Ancient people… What were they like? In Africa and in the south of Eurasia, fossil remains of representatives of the hominin family were found, which lived in different regions of our planet about 2 million years ago and earlier. This group includes a skilled man, or skillful Australopithecus. Findings of fossil remains of a creature belonging to the species Homo hablilis, its origin and kinship with other hominids caused heated discussions among paleoanthropologists.
Finds in the Olduvai Gorge and other parts of Africa
It all started with the findings of the Leakey family of paleoanthropologists. Several generations since 1930 have been searching for human ancestors in Africa. In the summer of 1960, in Olduvai Gorge, in northwest Tanzania, Jonathan Leakey and his companions found fossil remains that belonged to a child of 11-12 years old. The bones lay in the ground for 1.75 million years. Structural features of the foot proved that the creature walked straight. The new hominid was first called a presinjanthropus, but afterA few years later, another scientific term appeared - "handy man." The species name refers to the use of primitive stone tools found alongside bones in the same geological strata. In Kenya in 1961, a group of scientists unearthed the remains of hominins that lived in Africa 1.6-2.33 million years ago. More complete specimens were discovered in 1972 near Lake Turkana. The age of the finds was 1.9 million years. New excavations then did not clarify the overall picture.
Ancient people. Handy man
For some time, two names were used for the fossil ancestor found in Olduvai Gorge - Australopithecus hablilis and Homo hablilis. This was due to the doubts that existed among paleoanthropologists about family ties with other hominins. Some researchers considered this species to be the earliest ancestor of modern humans. The skillful man found by Leakey could move on his hind limbs, as modern people do. Perhaps he spent the night in the trees, rested and escaped in the branches from predators. It has been suggested that H. hablilis is the ancestor of Homo erectus. There were experts who said that the creature found belongs to the genus Australopithecus, whose representatives have become extinct and have not been found on the planet for about 1 million years. The reason for the controversy lies in the erroneous assumption of scientists that human evolution is straightforward. For a long time it was believed that one species of primates gave rise to another. Later, a hypothesis arose about the possible coexistence in the pastseveral species of the hominin family, both australopithecines and humans. A more complex picture of human evolution emerged than that which existed at the beginning and middle of the last century.
Skillful man. Characteristics of appearance
H. hablilis resembled australopithecines in many ways. They had an ape-like appearance, which implies a short torso and long upper limbs hanging below the knees, comparable in size to the legs. There are suggestions that A. afarsky, who lived more than 3 million years ago, was the direct ancestor of H. hablilis. The proximity of this species to the main line of human evolution is confirmed by the characteristic structure of the skull. The growth of males was approximately 1.5–1.6 m, body weight was about 45 kg, females were lower. Features that distinguished H. hablilis from Australopithecus:
- comparatively large brain;
- small teeth;
- protruding nose;
- flexible gait;
- H. hablilis skull capacity was 630–700 cm3.
Lifestyle and nutrition of a skilled person
Changing the habitat could cause the appearance of various adaptive features in the structure of the body, limbs, and the digestive system. Animal bones, pollen, primitive tools found along with hominin fossils prove that these creatures ate meat, as well as fruits, insects and plants. The word "skillful" in the titlethe first person characterizes the structural features of the hand, adapted to gripping tools.
Ancient creatures broke the bones to extract the nourishing brain from the inner cavity, united to protect against predators and search for food. There is evidence that it was then that a division of labor arose between women and men.
Strong sex got meat, and females collected vegetable products. Acquired behavioral traits were beneficial for survival in changing environmental conditions.
Manufacture and use of tools
The tools of labor of a skilled man were stone, roughly processed. Hominids used crushed stone, cobblestones as axes and scrapers, and bone fragments were used to dig roots out of the ground. Stones, possibly wood, were the primary materials for making tools and protecting against predators.
Scrapers with sharp edges were used to dissect carcasses, cut tendons, clean skins. Some scientists suggest that the first tools were the result of natural factors. Water, wind, erosion processed natural materials, and not the hands of a skilled person. Thanks to microscopic studies, scratches and grooves from other stones were found - tools that were used to make tools.
Climate change and hominin evolution
During the period of cooling that occurred in the Eastern Hemisphere for more than 3 million yearsago, tropical forests gave way to the ancient savannah. There is evidence that the evolution of animals in Eastern and Southern Africa has been linked to these climate changes.
Ancient primates needed to find additional food sources that provide more energy than forest fruits and root vegetables. Australopithecus gave rise to one branch of evolution, a skilled man continued this line. The appearance of other hominids was the result of development towards the use of not only plant, but also animal food. The main sign of the transition from australopithecines to humans is the production of primitive tools and an increase in the volume of the skull.
Kinship ties between Homo habilis and other fossil hominids
The bipedal upright primates of the species H. hablilis are almost identical in appearance to A. afarsky, with which they were related by origin. In the central part of China, tools and bones of these hominids were found, whose age exceeded 1.9 million years. Other remains of the species H. hablilis are found in the archaeological sites of Tanzania, Kenya, and Sterkfontein. The findings prove the wide distribution of the species in Africa and Asia.
It is possible that for 0.5 million years Australopithecus, Homo erectus, skillful and worker coexisted on the planet at the same time. The differences between the species are very insignificant, they could lead a different lifestyle, occupying different ecological niches. Homo erectus had body proportions close to those of H. sapiens, but had a more protruding nose thanrepresentatives of the species H. erectus. Extinct hominins:
- a skilled person;
- Homo erectus;
- ch. Lake Rudolf (H. rudolfensis);
- ch. Georgian (H. georgicus);
- ch. worker (H. egaster).
The place of a skilled person in the evolution of Homo sapiens
For many years, the minds of paleoanthropologists have been occupied with the question of the direct ancestors of modern man. Is a skilled person one of them? Just like Australopithecus, the very first humans ate nuts, seeds, and root crops. But they were able to make tools and use them to get their own animal food. The ancient representative of the genus Homo - H. erectus - did not belong to Australopithecus. It was the first direct ancestor of modern man, which, after lengthy debate, scientists included in the genus Homo (Homo) of the hominin family. Bones and tools of H. erectus have been found not only in Africa, but also in Asia and Europe. At the same time, there was a man erect, who used a more advanced method of processing stone, making tools. The worker man was carnivorous and also used worked stones, wood, bones as primitive tools.
