In 1964, Louis Leakey and his colleagues announced that the new species Homo habilis, or Handy man, was the oldest known member of our human evolutionary lineage. For the newly recognized species, the Olduvai hominid 7 fossil (OH 7 for short) was fundamental, which consists of a lower jaw, parts of the brain cage and hand bones of a single individual. These bones had been found in layers discovered 1.8 million years ago in the Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). Homo habilis is an extinct species of early humans that lived approximately 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago.
years. This species, often referred to as “skilled man”, is known for the use of simple stone tools, which marked an important step in human evolution and provided information on the evolution of primates. This connection to toolmaking highlights the cognitive advances of early hominids, demonstrating their ability to manipulate their environment to survive. Homo habilis, which literally translates to “skilled man”, is the oldest known member of the human genus.
They lived between 2.8 and 1.5 million years ago, were omnivorous, social and inhabited large areas of sub-Saharan Africa. When they were first discovered in the 1960s, they differed from other primitive hominids by a series of very human characteristics. These included larger brains, arched feet, smaller teeth and hand bones, suggesting that they could manipulate objects with precision.
