Olduvai Hominid 13

Olduvai Hominid 13 (OH 13) refers to a fossil skull discovered at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. This fossil, along with others found at the site and in Kenya, is attributed to Homo habilis, an extinct species of human that lived in sub-Saharan Africa between approximately 2.4 and 1.5 million years ago.1

Homo habilis, meaning "handy man," is considered the most ancient representative of the human genus, Homo. The discovery of its fossils was significant because they appeared intermediate in evolutionary development between the more primitive Australopithecus and later Homo species. OH 13, found in 1963, is one of several skulls attributed to H. habilis, though its bones were fragmented due to cattle trampling. These fossils, along with associated simple stone tools, suggest an ability to manipulate objects with precision, a characteristic that foreshadows later human anatomy and behavior.1