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'{{redirect|H. erectus|the seahorse species|Hippocampus erectus|the 2007 comedy film|Homo Erectus (film)|1997 album|Homo erectus (album)}} {{redirect|Pithecanthropus erectus|the song and album by that title|Pithecanthropus Erectus (album)|Pithecanthropus erectus erectus|Java Man}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}} {{pp-move-indef}} {{italic title}} {{Taxobox | name = ''Homo erectus'' | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|1.9|0.07}}<small>Early [[Pleistocene]] – Middle [[Pleistocene]]</small> | image = Homme de Tautavel 01-08.jpg | image_width = 200px | image_caption = Reconstruction of a specimen from Tautavel, France | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | ordo = [[Primates]] | familia = [[Hominid]]ae | genus = ''[[Homo (genus)|Homo]]'' | species = '''''H. erectus''''' | binomial = †''Homo erectus'' | binomial_authority = ([[Eugène Dubois|Dubois]], 1892) | synonyms = *† ''[[Java Man|Anthropopithecus erectus]]'' *† ''[[Java Man|Pithecanthropus erectus]]'' *† ''[[Sinanthropus pekinensis]]'' *† ''Javanthropus soloensis'' *† ''Meganthropus paleojavanicus'' *† ''Telanthropus capensis'' *† ''Homo georgicus'' *† ''[[Homo ergaster]]''? }} [[File:Skull of Homo erectus, Indian Museum, Kolkata.jpg|thumb|Skull of Homo erectus, [[Indian Museum]]]] '''''Homo erectus ''''' (meaning "upright man," from the Latin ''ērigere'', "to put up, set upright") is an extinct [[species]] of [[hominin]] that lived throughout most of the [[Pleistocene]], with the earliest first fossil evidence dating to around 1.9 million years ago and the most recent to around 70,000 years ago (with extinction linked to the [[Toba catastrophe theory]]). It is assumed that the species originated in [[Africa]] and spread as far as [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[China]] and [[Java]].<ref name="Hazarika">{{cite news|last=Hazarika|first=Manji|title=''Homo erectus/ergaster'' and Out of Africa: Recent Developments in Paleoanthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology|date=16–30 June 2007|url=http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/files/hazarika/Manjil%20Hazarika%20EAA.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Chauhan">Chauhan, Parth R. (2003) [http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/issue7/chauhan.html#distribution "Distribution of Acheulian sites in the Siwalik region"] in ''An Overview of the Siwalik Acheulian & Reconsidering Its Chronological Relationship with the Soanian – A Theoretical Perspective''. assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk</ref> There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of ''H. erectus'', with two major alternative classifications: ''erectus'' may be another name for ''[[Homo ergaster]]'', and therefore the direct ancestor of later hominids such as ''[[Homo heidelbergensis]]'', ''[[Homo neanderthalensis]]'', and ''[[Homo sapiens]]''; or it may be an [[Asia]]n species distinct from African ''ergaster''.<ref name="Hazarika"/><ref>See overview of theories on [[human evolution]].</ref><ref>Klein, R. (1999). ''The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226439631.</ref> ALL OF YOU HOMO'S GOT ERECTIONS Some palaeoanthropologists consider ''H. ergaster'' to be simply the African variety of ''H. erectus''. This leads to the use of the term "''Homo erectus [[sensu stricto]]''" for the Asian ''H. erectus'', and "''Homo erectus sensu lato''" for the larger species comprising both the early African populations (''H. ergaster'') and the Asian populations.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Antón, S. C. |year=2003|title=Natural history of Homo erectus|journal= Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.