Homo+habilis

__HOMO HABILIS __ __Discovery Story:__ //Homo Habilis// broke into the science world in 1956 with the uncovering of 2 teeth at the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania by Louis and Mary Leakey and their team. Over the next few years parts of a boy's skeleton and additional fossils from other individuals were found at the same site. Their brain size, features of their hands and feet, and evidence supporting the assumption that they used stone tools suggested that a new type of human ancestors had been found. In the year 1964 the uncovered remains were officially name the new species, //Homo Habilis//. This species can also be recognised as 'Handy Man' as the tools that were found near the fossils influenced the name. When translated from Latin: //Homo Habilis// is 'Handy Man', Homo meaning 'Man' and Habilis meaning 'Handy or Skillful'.

__Skull Origin: __ Fossils from this species have been found in Kenya and Tanzania in Africa. Specifically in the areas known as Lake Turkana, Koobi Fora and Olduvai Gorge. The environment they would have been in was mainly grassland however the climate was becoming cooler and drier, so it was changing. The //Homo Habilis// species would have lived in a time that was 2.5 - 1.4 million years ago.

__Skull Features:__ Compared to earlier remains discovered //Homo Habilis// has a significantly larger brain with the average capacity being 610 cubic centimetres. This can be recognised at 1.7% of their body mass. From the fossilised remains archeologists have found display that the brain case is fuller and of a rounder shape due to the expansion of the brain. The beginnings of a slight forehead were starting to appear; the facial projection was reduced; the face held a smaller, arched brow ridge and in general the skull was shorter and smaller than the ones of earlier ancestors. Also from the skull fossils unearthed, a small hole located in the centre of the skull base gave information of where the spinal cord would have sat exposing that they walked on 2 legs.

Homo Habilis retained some ape-like features like long arms and a moderately- prognathic (having a projecting lower jaw) face. Their legs were relatively short, providing homo Habilis with arm and leg proportions that were similar to those of the australopithecines. Features of the leg and foot bones specify that Homo Habilis walked on two legs. They could form a precision grip from their human-like finger bone proportions. The average height was ranged from 100 � 135 cm and the average weight was 70 lbs (32kg).
 * __Physical Characteristics :__**

//They could reach a height of 135cm//

//They had a prognathic face which were similar to physical features of apes.//

//Their long arms.// //Their big hands could form a precision grip from their human-like bone proportions.//

//Their features of the legs specify that they walked on two legs. They had relatively short legs.//

Even though this specie had smaller teeth than Australopithecus, their tooth enamel was still thick and they had a strong jaw. Homo Habilis were capable of eating a wide range of foods, such as leaves, woody plants, and some animal tissues. They did not specialise in eating hard foods including brittle nuts or seeds, dried meat, or very hard tubers as it wasn't part of their daily routine. Homo Habilis was the first species to have discovered how to use stone-tools. This was apart of their everyday life as they could hunt food with their tools and know how to use them properly for other things in their day to day lives. From their new pro-found skill of using stone-tools, it represented a significant change in mental capabilities and a shift toward new survival strategies.
 * __Behaviours :__**

__Bibliography:__ Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 2012. What does it mean to be human? Homo Habilis. < [] > (Accessed 8 April 2012).

Australian Museum. Dorey, Fran. 3 December 2009. �Homo Habilis�[] (Accessed 28 March 2012)

Wikipedia. 2012. Homo Habilis. < [] > (Accessed 8 April 2012).