Good question, and I've wondered myself what these hominids were. Intuitively, tool use seems to be one of those sophisticated behaviours that sets humans apart from other animals. Evolutionists would see it as a gradual progression of sophistication, while creationists would rather see a clear separation between humans and animals. So tool use by Homo habilis, Neanderthals and other hominids makes us wonder how that fits into the Biblical account of humanity.
Observing modern animals does give some insight. Chimpanzees have been observed constructing wooden spears for use in hunting (thanks to Reasons to Believe for this link, and other information about chimp tool usage). It raises the question: from a Biblical world-view, what makes or shows us humans as distinct from animals? Is it tool use, agriculture, farming, language, music, art, law and order, societal structures, planning, or introspection? People could argue that most of these are observed in animals, and yet looking around the world, you can't deny that humans are in a class of their own compared to the animal world.
I'd be inclined to say that God created a rich pre-human history of animals and plants over millions of years, including a variety of hominids. The hominids were surprisingly sophisticated in some ways, yet still animals comparable to chimpanzees, as far as I can tell.
The more sophisticated capabilities of animals such as chimpanzees gives us some insight into what the Bible reveals about humans and our nature. In Genesis 1:26 (NKJV):
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..."
Some say that this is saying God looks like us, with arms, legs, a head, etc. Yet chimpanzees and gorillas are apparently not made in God's likeness, so what does it mean to be made "in God's likeness"? More importantly, it is likely talking about our moral awareness and capability. We have a "spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:11; Ecclesiastes 3:21) that allows us to think about life with sophistication far above the animals, and the pinnacle of that is moral awareness: right and wrong, justice and injustice, empathy for the feelings of our fellow human beings.
Good question, and I've wondered myself what these hominids were. Intuitively, tool use seems to be one of those sophisticated behaviours that sets humans apart from other animals. Evolutionists would see it as a gradual progression of sophistication, while creationists would rather see a clear separation between humans and animals. So tool use by Homo habilis, Neanderthals and other hominids makes us wonder how that fits into the Biblical account of humanity.
Observing modern animals does give some insight. Chimpanzees have been observed constructing wooden spears for use in hunting (thanks to Reasons to Believe for this link, and other information about chimp tool usage). It raises the question: from a Biblical world-view, what makes or shows us humans as distinct from animals? Is it tool use, agriculture, farming, language, music, art, law and order, societal structures, planning, or introspection? People could argue that most of these are observed in animals, and yet looking around the world, you can't deny that humans are in a class of their own compared to the animal world.
I'd be inclined to say that God created a rich pre-human history of animals and plants over millions of years, including a variety of hominids. The hominids were surprisingly sophisticated in some ways, yet still animals comparable to chimpanzees, as far as I can tell.
The more sophisticated capabilities of animals such as chimpanzees gives us some insight into what the Bible reveals about humans and our nature. In Genesis 1:26 (NKJV):
Some say that this is saying God looks like us, with arms, legs, a head, etc. Yet chimpanzees and gorillas are apparently not made in God's likeness, so what does it mean to be made "in God's likeness"? More importantly, it is likely talking about our moral awareness and capability. We have a "spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:11; Ecclesiastes 3:21) that allows us to think about life with sophistication far above the animals, and the pinnacle of that is moral awareness: right and wrong, justice and injustice, empathy for the feelings of our fellow human beings.