Gay habilis? That is the 'handy man':one of the oldest known representatives of the genus Homo, to which we also belong. But is the habilis actually a real Homo? Or not?
The 'handy man', also known as Homo habilis is known by many scientists as the first species from our own Homo_ genus. Man belongs to the species Homo sapiens sapiens.
The handy man was a crucial ancestor of ours, but new research seems to indicate once again that habilis was not a real human species at all. At least, according to some researchers. What is wrong with this primal man?
When Homo habilis was discovered in Tanzania in 1959 by Mary and Louis Leakey, the remains of the skull, teeth, hands and feet were simply attributed to a new species of the Homo -sex. The "handy man" was called the species, after the stone tools found among the remains. More individuals were later found. The species was found to have lived from 2.6-1.6 million years ago.
No doubt
At the time there was little doubt that it was a real Gay went. After all, the brain volume was 650 cm 3 , pretty close to 700-800 cm 3 which was then characteristic of species of the genus Homo .
It later turned out that even within the limits of Homo fell, when some individuals of Homo erectus a brain capacity of 600-700 cm 3 showed. So no problems, especially because the predecessor of the genus Homo, Australopithecus , only a brain size of about 400-500 cm 3 had.
The hands and feet also had characteristics of an individual who walked upright, also a characteristic of Homo. Further similar features in the dentition and skull finally ensured that on placement of the species in the Homo gender was not to be faulted. Until the last ten years…
Still doubt
Scientists took a closer look at the teeth of Homo habilis, and what turned out? They grow very quickly, just like great apes such as Australopithecus. In addition, some studies indicated that the arms were widely used to climb trees. That's different from walking upright on the bottom like Gays did.
Last week another argument was added as to why habilis no Gay would be. Microscopic grooves in the teeth show that the handy man had an unvaried diet consisting of only leaves and fruit. Just like another great ape (Paranthropus boisei ), and distinctly different from Homo erectus, who had a varied diet including nuts, seeds and meat.
Time to Homo habilis in the genus Australopithecus to place? That depends on which characteristics the scientific community considers more important. Diet, brain contents, or at least walking upright. For this, choices have to be made, which often differ per scientist. That is why there is often a certain 'battle' within science. New evidence may shift the choice to Australopithecus, or again to Gay .
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