hominin

noun

hom·i·nin | \ ˈhä-mə-nən

How to pronounce hominin (audio)

, -ˌnin \

Definition of hominin

: any of a taxonomic tribe (Hominini) of hominids that includes recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms

Examples of hominin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Over more than a century, paleo-anthropologists have explored the sedimentary outcrops and unearthed hominin fossils in surveys and digs. — Julio Mercader Florin, Quartz Africa, "Scientist findings in Tanzania show how ancient humans used tools 2 million years ago," 16 Jan. 2021 The discovery shows that one hominin lineage had grasping feet for at least a million years after Ar. — Brian Switek, Scientific American, "Ancient Human Had Feet Like an Ape," 29 Mar. 2012 The finding will force a rethink regarding the course of early hominin evolution, Harcourt-Smith adds. — Brian Switek, Scientific American, "Ancient Human Had Feet Like an Ape," 29 Mar. 2012 Its legs were longer than its arms, as in modern humans, making this the most-ancient hominin definitively known to have that trait. — NBC News, "Painstaking study of 'Little Foot' fossil sheds light on human origins," 2 Mar. 2021 These discoveries bring the total of southern African hominin track sites to six, following earlier discoveries at Nahoon Point in the Eastern Cape in 1965 and at Langebaan on the West Coast in 1995. — Charles Helm, Quartz Africa, "Scientists have found new fossil tracks belonging to human ancestors in South Africa," 8 Nov. 2020 At the time, advances in dating techniques revealed that Olorgesailie contained a rich array of hominin tools that dated as far back as some 1.2 million years ago. — Maya Wei-haas, National Geographic, "Surprising leap in ancient human technology tied to environmental upheaval," 21 Oct. 2020 Our team found its first hominin track site in 2016. — Charles Helm, Quartz Africa, "Scientists have found new fossil tracks belonging to human ancestors in South Africa," 8 Nov. 2020 The research in Saudi Arabia is part of a more than decade-long effort led by Petraglia to unearth hominin history in the Arabian Peninsula and better understand our species’ first steps out of Africa. — Maya Wei-haas, National Geographic, "Oldest footprints in Saudi Arabia reveal intriguing step in early human migration," 17 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hominin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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homing instinct

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Last Updated

31 Mar 2021

Cite this Entry

“Hominin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hominin. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

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