|volume=122|pages=126–170|doi=10.1002/ajpa.10399|quote=By the 1980s, the growing numbers of ''H. erectus'' specimens, particularly in Africa, led to the realization that Asian ''H. erectus'' (''H. erectus sensu stricto''), once thought so primitive, was in fact more derived than its African counterparts. These morphological differences were interpreted by some as evidence that more than one species might be included in ''H. erectus sensu lato'' (e.g., Stringer, 1984; Andrews, 1984; Tattersall, 1986; Wood, 1984, 1991a, b; Schwartz and Tattersall, 2000) ... Unlike the European lineage, in my opinion, the taxonomic issues surrounding Asian vs. African H. erectus are more intractable. The issue was most pointedly addressed with the naming of H. ergaster on the basis of the type mandible KNM-ER 992, but also including the partial skeleton and isolated teeth of KNM-ER 803 among other Koobi Fora remains (Groves and Mazak, 1975). Recently, this specific name was applied to most early African and Georgian H. erectus in recognition of the less-derived nature of these remains vis à vis conditions in Asian H. erectus (see Wood, 1991a, p. 268; Gabunia et al., 2000a). It should be noted, however, that at least portions of the paratype of H. ergaster (e.g., KNM-ER 1805) are not included in most current conceptions of that taxon. The ''H. ergaster'' question remains famously unresolved (e.g., Stringer, 1984; Tattersall, 1986; Wood, 1991a, 1994; Rightmire, 1998b; Gabunia et al., 2000a; Schwartz and Tattersall, 2000), in no small part because the original diagnosis provided no comparison with the Asian fossil record}}</ref><ref>{{cite doi|10.1537/ase.061203}}</ref> A new debate appeared in 2013 in the paleontological community, with the publication of the [[Dmanisi skull|Dmanisi skull 5]] (D4500).<ref>[http://www.nature.com/news/skull-suggests-three-early-human-species-were-one-1.13972 Skull suggests three early human species were one : Nature News & Comment]</ref> Considering the large morphological variation between all Dmanisi skulls, researchers suggest that many examples of early human ancestors previously classified as ''Homo ergaster'' or ''Homo heidelbergensis'' and even more, ''[[Homo habilis]]'', were actually all '''''Homo erectus'''''.<ref name=dmanisiskull5>{{cite journal |title=A Complete Skull from Dmanisi, Georgia, and the Evolutionary Biology of Early Homo |author=David Lordkipanidze, Marcia S. Ponce de Leòn, Ann Margvelashvili, Yoel Rak, G. Philip Rightmire, Abesalom Vekua, Christoph P. E. Zollikofer |journal=Science |date=18 October 2013 |volume= 342 |issue= 6156 |pages= 326–331 |doi= 10.1126/science.1238484 }}</ref><ref name=National_Geographic>{{cite news |last=Switek |first=Brian |date=17 October 2013 |title= Beautiful Skull Spurs Debate on Human History |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131017-skull-human-origins-dmanisi-georgia-erectus/ |newspaper= National Geographic |accessdate=22 September 2014 }}</ref> ==Origin== [[File:Homo erectus.jpg|thumb|left|''Homo erectus'', [[University of Michigan Museum of Natural History]], Ann Arbor, Michigan]] The first hypothesis is that ''H. erectus'' migrated from [[Africa]] during the [[Early Pleistocene]], possibly as a result of the operation of the [[Sahara Pump Theory|Saharan pump]], around 2.0 million years ago, and it dispersed throughout much of the [[Old World]]. Fossilized remains {{Mya|1.8|1.0|million years old}} have been found in Africa (e.g., [[Lake Turkana]]<ref>{{cite journal|authorlink=Kendrick Frazier|author=Frazier, Kendrick |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/2006-06/leakey.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20090110223159/http://www.csicop.org/si/2006-06/leakey.html|archivedate=2009-01-10|title= Leakey Fights Church Campaign to Downgrade Kenya Museum’s Human Fossils|journal=Skeptical Inquirer magazine |volume =30 |issue=6|date= Nov–Dec 2006}}</ref> and [[Olduvai Gorge]]), [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Indonesia]] (e.g., [[Sangiran]] in [[Central Java]] and [[Trinil]] in [[East Java]]), [[Vietnam]], [[China]] (e.g., [[Shaanxi]]) and [[India]].