Homo habilis, an extinct species of early human that

lived in Africa from about 1.9 million to 1.5 million

years ago.
H. habilis is one of the earliest known members of the
genus Homo, the branch of the human family tree
believed to have evolved into modern humans .
The term Homo habilis means handy man, a name
selected for the primitive stone tools found near H.
habilis fossils.
Scientists distinguished H. habilis from
australopithecines, the more primitive early humans
from which it evolved, by analyzing key physical
characteristics.
H. habilis was thought to have a larger brain than
australopithecines.
The braincase of H. habilis measured from 590 to 690
cubic centimeters (36 to 42 cu inches), well above the
australopithecine range of 390 to 550 cu cm (24 to 34
cu in). While Australopithecines had long arms and
short legs, similar to the limbs of apes. The overall
body form of australopithecines was also apelike in
having large body bulk relative to its height. Some
H. habilis specimens retain these apelike body
proportions, but other specimens appear more
humanlike, with a smaller body bulk relative to height.
H. habilis had smaller cheek teeth (molars) and a less
protruding face than earlier human species.
The use of primitive tools implies that H. habilis had
developed a different way of gathering food than
earlier human species, most of which probably fed
primarily on vegetation.
H. habilis probably ate meat as well as fruits and
vegetables. Anthropologists disagree on whether H.
habilis obtained this meat through hunting,
scavenging, or a combination of both techniques.
The first fossil evidence of H. habilis was discovered in
1960 at Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania by a team
led by paleoanthropologists Louis Leakey and Mary
Leakey.
Additional specimens were discovered from 1960 to
1963. The species was named in 1964 after analysis of
these fossils by Louis Leakey, South African
paleoanthropologist Philip Tobias, and British primate
researcher John Napier. Other anthropologists have
since identified specimens in northern Kenya, South
Africa, and Malawi. Although all of these specimens
had larger brains than australopithecines, some had
especially large brains (almost 800 cu cm or 49 cu in)
and more modern skeletons. However, their large and
slightly protruding faces seem more primitive than
those of other H. habilis specimens. Most scientists
now believe that these fossils represent a distinct
species named Homo rudolfensis.
Even without including the H. rudolfensis specimens,
the fossils classified as H. habilis make up a rather
miscellaneous assemblage. This ambiguity makes it
difficult for scientists to determine where within this
assortment of fossils the origin of later humans lies—if,
indeed, it does lie among any of the forms so far
discovered.

HOMO HABILIS
Homo Erectus
Homo erectus, extinct primate classified in the subfamily Homininae and the genus Homo, both of which include humans. Scientists learn about extinct species, such
as Homo erectus, by studying fossils—petrified bones buried in sedimentary rock. Based on their analysis of these fossils, scientists believe that Homo erectus lived
from about 1.8 million years ago to as recently as 30,000 years ago.

The anatomical features of Homo erectus are more humanlike than those of earlier human precursors, such as australopithecines and Homo habilis . Homo erectus
had a larger brain, measuring up to 1150 cu cm (70 cu in), and a rounder cranium—the portion of the skull that covers the brain—than earlier humans. Homo erectus
was also taller, with a flatter face and smaller teeth. Large differences in body size between males and females, characteristic of earlier human species, are less
evident in Homo erectus specimens.

Until recently, Homo  erectus was the name applied to both East Asian and African fossils meeting certain anatomical criteria. Today, many scientists assign the
African specimens to a distinct species, Homo ergaster, which is considered the potential ancestor of Homo erectus.
Neandertals or Neanderthals, prehistoric humans who lived in Europe, the Middle East, and western Asia from about 200,000 to 28,000 years ago. Scientifically, they
are usually classified as a separate species, Homo neanderthalensis. Although closely related to modern humans ( Homo sapiens), Neandertals were physically
distinct. Short and stocky in build, they had large, protruding faces, prominent brows, and low, sloping foreheads. Their brains, however, were fully as big as those of
modern humans. The typical lifespan of Neandertals was much shorter than that of people today, with few individuals living beyond 40 years.

Neandertals have often been caricatured as clumsy, dim-witted brutes who walked with a slouch. This misconception emerged from faulty conclusions by the
anthropologists who first studied Neandertal fossils. In fact, Neandertals walked completely upright without bent knees. Moreover, in recent years scientists have
come to appreciate that Neandertals were remarkable in their achievements and sophistication. They used fire, made complex stone tools and weapons, wore
clothing, and buried their dead. They successfully adapted to harsh, cold climates of the late Ice Age and survived as a species for more than 150,000 years—longer
than modern humans have existed.
Neandertals were apparently the sole humans in Europe when the first members of Homo sapiens arrived there, probably from the Middle East, about 40,000 years
ago. Just over 10,000 years after this event, Neandertals became extinct. Some scientists theorize that competition or conflict with modern humans played a role in
the extinction of Neandertals, but this is a subject of debate. The exact reason for their disappearance remains a mystery.

The term Neandertal comes from the discovery in 1856 of human fossils in the Little Feldhofer Cave of the Neander Valley, near Düsseldorf in western Germany ( tal
means “valley” in German). These bones were the first to be recognized as an early type of human. Since then, archaeologists have discovered more fossils of
Neandertals than of any other early human species. Because of this abundance of evidence, Neandertals are among the best understood of all our fossil relatives.
HOMO SAPIENS
Homo sapiens size range. In front, the face was quite forwardly positioned compared to the
flatter face of modern humans. Neandertals had prominent brow ridges with a bony arch
over each eye, and the cheekbones retreated sharply from a large nasal cavity (indicating a
large nose). They had long and powerful jaws but no chin.
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