"Naledi's brain seems like one you might predict for Homo habilis, two million years ago. But habilis didn't have such a tiny brain — naledi did," said coauthor and paleoanthropologist John Hawks.

Homo habilis Named "handyman" in 1964 because of stone tools found with its remains, Homo habilis flourished in Eastern and Southern Africa from 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago.