Homo habilis

American  

[hoh-moh hab-uh-lis] / ˈhoʊ moʊ ˈhæb ə lɪs /

noun

1. an extinct species of upright East African hominin having some advanced humanlike characteristics, dated as being from about 1.5 million to more than 2 million years old and proposed as an early form of Homo leading to modern humans.

2. a fossil belonging to this species.

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Homo habilis British  

/ ˈhæbɪlɪs /

noun

1. an extinct species of primitive man, the first to use stone tools

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Homo habilis Scientific  

/ hăb′ə-ləs /

1. An extinct species of early humans, known from fossils found in eastern Africa and often considered to be the first member of the genus Homo. It is associated with stone tools of the Oldowan culture. Homo habilis existed between about 2.5 and 1.6 million years ago and overlapped with late australopithecines and other hominids whose relationship to each other and to the later Homo erectus are uncertain.

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Etymology

Origin of Homo habilis

First recorded in 1960–65; from New Latin: literally “skillful man, handy man,” because this species was thought to represent the first maker of stone tools. The oldest stone tools, however, are currently dated slightly older than the oldest evidence of the genus Homo

Compare meaning

How does homo-habilis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Homo habilis vs. Homo erectus

Example Sentences

One idea is that DAN5 could reflect admixture between classic African Homo erectus and the earlier Homo habilis species.

From Science Daily • Dec. 16, 2025

“When Lucy was found, we thought Homo habilis was the one who made the earliest tools,” says archaeologist Sonia Harmand of the French national research agency CNRS.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 3, 2024

While Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis probably only ate a lizard here and there or the meaty remains left behind by other predators, Homo erectus was a hunter.

From Scientific American • Oct. 25, 2023

Of the multiple species in our genus, Homo habilis is the least humanlike in its anatomy and most similar to apes, according to the Bradshaw Foundation.

From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2019

He filled in the meaningless words—Homo erectus, Homo habilis, Homo sapiens, Neanderthal—with great relief.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix