Homo Habilis

By

Jackie, Grant, Mandi, Jaime

Physical Appearance

• Homo Habilis were 4.5 feet tall.

• Their feet were made for walking upright, unlike Australopithecus.

• Their brain was 40-49 cubic inches.

• Their face was longer, narrower, and the jawbone was curved.

• They also had rounded skulls.

Tools

• They would chip sharp stones to make their own knives.

• They mostly used rocks and branches for tools.

Communication

• Many people think that the Homo Habilis communicated with gestures and simple sounds.

• They were not able to speak any language.

• They could not write either.

Daily Life

• They caught their food by pouncing on their prey and killing it with sharp rocks and twigs.

• Since they had no source of writing, it is unknown what their daily life was like.

Clothing

• It is unknown if Homo Habilis wore clothes or not.

• We don’t think that they wore clothes because they were not smart enough.

Fire

• The Homo Habilis did not know how to make fire, so they ate their food raw.

• They weren't smart enough to make fire either.

When and Where They Lived

• Homo Habilis lived about one to two million years ago.

• They lived in Olduvia Gorge in east Africa, in the southern part of Africa, and in southeast Asia.

Their Shelter

• The shelters were made out of branches and were held down with stones.

• They were dome-shaped and simple huts that protected them from wild animals and the wind.

What They Ate

• They ate raw meat that they killed with sharp stones; they also ate the marrow from crushed bones.

• They also ate bird eggs from birds’ nests.

• None of their food was cooked because fire was not discovered yet.

Religion

• They were not smart enough to have their own religion.

• We think that when someone died, the Homo Habilis just left them where they died.

Paintings and Carvings

• The Homo Habilis were too undeveloped to make their own art.