<ref>{{Cite book | author=Prins, Harald E. L.; Walrath, Dana and McBride, Bunny | title = Evolution and prehistory: the human challenge| publisher = Wadsworth Publishing| year = 2007| page = 162| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=LfYirloa_rUC&pg=PA16| isbn = 978-0-495-38190-7}}</ref> The second hypothesis is that ''H. erectus'' evolved in [[Eurasia]] and then migrated to Africa. The species occupied a [[Caucasus]] site called [[Dmanisi]], in Georgia, from 1.85 million to 1.77 million years ago, at the same time or slightly before the earliest evidence in Africa. Excavations found 73 stone tools for cutting and chopping and 34 bone fragments from unidentified [[Life form|creature]]s.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1073/pnas.1106638108}}</ref><ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_new-discovery-suggests-homo-erectus-originated-from-asia_1552611 New discovery suggests Homo erectus originated from Asia]. Dnaindia.com. 8 June 2011.</ref> ==Discovery and representative fossils== The Dutch anatomist [[Eugène Dubois]], who was especially fascinated by [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]]'s theory of evolution as applied to man, set out to [[Asia]] (the place accepted then, despite Darwin, as the cradle of human evolution – see {{section link|Haeckel|Research}}), to find a human ancestor in 1886. In 1891, his team discovered a human fossil on the island of [[Java]], [[Dutch East Indies]] (now [[Indonesia]]); he described the species as ''Pithecanthropus erectus'' (from the Greek ''πίθηκος'',<ref>''pithecos''</ref> "ape", and ''ἄνθρωπος'',<ref>''anthropos''</ref> "man"), based on a calotte (skullcap) and a femur like that of ''H. sapiens'' found from the bank of the [[Solo River]] at [[Trinil]], in [[East Java]]. (This species is now regarded as ''H. erectus''). The find became known as ''[[Java Man]]''. Thanks to Canadian anatomist [[Davidson Black]]'s (1921) initial description of a lower molar, which was dubbed ''[[Sinanthropus pekinensis]]'',<ref>from ''sino-'', a combining form of the Greek ''Σίνα'', "China", and the Latinate ''pekinensis'', "of Peking"</ref> however, most of the early and spectacular discoveries of this taxon took place at [[Zhoukoudian]] in [[China]]. German anatomist [[Franz Weidenreich]] provided much of the detailed description of this material in several monographs published in the journal ''Palaeontologica Sinica'' (Series D). Nearly all of the original specimens were lost during [[World War II]]; however, authentic Weidenreichian casts do exist at the [[American Museum of Natural History]] in [[New York]] and at the [[Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology]] in [[Beijing]], and are considered to be reliable evidence. Throughout much of the 20th century, anthropologists debated the role of ''H. erectus'' in [[human evolution]]. Early in the century, however, due to discoveries on Java and at Zhoukoudian, it was believed that modern humans first evolved in [[Asia]]. A few naturalists—Charles Darwin most prominent among them—believed that humans' earliest ancestors were African: Darwin pointed out that chimpanzees and gorillas, who are human relatives, live only in Africa.<ref>{{cite book|last=Darwin|first = Charles R.|title=The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex|publisher=John Murray|year=1871|isbn=0-8014-2085-7}}</ref> From the 1950s to 1970s numerous fossil finds from East Africa confirmed this hypothesis, offering evidence that the oldest [[Homininae|hominins]] originated there. It is now believed that ''H. erectus'' is a descendant of earlier genera such as ''[[Ardipithecus]]'' and ''[[Australopithecus]]'', or early ''Homo''-species such as ''[[H. habilis]]'' or ''H. ergaster''. ''H. habilis'' and ''H. erectus'' coexisted for several thousand years, and may represent separate lineages of a common ancestor.