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Homo habilis
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An illustration of Homo habilis, an early human ancestor, shown walking upright with a hairy body and ape-like features. A scale beside the figure indicates height in inches and centimeters. lower jaw of Homo habilis A timeline chart displays major fossil discoveries linked to Homo habilis from 1960 to 2000, with illustrations and brief descriptions of each find, including partial skeletons, skulls, jaws, and leg bones, along with locations, estimated ages, and discoverers. OH 24 “Twiggy” fossil replica of KNM-ER 1470 KNM-ER 1813 fossil oldest human mandible Diagram showing the increase in hominid cranial capacity over time with illustrations of skulls from various species, including Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens, arranged along a timeline and brain volume scale for comparison. A timeline chart showing the evolution of hominins over the past 4 million years, with colored bars representing different Australopithecus and Homo species diverging over time, ending with Homo sapiens at present. Illustration showing side-by-side reconstructions of five hominins in the human lineage: Australopithecus afarensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens, with each figure labeled and depicted in a walking pose to highlight evolutionary changes in posture and body structure. A scale bar at the top right indicates relative height.
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An illustration of Homo habilis, an early human ancestor, shown walking upright with a hairy body and ape-like features. A scale beside the figure indicates height in inches and centimeters.
Homo habilis Artist's rendering of Homo habilis, which lived from 2 to 1.5 million years ago.

Homo habilis

fossil hominin
Also known as: Australopithecus habilis
Written by
G. Philip Rightmire
Professor of Anthropology, State University of New York at Binghamton.
G. Philip Rightmire
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Quick Facts Homo habilis, extinct species of human, the most ancient representative of the human genus, Homo. Homo habilis inhabited parts of sub-Saharan Africa from roughly 2.4 million to 1.5 million years ago (mya). In 1959 and 1960 the first fossils were discovered at Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania. This discovery was a turning point in the science of paleoanthropology because the oldest previously known human fossils were Asian specimens of Homo erectus. Many features...

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