H. habilis

3D Model

H. habilis lived ~2.4-1.4 mya. They had a flexible diet, as they had smaller teeth compared to australopithecines, but retained thick enamel that allowed them to eat most any food - leaves, animal tissue, and woody plants (Smithsonian 2022). Despite being smaller in size, their jaw muscles were still strong enough to endure chewing hard foods without significant processing.

H. habilis is considered by some researchers to be the first hominin to use stone tools (the Oldowan tools). However, others suggest that hominins before genus Homo were capable of creating complex tools. Researchers originally believed H. habilis was ancestral to H. erectus (creating a straight evolutionary line), but recent fossils (KNM-ER 42703 and KNM-ER 42700) from the same region (Lake Turkana) suggest they may have lived alongside one another (Smithsonian 2022).