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Spoor F, Leakey MG, Gathogo PN, et al. |title=Implications of new early Homo fossils from Ileret, east of Lake Turkana, Kenya |journal=Nature |volume=448 |issue=7154 |pages=688–91 |date=August 2007 |pmid=17687323 |doi=10.1038/nature05986}}</ref> Archaeologist [[John T. Robinson]] and [[Robert Broom]] named ''Telanthropus capensis'' in the 1950s, now thought to belong to ''Homo erectus''.<ref name="Robinson1953">{{cite journal |author=ROBINSON JT |title=The nature of Telanthropus capensis |journal=Nature |volume=171 |issue=4340 |pages=33 |date=January 1953 |pmid=13025468 |doi=10.1038/171033a0}}</ref> Robinson discovered a jaw fragment, SK 45, in September 1949 in [[Swartkrans]], [[South Africa]]. In 1957, Simonetta proposed to re-designate it ''Homo erectus'', and Robinson (1961) agreed.<ref name="Grine2009">{{cite book | title = The First Humans: Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo | author = Frederick E. Grine; John G. Fleagle; Richard E. Leakey | date = 1 Jun 2009 | publisher = Springer | page = 7 | chapter = Chapter 2: ''Homo habilis''—A Premature Discovery: Remember by One of Its Founding Fathers, 42 Years Later}}</ref> [[File:Homo Georgicus IMG 2921.JPG|thumb|Dmanisi skull 3, Fossils skull [[D2700]] and [[D2735]] jaw, two of several found in [[Dmanisi]] in the [[Republic of Georgia|Georgian]] [[Caucasus]]]] The skull of ''Tchadanthropus uxoris'', discovered in 1961 by Yves Coppens in Chad, is the earliest fossil human discovered in the North of Africa.<ref name=Kalb76>{{cite book | last = Kalb| first = Jon E| title =Adventures in the Bone Trade: The Race to Discover Human Ancestors in Ethiopia's Afar Depression| publisher =[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] | year = 2001 | page = 76| isbn =0-387-98742-8 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=SiWispLhG1UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Adventures+Bone+Trade#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=2 December 2010}}</ref> This fossil "had been so eroded by wind-blown sand that it mimicked the appearance of an australopith, a primitive type of hominid".<ref name=Wood2002>{{Cite journal |date=11 July 2002 |author=Wood, Bernard |title=Palaeoanthropology: Hominid revelations from Chad | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume= 418 |issue= 6894 |pages= 133–135 |doi= 10.1038/418133a | url=http://www.fhuce.edu.uy/antrop/cursos/abiol/links/Artics/wood%202002.pdf | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20110717090936/http://www.fhuce.edu.uy/antrop/cursos/abiol/links/Artics/wood%202002.pdf | archivedate=2011-07-17 |accessdate=2 December 2010}}</ref> Though some first considered it to be a specimen of ''H. habilis'',<ref name=Cornevin>{{cite book | last = Cornevin| first = Robert| title =Histoire de l'Afrique | publisher =Payotte | year = 1967| page = 440 | isbn = 2-228-11470-7}}</ref> it is no longer considered to be a valid taxon, and scholars rather consider it to represent ''H. erectus''.<ref name=Kalb76/><ref>{{cite web | title = Mikko's Phylogeny Archive | url = http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/Metazoa/Deuterostoma/Chordata/Synapsida/Eutheria/Primates/Hominoidea/Homo_erectus.htm | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070106024346/http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/Metazoa/Deuterostoma/Chordata/Synapsida/Eutheria/Primates/Hominoidea/Homo_erectus.htm | archivedate = 2007-01-06 | work=Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki}}</ref> ===''Homo erectus georgicus''=== '''''Homo erectus georgicus''''' is the subspecies name sometimes used to describe fossil skulls and jaws found in [[Dmanisi]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]. Although first proposed as a separate species, it is now classified within ''H. erectus''.