 cm (3 feet 3 inches — 3 feet 11 inches) tall and 20 to 37 kg (44 to 82 pounds) in weight, assuming proportions similar to those of an australopithecine, but assuming proportions similar to those of humans, it would have been approximately 148 cm (4 ft 10) inches) and 35 kg (77 pounds). This species, one of the first members of the genus Homo, has a slightly larger brain cage and a smaller face and teeth than in Australopithecus or the older hominid species. Habilis are thought to have had a thick coat of body hair like that of modern non-human monkeys because they appear to have inhabited colder regions and are thought to have had a less active lifestyle than the posergaster species (presumably hairless). As a result, many archaeologists now believe that Homo habilis may have been one of several Homo species that lived in Africa at about the same time.
Scientists classified this creature as the genus Homo, a category that encompasses all human species. Before the 1960s, archaeologists theorized that the path of human evolution led from Australopithecus to a species of primitive human called Homo erectus, or “upright man,” and finally to Homo sapiens. This fossil is one of the most complete skulls of this species, best known in the Turkana basin and the Olduvai Gorge, in East Africa. The classification of Homo habilis remains a matter of debate, as it reflects the complexities of human evolution and the branching paths that lead to the various species of the genus Homo.
Although there is currently a general consensus on the evolution of Homo from Australopithecus, the timing and location of this division have been the subject of numerous debates, and it has been proposed that many Australopithecus species are its ancestors. However, it is likely that the specific forms have not been thought out in advance, and are probably due to the lack of standardization in the production of these tools, as well as in the types of raw materials available to the cutters.
