Here's why:
* Human-like: Hominins share many human-like characteristics, such as large brains, bipedal locomotion (walking upright on two legs), and complex social structures.
* Primates: Hominins are classified within the primate order, which also includes monkeys, apes, and lemurs.
* Bipedal: The defining feature of hominins is their adaptation to walking upright.
* Omnivorous: While many early hominins were primarily herbivorous (plant-eating), most modern humans and some extinct hominins were omnivorous, meaning they consumed both plants and animals.
Examples of hominins include:
* Australopithecus: A genus of early hominins that lived in Africa between 4.2 and 2 million years ago.
* Homo: The genus that includes all modern humans (Homo sapiens) and several extinct human species, such as Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis).
So, while "hominins" is the most precise term, you could also use "early humans" or "human ancestors" to refer to these primates.