Homo Habilis

Homo Habilis
Classification
Name	Homo Habilis
Name Meaning	Handy Man
Species	Prehistoric Ape
Family	Hominidae
Diet	Omnivore
Physiology
Description	Ape Man inventing tools
Attributes	Scavenging, Early tool-making
Height	4 ft. 3 in.
Weight	70 lbs (32 kg)
Biography
Era	Early Pleistocene
Time	2.33 to 1.4 MYA
Discovered	1959
Locations	Africa

“	Homo Habilis, our next ape.	„
	— Allen Johnson, about Homo Habilis in The Walking Ape

Homo Habilis (name meaning "Handy Man") is a species of the Hominini tribe, which lived from approximately 2.33 to 1.44 MYA, during the Gelasian Pleistocene period. They were among the first hominids to make tools and earliest member of the Homo genus.

In the Series 3 episode "The Walking Ape", a group of Homo Habilis were brought to the park from Early Pleistocene Africa, 2 million years ago. They reside in the Ape-Man Jungle Enclosure other hominid species. A group of them were already spying on the team when they arrived.

Facts

Era & Discovery

Homo Habilis lived in Africa during the Early Pleistocene from 2.33 to 1.4 million years ago. They lived alongside other animals such as Deinotherium, Ancylotherium, Saber-Tooth cats such as Dinofelis and even other Ape-Men such as Paranthropus and Homo Rudolfensis. They were the first hominids to make tools which we used today.

The first Homo Habilis fossils were discovered in Tanzania in 1959 by Kenyan-British palaeoanthropologist and archaeologist Louis Leakey and his wife Mary who found two teeth in Olduvai Gorge.

Homo Habilis skull

Physical Attributes

Homo Habilis stood 3 ft. and and weighed about 70 Ibs. (32 kg).

Unlike other Ape-Men they coexisted with such as Paranthropus, Homo Habilis found a long dry season tougher due to their lack of specialism that Paranthropus has. To make up for their lack of specialist eating equipment, Homo Habilis had to take a different tack, and that is that they have developed into the archetypal Jack-of-all-trades.

Unlike Paranthropus who mostly ate reed roots, acacia pods, and termites, Homo Habilis ate meat from animals that were killed by predators. At certain times when they scavenge on carcasses, Homo Habilis would frequently be driven to fight for food with other Ape-Men such as Homo Rudolfensis.

Homo Habilis were the first hominids on Earth to be able to make stone tools and was hugely important leap forward because their scavenging inquisitive lifestyle made these hominids quick-witted and inventive which lead a real breakthrough in human evolution.

Journal Entry

“	The first hominids to make tools and one of the earliest members of the homo genus, Homo Habilis found a long dry season considerably tougher than other apemen like Paranthropus. The reason why was that they didn't have special adaptions that Paranthropus had and without big teeth and powerful jaws, Homo Habilis couldn't live off the kind of tough vegetation seen at the end of a dry season. To make up for their lack of specialist eating equipment, they had to take a very different tack. Homo Habilis developed into the archetypal Jack-of-all-trades, in other words inquisitive scavengers. Unlike Paranthropus who mostly ate the roots of reeds, Homo Habilis ate meat. Sometimes while eating meat of a carcass, they would go into confrontation with other apemen species such as Homo Rudolfensis which was a rival species that was remarkable similar. They were the first hominids on Earth to be able to make stone tools. Eating meat brought Homo Habilis the essential protein and fat that allowed the development of their brains. In other words eating meat enabled them to grow smarter.	„
	— Allen Johnson, in his journal about Homo Habilis

Gallery

A Homo Habilis creating stone tools.

Homo Habilis fighting against a group of Homo Rudolfensis for meat of a carcass.

A Homo Habilis eating bone marrow.

A group of Homo Habilis eating meat from a carcass.

A Homo Habilis being killed by an African Lion.