Species↕ | Period↕ | Region↕ | Brain Size (cc)↕ | Height (cm)↕ | Key Trait↕ | Relation to H. sapiens↕ | Status↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sahelanthropus tchadensis | 7-6 MYA | Central Africa (Chad) | 350 | — | Earliest known possible hominin; small canines suggest upright posture | Possible ancestor | Extinct |
Orrorin tugenensis | 6.1-5.7 MYA | East Africa (Kenya) | — | — | Femur suggests bipedal locomotion; one of the oldest hominins | Possible ancestor | Extinct |
Ardipithecus kadabba | 5.8-5.2 MYA | East Africa (Ethiopia) | — | — | Toe bone suggests bipedality; lived in forested environments | Possible ancestor | Extinct |
Ardipithecus ramidus | 4.4 MYA | East Africa (Ethiopia) | 350 | 120 | Partially bipedal but retained tree-climbing ability; 'Ardi' skeleton | Possible ancestor | Extinct |
Australopithecus anamensis | 4.2-3.8 MYA | East Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia) | 370 | — | Earliest definitive australopithecine; bipedal with ape-like face | Ancestor | Extinct |
Australopithecus afarensis | 3.9-2.9 MYA | East Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania) | 430 | 107 | Fully bipedal; famous 'Lucy' skeleton; Laetoli footprints | Likely direct ancestor | Extinct |
Kenyanthropus platyops | 3.5-3.2 MYA | East Africa (Kenya) | — | — | Flat face distinguishes it from Australopithecus; debated classification | Uncertain branch | Extinct |
Australopithecus africanus | 3.3-2.1 MYA | Southern Africa | 460 | 138 | First australopithecine discovered ('Taung Child'); omnivorous diet | Possible ancestor | Extinct |
Australopithecus garhi | 2.5 MYA | East Africa (Ethiopia) | 450 | — | Found near earliest stone tools; possible link to Homo | Possible ancestor to Homo | Extinct |
Paranthropus aethiopicus | 2.7-2.3 MYA | East Africa | 410 | — | Massive jaw and sagittal crest for heavy chewing; 'Black Skull' | Side branch (robust) | Extinct |
Paranthropus boisei | 2.3-1.2 MYA | East Africa | 510 | 137 | Enormous molars ('Nutcracker Man'); specialized plant diet | Side branch (robust) | Extinct |
Paranthropus robustus | 2.0-1.2 MYA | Southern Africa | 530 | 132 | Robust jaw; coexisted with early Homo; used bone tools | Side branch (robust) | Extinct |
Homo habilis | 2.8-1.5 MYA | East & Southern Africa | 610 | 130 | First stone toolmaker (Oldowan tools); 'Handy Man' | Direct ancestor | Extinct |
Homo rudolfensis | 2.0-1.5 MYA | East Africa (Kenya) | 750 | — | Larger brain and flatter face than H. habilis; debated classification | Possible direct ancestor | Extinct |
Homo ergaster | 1.9-1.4 MYA | East & Southern Africa | 850 | 180 | Tall, long-legged; 'Turkana Boy'; African form of early Homo | Direct ancestor | Extinct |
Homo erectus | 1.9 MYA - 110 KYA | Africa, Asia (Java, China) | 950 | 170 | First to control fire and leave Africa; Acheulean hand axes | Direct ancestor | Extinct |
Homo antecessor | 1.2-0.8 MYA | Western Europe (Spain) | 1,000 | 175 | Oldest known hominin in Europe; possible cannibalism evidence | Possible common ancestor of sapiens & neanderthalensis | Extinct |
Homo heidelbergensis | 700-200 KYA | Africa, Europe | 1,250 | 175 | Wooden spears, cooperative hunting; ancestor of both sapiens and Neanderthals | Common ancestor | Extinct |
Homo naledi | 335-236 KYA | Southern Africa (Rising Star Cave) | 560 | 150 | Small brain but deliberate body disposal; mix of primitive and modern traits | Side branch | Extinct |
Homo neanderthalensis | 400-40 KYA | Europe, Western & Central Asia | 1,400 | 165 | Buried dead, made art, used medicinal plants; interbred with sapiens (1-4% DNA in non-Africans) | Cousin species | Extinct |
Denisovans | 300-50 KYA | Siberia, Southeast Asia | — | — | Known mainly from DNA; interbred with sapiens (4-6% DNA in Melanesians); high-altitude gene EPAS1 | Cousin species | Extinct |
Homo floresiensis | 100-50 KYA | Indonesia (Flores) | 380 | 106 | Island dwarfism; 'The Hobbit'; used stone tools despite tiny brain | Side branch | Extinct |
Homo luzonensis | 67-50 KYA | Philippines (Luzon) | — | — | Small-bodied island species; curved toe bones suggest tree climbing | Side branch | Extinct |
Homo sapiens (archaic) | 300-100 KYA | Africa (Morocco, Ethiopia) | 1,350 | 170 | Jebel Irhoud fossils; modern face but elongated braincase | Early us | Evolved into modern H. sapiens |
Homo sapiens (modern) | 100 KYA - present | Global | 1,350 | 170 | Language, symbolic art, agriculture, civilization; only surviving hominin | Us | Extant |
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This dataset contains 25 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.
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