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.1072953 |pmid=12098694 |year=2002 |author=Vekua A, Lordkipanidze D, Rightmire GP, Agusti J, Ferring R, Maisuradze G, Mouskhelishvili A, Nioradze M, De Leon MP, Tappen M, Tvalchrelidze M, Zollikofer C|title=A new skull of early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia |volume=297 |issue=5578 |pages=85–9 |journal=Science}}</ref><ref name=nature06134>{{cite doi|10.1038/nature06134}}</ref><ref>{{cite pmid|15815618}}</ref> 5 skulls were discovered between 1991 and 2005 ([[D2700]], [[Dmanisi skull 4|D3444]] and a complete skull in 2005 the [[Dmanisi skull|D4500]]). The fossils are about 1.8 million years old. The remains were first discovered in 1991 by Georgian scientist, [[David Lordkipanidze]], accompanied by an international team that unearthed the remains. There have been many proposed explanations of the dispersion of ''H. erectus georgicus''.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.04.012|date=June 2011 |last1=Augusti |first1=Jordi |last2=Lordkipanidze |first2=David |title=How "African" was the early human dispersal out of Africa?|volume=30|issue=11–12 |pages=1338–1342 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews}}</ref> Implements and animal bones were found alongside the ancient human remains. At first, scientists thought they had found mandibles and [[Human skull|skull]]s belonging to ''[[Homo ergaster]]'', but size differences led them to name a new species, ''Homo georgicus'', which was posited as a descendant of ''Homo habilis'' and ancestor of Asian ''Homo erectus''. This classification was not upheld, and the fossil is now considered a divergent subgroup of ''Homo erectus'', sometimes called ''Homo erectus georgicus''.<ref>{{cite journal|url=ftp://ftp.soest.hawaii.edu/engels/Stanley/Textbook_update/Science_300/Gibbons-03b.pdf |title=A Shrunken Head for African ''Homo erectus'' |doi=10.1126/science.300.5621.893a|year=2003|last1=Gibbons|first1=A.|journal=Science|volume=300|issue=5621|pages=893a }}</ref><ref>{{cite doi|10.1146/annurev.earth.031208.100202}}</ref><ref>{{cite pmid|16271745}}</ref><ref>{{cite pmid|10807567}}</ref> [[File:Dmanissi, Georgia ; Homo georgicus 1999 discovery map.png|thumb|Location of [[Dmanisi]] discovery, Georgia]] [[File:Dmanisi skull 5 or D4500 copyright free draw.jpg|thumb|Dmanisi [[Dmanisi skull|Skull 5]](D4500)]] At around {{Convert|600|cc}} brain volume, the [[skull D2700]] is dated to {{Mya|1.77|million years old}} and in good condition, offering insights in comparison to the modern human cranial morphology. At the time of discovery the cranium was the smallest and most primitive [[Hominina]] skull from the pleistocene period. Now its brother [[Dmanisi skull|Skull 5]] published much later, (2013) has this honor. Subsequently, four fossil skeletons were found, showing a species primitive in its skull and upper body but with relatively advanced spines and lower limbs, providing greater mobility. They are now thought not to be a separate species, but to represent a stage soon after the transition between ''[[Homo habilis]]'' and ''H. erectus'', and have been dated at 1.8 million years before the present, according to the leader of the project, David Lordkipanidze.<ref name=nature06134/><ref>{{cite news |first=John Noble |last=Wilford |authorlink=John Noble Wilford |date=19 September 2007 |title=New Fossils Offer Glimpse of Human Ancestors |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/science/19cnd-fossil.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=9 September 2009}}</ref> The assemblage includes one of the largest Pleistocene ''Homo'' mandibles (D2600), one of the smallest Lower Pleistocene mandibles (D211), a nearly complete sub‐adult (D2735), and a completely [[edentulous|toothless]] specimen [[Dmanisi skull 4|D3444/D3900]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.02.003 |pmid=18394678 |year=2008 |last1=Rightmire |first1=G. Philip |last2=Van Arsdale |first2=Adam P. |last3=Lordkipanidze |first3=David |authorlink3=David Lordkipanidze |title=Variation in the mandibles from Dmanisi, Georgia |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=904–8 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution}}</ref> A [[Dmanisi skull|further skull]] name [[Dmanisi skull|D4500]] or simply [[Dmanisi skull|Skull 5]], the only intact skull ever found of an early Pleistocene hominin, was described in 2013.