Homo Habilis
“Handy Man”
By: Jerry, Rose, and Taylor S.
Introduction
We are going to take you on a ride through
time to meet the Homo Habilis species. You
will learn a lot of interesting information
about this species. They were also called the
Handy Man.
Dates and Places of Existence
They were alive about two to three million
years ago. [1] They lived in east and south
Africa. They also lived in southeast Asia, near
the Pacific Ocean. [2]
Physical Appearance
Homo Habilis had more human-looking faces than
earlier groups of early humans. They had smaller
teeth than Australopithecus. [3] Most females were
three to four and a half feet tall and weighed around
seventy pounds. Men weighed slightly more than the
females and were a bit taller than them. [4]
Shelter
Homo Habilis made small huts out of branches
and small stones. The stones kept the
branches in place. They used mud to keep the
rocks in place. These huts were dome-shaped
structures. [5]
Food
The Homo Habilis were hunters. They would
work together to creep up and pounce on their
prey.[6] They used branches and stones to kill
their prey. After the prey was dead, they chipped
sharp flakes of stone to create a knife to cut the
meat. They smashed heavy stones on the
animal’s bones and ate the marrow inside of it.[7]
They ate berries, birds and their eggs, nuts,
leaves, and roots. [8]
Daily Life
Homo Habilis were gatherers and hunters.
Their main diet was fruits, vegetables, roots,
and nuts. They used basic tools, such as rocks,
to hunt. You might think Homo Habilis would
look for caves to spend the night in, but caves
quite often had dangerous predators living
within them, just as they do today.[9]
Tools
Homo Habilis made tools out of stones. A tool
they used often was the hammerstone, which
they used to break stones into smaller pieces.
Homo Habilis were somewhat intelligent so
they could make tools out of stones. [10]
Fire
Since this group of early humans wasn’t able
to make fires, Homo Habilis had to wait until
they found something burning from a natural
cause.[11] They found land with plants that
had been struck by lightning.[12] A camp fire
had to be carefully watched because if the fire
went out, Homo Habilis did not know how to
start it again.[13]
Religion
Homo Habilis was so busy fighting for their
survival that they didn’t have time to make a
religion. Their entire lives were spent looking
for food and trying to stay alive. [14] As a
result, they didn’t have a religion of which we
are aware.
Language
Scientists do not believe that this early species
of humans was capable of speech.[15]
Therefore, Homo Habilis probably
communicated using some gestures and
simple sounds.[16]
Clothing
Homo Habilis didn’t wear clothing, because
they were very hairy. Therefore, they did not
need clothing. Eventually, as hunters, they
may have used animal skins to drape over
themselves like blankets. [17]
Paintings and Carvings
• Since Homo Habilis was one of the first
species of human, they didn’t have time to
paint and carve because they were too busy
adapting to Earth and trying to survive. [18]
Interesting Information
• Louis and Mary Leakey discovered remains of
Homo Habilis in Olduvai Gorge in eastern
Africa. [19]
• Homo Habilis means Handy Man. They have
that name because they are good at making
tools. [20]
Questions
1. How did Homo Habilis get meat?
2. Did Homo Habilis use tools? If not, why not?
If so, what materials did they use for tools?
3. Did Homo Habilis wear clothing? If not, why
not? If so, what was the clothing?
Answers
1. Homo Habilis followed their prey, and then
pounced on it, often hitting the prey with a
stone or a branch.
2. Homo Habilis had tools, and they made their
tools out of stone. The most common tool
was the hammerstone.
3. Homo Habilis didn’t wear any clothing
because they had thick hair all over their
bodies.
Conclusion
We hoped you enjoyed our ride back in time
to meet the Homo Habilis species. Now you
know that the Homo Habilis were great at
making tools, building huts, and hunting
animals with stones or branches. This is why
scientists gave this species the name “Handy
Man.”
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20.
Endnotes
Kearns, Marsha, “Homo Habilis,” Early Humans, Creative Teaching Press, CA, 1993, p.
4.
Ibid.
Ibid.
“Early Humans PowerPoints, Homo Habilis,” http://msmcclure.com, 2002.
Kearns, “Homo Habilis,” p. 4.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
“Early Humans,” www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/tools.html.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ms. McClure’s Brain.
Kearns, “Homo Habilis,” p. 4.
Ibid.
Facchini, Fiorenzo, “A Day with Homo Habilis, Twenty-First Century Books, CT, 2003, p.
24.
Ibid, p. 23 & 27.
Kearns, “Homo Habilis,” p. 4.
Ibid.
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/.
Kearns, Marsha.“Homo Habilis.” Early Humans.
Creative Teaching Press: CA, 1993.
A big thanks to Heather’s
Animations!