After the gracile species of australopithecines, the remains of which are also found in East and South Africa (Au. garhi / Au. africanus), approximately at the transition from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene (about 2.6 million years ago), there are indications, i.e. the first recognized remains that are attributed to our genus - genus Homo. The early members of the genus Homo lived at the same time as the later, robust australopithecines.

As with the very beginnings of hominins, the first members of the genus Homo are the most difficult to determine. Some of the criteria for classifying the found fossil remains into the genus Homo are their derived characteristics in relation to previous hominin populations – australopithecines.