<ref name=dmanisiskull5>{{cite journal |title=A Complete Skull from Dmanisi, Georgia, and the Evolutionary Biology of Early Homo |author=David Lordkipanidze1, Marcia S. Ponce de Lean, Ann Margvelashvili, Yoel Rak, G. Philip Rightmire, Abesalom Vekua, Christoph P. E. Zollikofer |journal=Science |date=18 October 2013 |volume= 342 |issue= 6156 |pages= 326–331 |doi= 10.1126/science.1238484 }}</ref> At just under 546 cubic centimetres, the skull had the smallest braincase of all the individuals found at the site. The variations in these skulls prompted the researchers to examine variations in modern human and chimpanzees. The researchers found that while the Dmanisi skulls looked different from one another, the variations were no greater than those seen among modern people and among chimpanzees. These variations therefore suggest that previous fossil finds thought to be of different species on the basis of their variations, such as ''[[Homo rudolfensis]]'', ''[[Homo gautengensis]]'', ''H. ergaster'' and potentially ''H. habilis'', may be alternatively interpreted as belonging to the same lineage as ''Homo erectus''.<ref>{{cite news |title= Skull of Homo erectus throws story of human evolution into disarray |url= http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/oct/17/skull-homo-erectus-human-evolution |author=Ian Sample |work= The Guardian |date= 17 October 2013 }}</ref> ==Classification and special distinction== [[File:Homo_erectus.JPG|thumb|A reconstruction of ''Homo erectus'' (reconstruction shown in Westfälisches Landesmuseum, Herne, Germany, in a 2006 exhibition)]] Many [[paleoanthropologist]]s still debate the definition of ''H. erectus'' and ''H. ergaster'' as separate species. Several scholars suggested dropping the taxon ''Homo erectus'' and instead equating ''H. erectus'' with the archaic ''H. sapiens''.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Weidenreich, F. |year=1943|title=The "Neanderthal Man" and the ancestors of "Homo Sapiens"|jstor=662864|doi=10.1525/aa.1943.45.1.02a00040 |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=45|pages=39–48}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Jelinek, J. |year=1978|title= Homo erectus or Homo sapiens? |journal=Rec. Adv. Primatol.|volume=3|pages=419–429}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Wolpoff, M.H. |year=1984|title= Evolution of Homo erectus: The question of stasis|jstor=2400612|journal= Palaeobiology |volume=10|issue=4|pages=389–406}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=681178|author=Frayer, D.W., Wolpoff, M.H.; Thorne, A.G.; Smith, F.H. and Pope, G.G. |year=1993|title= Theories of modern human origins: The paleontological test|journal=American Anthropologist|volume=95|pages=14–50|doi=10.1525/aa.1993.95.1.02a00020}}</ref> Some call ''H. ergaster'' the direct African ancestor of ''H. erectus'', proposing that it emigrated out of Africa and immigrated to [[Asia]], branching into a distinct species.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tattersall|first=Ian and Jeffrey Schwartz|title=Extinct Humans|year=2001|isbn=0-8133-3482-9|place=Boulder, Colorado|publisher= Westview/Perseus}}</ref> Most dispense with the species name ''ergaster'', making no distinction between such fossils as the [[Turkana Boy]] and [[Peking Man]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Although "''Homo ergaster''" has gained some acceptance as a valid taxon, these two are still usually defined as distinct African and Asian populations of the larger species ''H. erectus''. While some have argued (and insisted) that [[Ernst Mayr]]'s [[Biological