Homo Habilis |
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| It's All in the Name | |
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Homo Habilis is famous for being, as archaeologists belive, the first hominid to make, manipulate, and use tools to their advantage. But Homo Habilis is also famous because he is the first of the hominids to be in direct lineage to modern man. Homo Habilis' name means "handy man" or "skillful person." He was given this name because this hominids' fossils were found alongside a number of stone hunting tools. |
| How Homo Habilis Was Found | |
| Mary and Louis Leakey found numerous Homo Habilis fossils in Tanzania between 1962 and 1964. Most of the fossils they found lay next to a pile of what are believed to have been stone tools that Homo Habilis had made for scavenging. The tools belonging to Homo Habilis are belived to have been used for digging marrow out of bones and for breaking ribcage matter in order to reach the softer organ tissue. | |
| The Current Debate on Homo Habilis | |
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Although Homo Habilis currently stands as the first hominid to be part of the Homo genus, the debate contiues whether he should be considered part of the australopithecine group, which he most closely resembles. Homo Habilis is also believed to be the direct ancestor of a much more advanced hominid called Homo Ergaster, who first discovered the use of fire. This theory is still one that carries a lot of controversy with it, and is sure to be of much debate for years to come. |
| Competing in a Changing World | |
| Because Homo Habilis is believed to have been a scanvenger, scientists believe that he had not developed his tool-bearing abilities for hunting. But, Homo Habilis was in a much better position for survival than his neighbor Paranthropus Boisei the vegetarian. Habilis was able to adapt to the changing landscape of what is now Tanzania. Between 2.5 and 1.8 million years ago, the Earth had begun the longest of the Ice Ages and Homo Habilis existed right in the middle of it. Due to the changing of the Earth's tilt, Africa became colder and dryer, and Homo Habilis was ready to inherit Earth for the next 700,000 years. | |
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| Copyright 2006, Rene Canales | |