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Introduction to Anthropology

Introduction

Introduction to AnthropologyIntroduction
Very large cave opening with people working on the floor. Overlaying this image is a hominin skull.
Figure 5.1 Liang Bua Cave on the island of Flores in Indonesia. A potentially new species of the genus Homo, Homo floresiensis was discovered in this cave in 2003. (credit: “Flores: Ruteng to Bajawa” by Bryn Pinzgauer/flickr, CC BY 2.0) (credit: “Flores” by Ryan Somma/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Chapter Outline

5.1 Defining the Genus Homo
5.2 Tools and Brains: Homo habilis, Homo ergaster, and Homo erectus
5.3 The Emergence of Us: The Archaic Homo
5.4 Tracking Genomes: Our Human Story Unfolds

Our human story continues with the rise of the genus Homo which at one time represented at least 8 different species in our human lineage – with only H. sapiens surviving. The genus Homo displays some of the most diverse and complex examples of both australopithecine and Homo characteristics, which has made the classification of species in this genus challenging. In this chapter we take a look at how paleoanthropologists have defined Homo and at attempts to answer the question, “What does a species of the genus Homo look like?”

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