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Homer ► homology I 889
attributed to him the great epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. Mod¬ em scholars generally agree that he composed (but probably did not lit¬ erally write) The Iliad, most likely relying on oral traditions, and at least inspired the composition of The Odyssey. The Iliad, set during the Trojan War, tells the story of the wrath of Achilles; The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus as he travels home from the war. The two epics provided the basis of Greek education and culture in the Classical age, and they have remained among the most significant poems of the European tradition.
Homer, Winslow (b. Feb. 24, 1836, Boston, Mass., U.S.—d. Sept. 29, 1910, Prouts Neck, Maine) U.S. painter. He served an apprenticeship with a Boston lithographer, then became a freelance illustrator in New York City. He exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1860 and was elected a member in 1865. During a stay in France in 1866, he was attracted to French naturalism and Japanese prints, but they had little effect on his generally bright and happy work. He became a master of watercolour and his ability as an oil painter matured; he focused increas¬ ingly on solitary, withdrawn figures. He spent 1881-82 in the English vil¬ lage of Tynemouth, on the North Sea, where the coastal atmosphere, the sea, and the stoic people are the subjects of some of his most powerful images. In 1883 he moved permanently to Prouts Neck, and his dominant theme became the sea and the endless struggle against an uncaring nature. In his later years he continued to paint vigorously and in near-total iso¬ lation. Though he was recognized in his lifetime as a leading U.S. painter, appreciation of his enormous achievement came only after his death.
Homestead Movement Mid-19th-century drive for free land in the U.S. Midwest, Great Plains, and West. It began in the 1830s as labourers and reformers joined farmers in calling for public land to be given free to settlers. In 1848 the Free Soil Party advocated the homestead proposal. Opposition from industrial employers and Southern slaveholders blocked legislation until the 1860 election, when the winning Republican Party sup¬ ported a homestead measure. In 1862 the Homestead Act was passed, providing 160 acres of public land free to any adult citizen or head of family who had lived on the land for five years. By 1900, 600,000 home¬ steaders had claimed 80 million acres.
Homestead National Monument Memorial, southeastern Nebraska, U.S. Established in 1936 as a memorial to the hardships of pio¬ neer life, it is the site of the first claim under the Homestead Act of 1862 and has exhibits tracing the development of the Homestead Movement. It occupies 163 acres (66 hectares) and includes a homestead log cabin.
Homestead Strike U.S. labour strike at Andrew Carnegie’s steelworks in Homestead, Pa., in July 1892. When the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers went on strike following a wage cut, the compa¬ ny’s manager, Henry Clay Frick, hired strikebreakers, with Pinkerton Agency detectives to protect them. A gun battle resulted in which several people were killed and many injured; the governor sent state militiamen to support the company. The broken strike represented a major setback to the union movement that was felt for decades.
homicide Killing of one human being by another. Homicide is a gen¬ eral term; it includes murder, manslaughter, and other criminal homicides as well as noncriminal killings. Murder is the crime of intentionally and unjustifiably killing another. In the U.S., first-degree murder is a homi¬ cide committed with premeditation or in the course of a serious felony (e.g., kidnapping). Second- and third-degree murder involve lesser degrees of intent. Manslaughter is commonly divided into voluntary (or first- degree) and involuntary (or second- and third-degree) manslaughter. The first type encompasses any homicide resulting from an intentional act done without malice or premeditation and while in the heat of passion or on sudden provocation; the second type is variously defined in different jurisdictions but often includes an element of unlawful recklessness or negligence. Noncriminal homicides include killings committed in defense of oneself or another and deaths resulting from accidents caused by per¬ sons engaged in lawful acts. See also felony and misdemeanour; self-defense.
hominid Vha-mo-.nidV Any member of the zoological family Hominidae (order Primates), which consists of the great apes (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos) as well as human beings. Formerly, only humans (with their extinct forebears) were categorized as hominids, and the great apes were categorized as pongids—that is, members of the pri¬ mate family Pongidae. However, morphological and molecular studies now indicate that humans are closely related to chimpanzees, while goril¬ las are more distant and orangutans more distant still. As a result, it has
become more common among zoologists to consider humans and great apes to be hominids. See also hominin.
hominin Vha-m3- l nin\ Any member of the zoological “tribe” Hominini (family Hominidae, order Primates), of which only one species exists today— Homo sapiens, or human beings. The term is used most often to refer to extinct members of the human lineage, some of which are now quite well known from fossil remains: Homo neanderthalensis (the Nean¬ derthals), Homo erectus. Homo habilis, and various species of Australopith¬ ecus. The primate group most closely related to Hominini today is Gorillini (the African apes), comprising the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and the bonobo. Gorillini and Hominini are part of the great ape family, Hom¬ inidae. Some characteristics that have distinguished hominins from other primates, living and extinct, are their erect posture, bipedal locomotion, larger brains, and behavioral characteristics such as specialized tool use and, in some cases, communication through language.
Homo Genus of the primate family Hominidae. Members of Homo are characterized by a relatively large cranium (braincase), limb structure adapted to erect posture and a two-footed gait, well-developed and fully opposable thumbs, hands capable of power and precision grips, and the ability to make precision tools. The genus includes modern humans ( Homo sapiens), the extinct species Homo habilis. Homo erectus, and Homo neanderthalensis (the Neanderthals), and the early form of H. sapiens known as Cro-Magnon.
Homo erectus Latin "upright man" Extinct species of early hom¬ inin, perhaps a direct ancestor of human beings ( Homo sapiens). Homo erectus flourished from c. 1,700,000 to 200,000 years ago, ranging widely from Africa (where the species probably originated) to Asia to parts of Europe. Most of the anatomical differences between H. erectus and H. sapiens concern the skull and teeth, H. erectus showing a low, thick braincase (800-1,100 cc) with jutting browridges and a wide nose, pal¬ ate, and jaw together with large teeth that are nevertheless hominin and not apelike. The limb bones are similar to those of H. sapiens, indicating that H. erectus was of medium stature and walked upright. The species is associated with the Acheulean tool tradition and was the first hominin to master fire and inhabit caves. See also human evolution; Java man; Zhouk-
OUDIAN.
Homo habilis V.ho-mo-'ha-bo-bsV Latin "handy man" Extinct spe¬ cies of early hominin that is generally regarded as the earliest member of the human genus, Homo. Homo habilis inhabited parts of sub-Saharan Africa about 2-1.5 million years ago. Remains were first discovered in 1959 and 1960 at Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania; additional remains have since been found in the Lake Turkana region of northern Kenya and, arguably, at Sterkfontein in South Africa. The cranial capacity of H. habi¬ lis ranged from 500 to 800 cc. Limb bones suggest that the species walked upright efficiently, and the fossil of a hand suggests that H. habilis was capable of precise manipulation of objects. Crude tools found along with H. habilis remains provide further evidence that this species could shape stone. See also human evolution; Oldowan industry.