For other uses, see Homo (disambiguation). Homo Holozoa Homo Temporal range: 2.5–0.0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Pliocene–present Homo habilis Scientific classification [ e ] Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Hominidae Tribe: Hominini Subtribe: Hominina Genus: Homo Linnaeus, 1758 Species Homo sapiens †Homo gautengensis †Homo habilis †Homo erectus †Homo antecessor †Homo ergaster †Homo heidelbergensis †Homo neanderthalensis †Homo floresiensis Spatial and time distribution of main Homo species Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and species closely related to them. The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old,12 evolving from australopithecine ancestors with the appearance of Homo habilis. Specifically, H. habilis is assumed to be the direct descendant of Australopithecus garhi which lived about 2.5 million years ago. The most salient physiological development between the two species is the increase in cranial capacity, from about 450 cc (27 cu in) in A. garhi to 600 cc (37 cu in) in H. habilis. Within the Homo genus, cranial capacity again doubled from H. habilis to H. heidelbergensis by 0.6 million years ago. The cranial capacity of H. heidelbergensis overlaps with the range found in modern humans. However in May 2010, H. gautengensis was discovered, a species believed to be even older than H. habilis.3

The advent of Homo was thought to coincide with the first evidence of stone tools (the Oldowan industry), and thus by definition with the beginning of the Lower Palaeolithic, however, recent evidence from Ethiopia now places the earliest evidence of stone tool usage at before 3.39 million years ago 4. The emergence of Homo coincides roughly with the onset of Quaternary glaciation, the beginning of the current ice age. All species of the genus except Homo sapiens (modern humans) are extinct. Homo neanderthalensis, traditionally considered the last surviving relative, died out about 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. The discovery of Denisova hominin, announced in March 2010, may reveal it to be yet another species in the genus. Contents 1 Naming 2 Species 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Naming Further information: List of alternative names for the human species In biological sciences, particularly anthropology and palaeontology, the common name for all members of the genus Homo is "human".

The word homo is Latin, in the original sense of "human being", or "man" (in the gender-neutral sense). The word "human" itself is from Latin humanus, an adjective cognate to homo, both thought to derive from a Proto-Indo-European word for "earth" reconstructed as *dhǵhem-.5 The binominal name Homo sapiens is due to Linnaeus (1758). Names for other species are coined beginning in the second half of the 19th century (H. neanderthalensis 1864, H. erectus 1892). 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. Recently, nuclear DNA from a Neanderthal specimen from Vindija Cave has been sequenced as well, using two different methods that yield similar results regarding Neanderthal and H. sapiens lineages, with both analyses suggesting a date for the split between 460,000 and 700,000 years ago, though a population split of around 370,000 years is inferred. The nuclear DNA results indicate that about 30% of derived alleles in H. sapiens are also in the Neanderthal lineage. This high frequency may suggest some gene flow between ancestral humans and Neanderthal populations.6 Comparative table of Homo species view · talk · Species Lived when (Ma) Lived where Adult height Adult mass Cranial capacity (cm³) Fossil record Discovery / publication of name 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. 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. ergaster 1.9 – 1.4 Eastern and Southern Africa 1.9 m (6.2 ft) 700–850 Many 1975 H. floresiensis 0.10? – 0.012 Indonesia 1.0 m (3.3 ft) 25 kg (55 lb) 400 7 individuals 2003/2004 H. gautengensis >2 – 0.6 South Africa 1.0 m (3.3 ft) 1 individual 2010/2010 H. georgicus 1.8 Georgia 600 4 individuals 1999/2002 H. habilis 2.3 – 1.4 Africa 1.0–1.5 m (3.3–4.9 ft) 33–55 kg (73–120 lb) 510–660 Many 1960/1964 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. rudolfensis 1.9 Kenya 1 skull 1972/1986 H. sapiens idaltu 0.16 – 0.15 Ethiopia 1,450 3 craniums 1997/2003 H. sapiens sapiens (modern humans) 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 See also Human evolution List of human evolution fossils Timeline of human evolution References ^ Stringer, C.B. (1994). "Evolution of early humans". In Steve Jones, Robert Martin & David Pilbeam (eds.). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 242. ISBN 0-521-32370-3.  Also ISBN 0-521-46786-1 (paperback) ^ McHenry, H.M (2009). "Human Evolution". In Michael Ruse & Joseph Travis. Evolution: The First Four Billion Years. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-674-03175-3.  ^ "Toothy Tree-Swinger May Be Earliest Human" ^ McPherron, S. P., Z. Alemseged, C. W. Marean, J. G. Wynn, D. Reed, D. Geraads, R. Bobe, and H. A. Bearat. 2010. Evidence for stone-tool-assisted consumption of animal tissues before 3.39 million years ago at Dikika, Ethiopia. Nature 466:857-860. ^ dhghem The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. ^ Biological Anthropology: 2nd Edition. 2009. Craig Stanford et al. Serre et al. (2004). "No evidence of Neandertal mtDNA contribution to early modern humans". PLoS Biology 2 (3): 313–7. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020057. PMC 368159. PMID 15024415. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=368159.  External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Homo Wikispecies has information related to: Homo Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Introduction to Paleoanthropology Hominid species Mikko's Phylogeny archive Homo at the Encyclopedia of Life v · d · ePart of the series on Human evolution Hominini Sahelanthropus tchadensis · Orrorin tugenensis · Ardipithecus · Kenyanthropus platyops Australopithecines Australopithecus: A. anamensis · A. afarensis · A. bahrelghazali · A. africanus · A. garhi · A. sediba Paranthropus: P. aethiopicus · P. boisei · P. robustus Humans and Proto-humans Homo: H. gautengensis · H. habilis · H. rudolfensis · H. georgicus · H. ergaster · H. erectus (H. e. erectus  · H. e. lantianensis · H. e. palaeojavanicus · H. e. pekinensis · H. e. nankinensis · H. e. wushanensis · H. e. yuanmouensis · H. e. soloensis) · H. cepranensis · H. antecessor · H. heidelbergensis · Denisova hominin · H. neanderthalensis · H. rhodesiensis · H. floresiensis · Archaic Homo sapiens · Anatomically modern humans (H. s. idaltu · H. s. sapiens) Topics: Timeline of human evolution · List of human evolution fossils · Human evolutionary genetics Models: Recent African origin · Multiregional origin v · d · eExtant species of family Hominidae (Great apes) Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Mammalia · Order: Primates · Suborder: Haplorrhini Ponginae Pongo (Orangutans) Bornean Orangutan (P. pygmaeus) · Sumatran Orangutan (P. abelii) Homininae Gorilla Western Gorilla (G. gorilla) · Eastern Gorilla (G. beringei) Pan (Chimpanzees) Common Chimpanzee (P. troglodytes) · Bonobo (P. paniscus) Homo Human (H. s. sapiens) Category v · d · eApe-related articles Ape species Human · Bonobo · Common chimpanzee · Gorilla  · Orangutan  · Gibbon Ape study Ape language · Ape Trust · Dian Fossey · Birutė Galdikas · Jane Goodall · Chimpanzee genome project · Human genome project · Neanderthal genome project · Willie Smits · Lone Drøscher Nielsen  · Borneo Orangutan Survival Legal and social status Personhood · Research ban · Kinshasa Declaration · Great Ape Project · Survival Project See also Bushmeat · Ape extinction · List of notable apes · List of fictional apes · Human evolution · Mythic humanoids · Hominid