Question

Which among the following human ancestors was called the first human-like being?

Answer 1

Dryopithecus, Ramapithecus, Australopithecines, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis are the ancestors of modern man in chronological order.

Australopithecines had characteristics of both man and ape and hence is also known as ape-man. They lived about 2 million years ago and had a brain capacity of about 400 cc.

Homo habilis evolved after Australopithecines. Homo habilis was the earliest member of the genus Homo and was called the first human-like being, the hominid.

They had a slightly larger braincase and smaller face and teeth than its ancestor, Australopithecines. But they still had some features of apes like long arms and a moderately-prognathic face (protruding jaws). Homo habilis existed about 2 million years ago. The cranial capacity was about 650-800 cc which was larger than Australopithecines.

Homo erectus evolved after Homo habilis. They existed about 1.5 million years ago. The cranial capacity was about 900 cc.

Homo neanderthalensis lived about 1,00,000 to 40,000 years ago and the cranial capacity was about 1400 cc.

Hence, the first human-like being was Homo habilis.