species concept|biological species definition]] cannot be used here to test the above hypotheses, one can, however, examine the amount of morphological cranial variation within known ''H. erectus'' / ''H. ergaster'' specimens, and compare it to what one sees in disparate extant groups of primates with similar geographical distribution or close evolutionary relationship. Thus, if the amount of variation between ''H. erectus'' and ''H. ergaster'' is greater than what one sees within a species of, say, [[macaque]]s, then ''H. erectus'' and ''H. ergaster'' may be considered two different species. The extant model of comparison is very important, and selecting appropriate species can be difficult. (For example, the morphological variation among the global population of ''H. sapiens'' is small,<ref name="Java Man"/> and our own special diversity may not be a trustworthy comparison). As an example, fossils found in [[Dmanisi]] in the [[Republic of Georgia]] were originally described as belonging to another closely related species, ''Homo georgicus'', but subsequent examples showed their variation to be within the range of ''Homo erectus'', and they are now classified as ''Homo erectus georgicus''. ''H. erectus'' had a [[Human cranium|cranial]] capacity greater than that of ''[[Homo habilis]]'' (although the Dmanisi specimens have distinctively small crania): the earliest remains show a cranial capacity of 850&nbsp;cm³, while the latest Javan specimens measure up to 1100&nbsp;cm³,<ref name="Java Man">Swisher, Carl Celso III; Curtis, Garniss H. and Lewin, Roger (2002) ''Java Man'', Abacus, ISBN 0-349-11473-0.</ref> overlapping that of ''H. sapiens''.; the [[frontal bone]] is less sloped and the dental arcade smaller than the [[australopithecine]]s'; the face is more orthognatic (less protrusive) than either the australopithecines' or ''H. habilis'''s, with large brow-ridges and less prominent [[zygoma]]ta (cheekbones). These early hominins stood about {{height|m=1.79|precision=0}},<ref name = Bryson>{{cite book |author=Bryson, Bill |title=A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition |publisher=Doubleday Canada |location=Toronto |year= 2005|isbn=0-385-66198-3}}</ref> (Only 17 percent of modern male humans are taller)<ref name = Khanna>{{cite book |author=Khanna, Dev Raj |title=Human Evolution |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |year= 2004|page=195 |isbn=978-8171417759|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=aTxkAcdYgu0C&pg=PA195 |quote=African H. erectus, with a mean stature of 170 cm, would be in the tallest 17 percent of modern populations, even if we make comparisons only with males |accessdate=30 March 2013 }}</ref> and were extraordinarily slender, with long arms and legs.<ref name = Roylance>{{cite news |title=A Kid Tall For His Age |author=Roylance, Frank D. Roylance |url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1994-02-06/news/1994037060_1_erectus-skeleton-neanderthal |newspaper=Baltimore Sun |quote=Clearly this population of early people were tall, and fit. Their long bones were very strong. We believe their activity level was much higher than we can imagine today. We can hardly find Olympic athletes with the stature of these people |date=6 February 1994 |accessdate=30 March 2013}}</ref> The [[sexual dimorphism]] between males and females was slightly greater than seen in ''H. sapiens'', with males being about 25% larger than females, but less than that of the earlier ''[[Australopithecus]]'' genus. The discovery of the skeleton KNM-WT 15000, "[[Turkana boy]]" (''Homo ergaster''), made near [[Lake Turkana]], [[Kenya]] by [[Richard Leakey]] and [[Kamoya Kimeu]] in 1984, is one of the most complete hominid-skeletons discovered, and has contributed greatly to the interpretation of human physiological evolution. For the remainder of this article, the name ''Homo erectus'' will be used to describe a distinct species for the convenience of continuity. ==Use