Homo Habilis

By: Alex S., Brook, Dominic, Jordan R.

Introduction

• Follow us on our journey to a time 1.5 million years ago as we step into the time machine and learn how the Homo Habilis lived. You will learn what they ate, wore, and where they lived and more.

Dates and Places of Existence

• Homo Habilis went extinct about two million years ago. They lived in the east and south of Africa. They also lived in the south of Asia near the Pacific Ocean.[2]

Food

• Homo Habilis hunted for some of their food and they gathered other food. They ate fruit, berries, birds, nuts, leaves, roots, and eggs they found. They carved and made all of their tools to cut the meat with. They broke open the animals’ bones and ate the marrow that was in the bones. To catch their prey, they crept up on the animal, and the whole group pounced on the creature.[1]

Physical AppearanceThe female Homo Habilis weighed around 70 lbs. and their height was an average of four to three and a half feet tall. The males were slightly taller than the female and weighed more than the female.[3]

• Homo Habilis weren’t able to make fire. This species had to wait until they found something burning from natural causes such as a lightning strike. Homo Habilis had to keep a close eye on the campfire because if it went out, they didn’t know how to start it again.[4]

Tools

• Homo Habilis carved and used stones for tools. To kill animals, they used sticks and stones. They would sharpen their tools with any rock or wood they could find. To get the marrow out of the bones of their prey, they would smash the bone against something hard.[5]

Daily Life• Homo Habilis were gatherers. They were also

hunters and scavengers. They used rocks to kill animals. They couldn’t kill a lot of animals because they were too big. Homo Habilis were the first group of early humans to create and use tools.[6]

Clothing

• Homo Habilis didn’t wear clothing because their bodies were so hairy it already kept them warm.

Shelter

• Homo Habilis lived in small huts made out of sticks, rocks, and mud. The rocks were used to hold the sticks in place. The mud was used to hold the rocks in place. Their huts were shaped like domes. The Homo Habilis also lived under cliffs.[7]

Language

• Homo Habilis did not use words to speak. Unlike Australopithecus, they used their hands and their simple voices to communicate. [8] Homo Habilis communicated much better than Australopithecus. {[9]8]

Paintings and Carvings

• Scientist believe that Homo Habilis didn’t do any paintings or carvings. [10]

Religion

• Because they were so busy trying to survive, scientists believe that Homo Habilis did not have any religion. Because Homo Habilis had no religion, they didn’t have ceremonies either.

Conclusion

• As we go back into the time machine and travel back to the present, we hope you learned interesting things about Homo Habilis and how they lived their lives.

Questions

• Did Homo Habilis have any religion or ceremonies?

• Did the Homo Habilis wear clothes and why?• Why did Homo Habilis have to keep a close

eye on their campfire?

Answers

• No, Homo Habilis had neither any religion nor any ceremonies.

• Homo Habilis didn’t wear clothing because their bodies were so hairy it already kept them warm.

• Homo Habilis had to keep a close eye on the fire because if it burned out they didn’t know how to start it again.

Endnotes1. http:// earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/tools.html.2. Ibid.3. http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/

homo-habilis.htm.4. Ibid.5. http://cartage.org.lb/en/themes/science/lifescie-nce/physicalathr

opology/prehistoricman/homo-habilis/homohabilis.htm6. A Day With Homo Habilis, pg.47. http://www.kidspast.com/worldhistory/0009-homo-habilis.php8. http://earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/tools.html9. http://eclectrica.org/v10n4/ 10.http://prezi.com/7ffqgxslb5tw/homo-habilis/

Bibliography

California Visits Ancient Civilizations. Macmillan/MacGraw Hill: New York, NY, 2007.

Facchini, Fiorenzo. “A Day with Homo Habilis.Twenty-First Century Books: CT, 2003.

“Homo habilis.” Homo habilis. http://www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/. • http://cartage.org.lb/en/themes/science/lifescie-nce/

physicalathropology/prehistoricman/homo-habilis/homohabilis.htm.• http://eclectrica.org/v10n4/.• http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-

habilis.htm.• http://prezi.com/7ffqgxslb5tw/homo-habilis/.Kearns, Marsha.“Homo Habilis.” Early Humans. Creative Teaching Press: CA,

1993.