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5.1: Introduction

  • Page ID
    150209
    • Jennifer Hasty, David G. Lewis, & Marjorie M. Snipes
    • OpenStax
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    fig-ch01_patchfile_01.jpg
    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)

    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?”


    This page titled 5.1: Introduction is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jennifer Hasty, David G. Lewis, Marjorie M. Snipes, & Marjorie M. Snipes (OpenStax) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.