Final answer:
Evidence suggests that Homo habilis likely lived in groups due to their complex stone tool technologies, implications of social learning, and necessity of communication in teaching tool-making skills. Their varied diet and care for the sick and elderly also point to complex social structures consistent with group living.
Step-by-step explanation:
Evidence suggesting that Homo habilis lived in groups can be inferred from various aspects of their material culture and physical anatomy.
The production and use of stone tools, such as the Oldowan tools found in Olduvai Gorge, implies that a complex set of social and cognitive abilities was required, which are characteristics typically associated with group living. Furthermore, the fact that these hominins had dexterity in their hands due to bone structure changes and a repositioned thumb for better grip suggests that they could teach others tool-making skills, which would necessitate a form of social interaction and likely living in groups.
Anthropologists studying the sexual division of labor have hypothesized that both hunting and gathering were important for the survival of early hominins. This theorizes that women's gathering activities were essential, and the adaptation of hominids' teeth to a varied diet of nuts, seeds, and fruits further supports the likelihood of collective responsibilities in food procurement and thus communal living.
The ability to provide care for the sick and elderly, as well as cooperative endeavors such as hut building and food sharing, as seen in related species like Homo erectus, also points to Homo habilis likely living in groups. Lastly, the emergence of a gestural or protolanguage necessary for teaching and communication within these early human societies would have served to strengthen social bonds and facilitate living in groups.