GENUS HOMO

Homo is the genus where us is a part of –Homo Sapiens- and other ancestral extinct closely related to the early modern humans like the Homo Habilis. The only living specie under it are the Homo Sapiens, the modern humans.

There are six classified species in the genus homo. And they are the following:

Homo Habilis
Homo Rudolfensis
Homo Erectus
Homo Neanderthals
Homo Sapiens

HOMO HABILIS

Homo Habilis is one of the earliest specie under the genus Homo. They existed around 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago and lived in Eastern and Southern Africa. They have a smaller face and set of teeth than that of an Australopithecus but a larger skull. A team led by Louis Leakey and his wife, Mary Leakey, discovered the first evidences of Homo Habilis through two Hominin “milk teeth” followed by a cranium- a braincase- with a less protruding yet large face and a heavy chewing set of teeth (now called as “The Nutcracker.”)

When first introduced as a new specie, controversies arose. For many researchers does not entirely see the difference between that of an Australopithecus and the then discovered fossil and also, another evidence was found in the same place, an A. africanus. But due to the intense study provided by Louise Leakey and his team, stating that the remains located has a huge diverseness to that of an Australopithecus due to its teeth, large brain, and hand shape. That is why Homo Habilis were also known as the “handy man”, referring to their tool making abilities. As they are often found together with handy stone tools, which most likely, their creation. Hence, the given nickname.

Homo Habilis is the least similar to modern humans compared to all of the specie under the genus homo. They are short and has disproportionate length of forearms.

KNM-ER 1813 is the best known Homo Habilis because it is the most complete skull ever retrieved in the said specie. This 1.8 million year old evidence was discovered by Kamoya Kimeu in East Turkana, Kenya.

KNM – ER 1813

OH 8

OH 8 is another Homo Habilis’ existence proof. It was estimated to be 1.8 million years old and this foot bones was found in Tanzania in year 1960. The bite marks seen in the ankle are similar to those of a crocodile and the heel’s back part was broken too. In the place where it is located was a lake full of crocodiles. Experts conclude that these explains the visible tooth marks and broken heel.
HOMO RUDOLFENSIS

Homo Rudolfensis was once considered as a Homo Habilis or another Australopithecine. What sets it apart however to that of an Australopithecus is its large braincase, which is not entirely a characteristic of the latter. They have large molars and longer face, a thing that distinguishes them from a Homo Habilis.

KNM-ER 1470

KNM-ER 1470, one of the four only discovered remains of the Homo Rudolfensis, is a 1.9 million year old fossil discovered in Kenya. It was originally found in 150 pieces however, Meave Leakey and Bernard Wood assembled it. When complete, it revealed its large cranium case and long, wide face. Because of its missing teeth and lower jaw, they can only determine its large tooth size base on their tooth rows.

Up until now, scientists still debates over this specie. Others cannot accept it as a member of the genus Homo and others sees it as an Homo-Australopithecine.

HOMO ERECTUS

The Homo Erectus are said to be the oldest early beings to have human-like qualities. They have similar limbs and body proportions to those of modern humans. This just proves that in lieu of swinging from tree to tree, it resulted more on walking and possibly, even running. Also, compared to the earlier living humans, it has a more larger brain due to its face size. This explains their rather distinctive human behavior. They were said to be able make their own fire, make a more complex materials than that of a mere stone tool, and even knows how to butchered an animal to eat.

Homo Habilis were first thought to be the ancestors of Homo Erectus. However, due to a recent discovery of Homo Erectus KNM-ER 427000 that was relatively 1.55 million years old, and compared to a 1.44 million year old Homo Habilis KNM-ER 42703, experts now believed that these two specie co-existed for half a million years in the same place-East Africa.

The two most well-known Homo Erectus are the Java Man and the Peking Man.

Java Man

Java Man is a Homo Erectus discovered in Java Island in Indonesia, hence the name. It is the first fossil evidence of the Homo Erectus specie and was found by Eugene Dubois.

Another Homo Erectus is the Peking Man. A group of fossil samples were observed in a cave system near Beijing, China. These includes 15 partial fragments of crania, 11 mandibles, many teeth that varies in size, skeletal bones, and numerous stone tools. After another excavation, a new set of discovered specimens were found. A lower jaw, skull fragments, and 6 skullcaps together with 200 human fossils from what are to believed 40 individuals. Presently, the discovered fossils are missing since the Japanese occupation in China. However, four of the teeth are currently in the possession of Uppsala University displayed in the Paleontogical Museum in Sweden.

The Peking Man, its skullcap fragments and teeth

HOMO NEANDERTHALS

The Neanderthals are the closest early human specie that we resemble. They have a huge nose and angled cheek bones. Their bodies are shorter and more blocky than ours and their braincase size is the same if not larger that was proportionate for their body type.

Their way of living is greatly similar to us. They can build their own fire, hunt for food, sew for their clothes ( for they mainly lived in cold regions), and plant their own foods,. They also buried their deads ad even offer them flowers as a form of symobolic behavior. This just proves that their brain activity is more pronounce and more advance than that of the other early humans.

La Ferrasie 1

La Ferrassie 1, a neanderthal male, is the largest ad almost-complete Homo Neanderthal fossil that was found. It was excavated in La Ferrssie cave in France, hence the give name. His leg and foot bones showed that they indeed can walk upright that is more similar to the way we walk now. Its facial features indicates characteristics of that a Neanderthal- a sloping forehead and a large nasal opening.

Shanidar 1

Another Neandarthal evidence is Shanidar 1, that was found in Iraq and esimated to be 45 to 35,000 years old. Due to a blow in the head when he is young, it left Shanidar 1 possibly blinded ad paralyze the right half of his body. But it is no the real cause of his death. Experts believed that the where he belong took really good care of him because the healing marks present in his remains.

HOMO SAPIENS

The only remaining and living specie under the genus Homo are the Homo Sapies, the modern humas, us. It was said that Homo Sapiens came from Homo Heidelbergensis, a sub specie, then to Homo Sapiens and then lastly, to early modern Homo Sapiens, which is us. It was even theorized that they co-existed with the Homo Erectus at some point.

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The earliest race of Homo Sapiens have a fairly simple culture. Though compare to the previous species, they are more relatively advance. Stone tools such as flakes and scrapes were initially made. They also get to build and control their own fire, like pits, kilns and even hearths that allowed them to survive in cold regions. Sickles and small-headed arrows are also constructed to help them in hunting animals for food. They also learned how to sew their own clothes from animal fur. Cave arts or drawings and musical instruments were also made by Homo Sapiens.

Cro-Magnon 1 is one of the first fossils that was distinguish as a Homo Sapiens. It was found in a famous rock-shelter site at Cro-Magnon in France hence the give name. The skull is complete aside from his teeth. However, the facial bones have some noticeable marks from a fungal infection. Cro-Magnon 1 is just one of the four adult remains found in the said site.

Cro-Magnon 1

Irhoud 3

Irhoud 3 is a teeth found in Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. It is a teeth of a 7-8 years old Homo Sapiens. It was classified as one because of the growing-and-erupting enamel layers found in the teeth.

Resource: http://humanorigins.si.edu/