Olduvai Hominid 7

fossil

Also known as: OH 7

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July 16, 2026

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Olduvai Hominid 7 (OH 7) is a significant fossil specimen representing Homo habilis, an early species of the human genus Homo. Discovered at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, OH 7 includes a lower jaw, cranial fragments, and hand bones. This discovery was crucial because it predated earlier known human fossils and showed intermediate evolutionary features between Australopithecus and later Homo species. Homo habilis, meaning "handy man," is named for its presumed ability to manipulate objects, supported by hand bone structure and the association of fossils with simple stone tools. These hominins lived in sub-Saharan Africa approximately 2.4 to 1.5 million years ago.1

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Homo habilis
The fossil evidence
… from a juvenile individual called Olduvai Hominid 7 (OH 7), additional fossils from Olduvai have been ascribed to H. habilis. Pieces of another thin-walled cranium along with upper and lower jaws and teeth came to light in 1963. Just a month later a third skull was found, but the bones…
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… from a juvenile individual called Olduvai Hominid 7 (OH 7), additional fossils from Olduvai have been ascribed to H. habilis. Pieces of another thin-walled cranium along with upper and lower jaws and teeth came to light in 1963. Just a month later a third skull was found, but the bones…
Read More