The first species of Homo recognized by palaeoanthropologists is Homo habilis; known in East (Olduvai, Omo, Koobi Fora, Ileret) and South Africa (Swartkrans and Sterkfontein), this is a species dated to over 2.0 Myr. Its skull, with a long and ovoidal vault and a rounded occipital, has a cranial capacity that can vary from between 500 to 800 cm3; the height and width of the face are reduced, the mandible is less robust than that of the Australopithecines, the incisors and the canines are slightly larger, the premolars and molars are narrow and long, with a size intermediate between the Australopithecines and Homo erectus, the palate is relatively deep > Read more...
The study of human fossil remains of the collections from Koobi Fora (Kenya), initially attributed to Homo habilis, possible suggests a division of the oldest ancestors of the genus Homo into two species > Read more...
The name Homo ergaster indicates the oldest forms of Homo erectus which appeared in East Africa between 2.0 and 1.6 Myr. > Read more...
Born in East Africa, the species Homo erectus is the more similar to Homo sapiens. Homo erectus is a “gradual” species, which means that it evolved for a very long period (between 1.6 Myr and 200,000 years). During this period this hominid shows a continuous evolution and the last Homo erectus overlaps with individuals known as archaic Homo sapiens. Homo erectus is also the species that, about 1.5 Myr, left its African cradle to conquer Asia and Europe. In these new geographic areas, the different types of Homo erectus show an independent and differentiated evolution.
Homo ergaster
Homo erectus