After the Australopithecines died out, the Homo Habilis were the next to come. Nicknamed “handy men,” and following characteristics closer to humans than Lucy, the Homo Habilis made a great advancement in man’s evolution. The word “Habilis” comes from a Latin word which roughly translates to “skillful” or “handy.” They lived from 2.3 million years ago to 1.5 million years ago and lived in South and East Africa. The women were on average 3’7” and the men were on average 4’3”. Some noticeable new traits were larger incisors, curved finger bones, and brains 37 cubic inches in size. 

The Homo Habilis diet included: leaves, woody plants, nuts and seeds, dried meat, and tuber vegetables. They mainly scavenged for food and had strong jaws for chewing hard foods like nuts. Going back to the “handy man” aspect of the Homo Habilis, stone tools were found near fossil remains and are believed to be who made stone tools (far more advanced than the bone tools their predecessors were making). These tools were known as Oldowan tools as they were made in Oldoway (now Olduvai) Gorge and Tanzania (East Africa). Oldowan tools are a mode 1 technology in which a hammer is used to strike something else to create tools.