Early Hominids
Ardipithecus Ramidus
Scientists have found someone who was older than Lucy in 1992 and 1994. This hominid was known as Ardipithecus Ramidus or nicknamed "Ardi". The group was lead by paleoanthropoligist Tim White. Ardi's fossils were found in the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia. Tim's group had discovered over 100 species of Ardipithecus. Ardi was thought to live in a woody environment and was also thought to reflect a human-African ape.
Australopithecus Afarensis
An anthropologist in Africa named the earliest known group of hominids Australopithecus. Donald Johanson decided to call the group Lucy belonged to Australopithecus afarensis. The remains of other hominids like Lucy have been found in the same area.. Scientists think that Lucy's relatives lived in Africa, about 3 to 4 million years ago. One discovery about Lucy was especially exhilarating. By studying her skeleton, scientists found out that she can walk on two feet. This gave Lucy and her relatives many advantages compared to such animals such as gorillas and chimpanzees. With their hands free, they could gather and carry food more easily. They could use their hands to defend themselves and their children. Lucy's brain was only about one third the size of ours.
Homo Habilis
Another group of hominids was found by Louis and Mary Leakey. The Leakeys were searching for evidence of early hominids and found some bones. The Leakeys named their discovery Homo habilis or Handy Man. Handy Man lived about 1.5 to 2 million years ago. Scientists found the bones of more than one Handy Man together. This means these hominids probably lived in groups. They could work together to protect themselves against animal attacks and also gather food over larger areas of land.
Homo Erectus
A third type of hominid was found in 1891 by Eugene Dubois. He and his crew were looking for artifacts and found a new type of hominid skull. Eventually, Dubois' crew saw the bones of many more hominids. Dubois named this hominid group Homo erectus or Upright Man. Upright Man was around more than any other hominid group from 1.8 million to 200,000 B.C.E. With their larger brains, Upright Man were able to make more complicated tools than Handy Man. Their greatest advantage was the ability to use fire.
Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis
In 1856, some mine workers found a skeleton. It had thick bones, a ridge above the eyes, and was very humanlike. Today most scientists thought of this group of hominids to be a distinct type of Homo sapiens or Wise Man. Scientists call this group Homo sapiens neanderthalensis or Neanderthal Man. Neanderthals lived after Upright Man, from 230,00 to 30,00 years ago.. Scientists think that Neanderthals had a sense of community. Neanderthals cared about one another and had a sense of ritual. When members of a group died, they were laid in burial mounds along with hunting tools and flowers.
Homo sapiens sapiens
In 1879, a young Spanish girl named Maria was exploring a cave with her father when she found an amazing discovery. She found a room filled with ancient paintings of some animals. They were the first prehistoric cave paintings ever found. The people who created these paintings were the earliest members of our own group, Homo sapiens sapiens, or Double Wise Man. They lived from 35,00 to 12,000 B.C.E.. Early modern humans left a fascinating record of their lives through their artwork.
Watch this video which talks about hominids.
(Note that Lucy wasn't the oldest hominid but rather Ardi was.)
(Note that Lucy wasn't the oldest hominid but rather Ardi was.)