NATS 1540 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Homo Ergaster, Homo Habilis, Gluteus Maximus Muscle
9 Mar 2019
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Document Summary
It is generally thought that by 2. 5 mya, there were at least two species of homo in. The inclusion of those fossils in our genus is not accepted by all and is somewhat arbitrary. Some argue that h. habilis does not differ enough from australopiths to warrant different genus designation. Its inclusion in homo was prompted by the fact that they are thought to have made and used tools and thus to have been cognitively advanced. H. habilis was more encephalized than the australopiths, and the skull vault is flexed as in au. africanus, p. boisei, p. robustus, and later species of homo. There is debate as to whether h. habilis or h. rudolfensis gave rise to homo ergaster (african form of the erectus-grade) and hence should be included in our lineage. Both species overlap the more derived h. ergaster in time and geographic space.
