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Homo.
Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and species closely related to them. The genus is estimated to be about 2.5 million years old,[citation needed] evolving from Australopithecine ancestors with the appearance of Homo habilis. The advent of Homo coincides with the first evidence of stone tools (the Oldowan industry), and thus by definition with the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic.
All species of the genus except Homo sapiens (modern humans) are extinct. Homo neanderthalensis, traditionally considered the last surviving relative, died out 24,000 years ago, while a recent discovery suggests that another species, Homo floresiensis, discovered in 2003, may have lived as recently as 12,000 years ago.
Given the large number of morphological similarities exhibited, Homo is closely related to several extinct hominin genera, most notably Kenyanthropus, Paranthropus, Ardipithecus and Australopithecus. As of 2009[update], none of these taxa are universally accepted as the confirmed direct ancestor of Homo.
[edit] Naming
The word homo is Latin, in the original sense of "human being", or "person". The word "human" itself is from Latin humanus, an adjective cognate to homo, both thought to derive from a Proto-Indo-European word reconstructed as*dhǵhem- "earth".[1] Cf. Hebrew adam, meaning "human", cognate to adamah, meaning "ground". (And cf. Latin humus, meaning "soil"; and Slavic земля meaning "land, earth"; and Sanskrit Bhumi meaning "Earth".)
[edit] Species
Species status of Homo rudolfensis, H. ergaster, H. georgicus, H. antecessor, H. cepranensis, H. rhodesiensis and H. floresiensis remains under debate. H. heidelbergensis and H. neanderthalensis are closely related to each other and have been considered to be subspecies of H. sapiens, but analysis of mitochondrial DNA from Homo neanderthalensis fossils shows that H. neanderthalensis is genetically closer to chimpanzees than H. sapiens is, thereby suggesting that H. sapiens is the more derived of the two.[2]
Comparative table of Homo species
| Species |
Lived when (Ma) |
Lived where |
Adult height |
Adult mass |
Brain volume (cm³) |
Fossil record |
Discovery / publication of name |
| H. rudolfensis |
1.9 |
Kenya |
|
|
|
1 skull |
1972/1986 |
| H. ergaster |
1.9 – 1.4 |
Eastern and Southern Africa |
1.9 m (6.2 ft) |
|
700–850 |
Many |
1975 |
| H. habilis |
1.7? – 1.4 |
Africa |
1.0–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) |
33–55 kg (73–120 lb) |
660 |
Many |
1960/1964 |
| H. georgicus |
1.8 |
Georgia |
|
|
600 |
4 individuals |
1999/2002 |
| H. erectus |
1.5 – 0.2 |
Africa, Eurasia (Java, China, India, Caucasus) |
1.8 m (5.9 ft) |
60 kg (130 lb) |
850 (early) – 1,100 (late) |
Many |
1891/1892 |
| H. antecessor |
1.2 – 0.8 |
Spain |
1.75 m (5.7 ft) |
90 kg (200 lb) |
1,000 |
2 sites |
1997 |
| H. cepranensis |
0.9 – 0.8? |
Italy |
|
|
1,000 |
1 skull cap |
1994/2003 |
| H. heidelbergensis |
0.6 – 0.35 |
Europe, Africa, China |
1.8 m (5.9 ft) |
60 kg (130 lb) |
1,100–1,400 |
Many |
1908 |
| H. neanderthalensis |
0.35 – 0.03 |
Europe, Western Asia |
1.6 m (5.2 ft) |
55–70 kg (120–150 lb) (heavily built) |
1,200–1,900 |
Many |
(1829)/1864 |
| H. rhodesiensis |
0.3 – 0.12 |
Zambia |
|
|
1,300 |
Very few |
1921 |
| H. sapiens sapiens |
0.2 – present |
Worldwide |
1.4–1.9 m (4.6–6.2 ft) |
50–100 kg (110–220 lb) |
1,000–1,850 |
Still living |
—/1758 |
| H. sapiens idaltu |
0.16 – 0.15 |
Ethiopia |
|
|
1,450 |
3 craniums |
1997/2003 |
| H. floresiensis |
0.10? – 0.012 |
Indonesia |
1.0 m (3.3 ft) |
25 kg (55 lb) |
400 |
7 individuals |
2003/2004 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