of tools== ''Homo ergaster '' used more diverse and sophisticated [[stone tool]]s than its predecessors. ''H. erectus'', however, used comparatively primitive tools. This is possibly because ''H. ergaster'' first used tools of [[Oldowan]] technology and later progressed to the [[Acheulean]]<ref>{{cite book | author = Beck, Roger B.; Black, Linda; Krieger, Larry S.; Naylor, Phillip C. and Shabaka, Dahia Ibo | title = World History: Patterns of Interaction | publisher = McDougal Littell | year = 1999 | location = Evanston, IL |isbn = 0-395-87274-X }}</ref> while the use of Acheulean tools began ca. 1.8 million years ago,<ref>The Earth Institute. (2011-09-01). [http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2839 Humans Shaped Stone Axes 1.8 Million Years Ago, Study Says]. Columbia University. Accessed 5 January 2012.</ref> the line of ''H. erectus'' diverged some 200,000 years before the general innovation of Acheulean technology. Thus the Asian migratory descendants of ''H. ergaster'' made no use of any Acheulean technology. In addition, it has been suggested that ''H. erectus'' may have been the first hominid to use rafts to travel over oceans.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Paleoanthropology: Ancient Island Tools Suggest Homo erectus Was a Seafarer | journal = Science | volume = 279 | issue = 5357 | pages = 1635–1637 | date = 13 March 1998 | author = Gibbons, Ann | doi = 10.1126/science.279.5357.1635}}</ref> The oldest recorded stone tool ever to be found in [[Turkey]] reveals that humans passed through the gateway from [[Asia]] to [[Europe]] much earlier than previously thought, approximately 1.2 million years ago.<ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141223084139.htm Oldest stone tool ever found in Turkey discovered] by the University of Royal Holloway London and published in ScienceDaily on December 23, 2014</ref> ===Use of fire=== [[East Africa]]n sites, such as [[Chesowanja]] near [[Lake Baringo]], [[Koobi Fora]], and [[Olorgesailie]] in [[Kenya]], show some possible evidence that fire was utilized by early humans. At Chesowanja, archaeologists found red clay [[sherd]]s dated to be 1.42 Mya.<ref name="James">{{cite journal|last=James|first=Steven R.|date=February 1989|title=Hominid Use of Fire in the Lower and Middle Pleistocene: A Review of the Evidence|journal=Current Anthropology |url=http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/archaeology/Publications/Hearths/Hominid%20Use%20of%20Fire%20in%20the%20Lower%20and%20Middle%20Pleistocene.pdf |volume=30|issue=1|pages=1–26|publisher=University of Chicago Press|doi=10.1086/203705 |accessdate=2012-04-04}}</ref> Reheating on these shards show that the clay must have been heated to {{convert|400|C}} to harden. At Koobi Fora, two sites show evidence of control of fire by ''Homo erectus'' at 1.5&nbsp;Mya, with reddening of sediment that can only come from heating at {{convert|200|-|400|C|F|abbr=on}}.<ref name="James" /> A "hearth-like depression" exists at a site in Olorgesailie, Kenya. Some microscopic [[charcoal]] was found, but it could have resulted from a natural brush fire.<ref name="James"/> In [[Gadeb]], [[Ethiopia]], fragments of [[Tuff#Welded tuff|welded tuff]] that appeared to have been burned were found in Locality 8E, but re-firing of the rocks may have occurred due to local volcanic activity.<ref name="James"/> These have been found alongside ''H. erectus''–created [[Acheulean]] artifacts. In the [[Middle Awash]] River Valley, cone-shaped depressions of reddish clay were found that could have been created by temperatures of {{convert|200|C|abbr=on}}. These features are thought to be burned tree stumps such that they would have fire away from their habitation site.<ref name="James"/> Burnt stones are also found in the Awash Valley, but volcanic welded tuff is also found in the area. A site at [[Bnot Ya'akov Bridge]], [[Israel]] has been claimed to show that ''H. erectus'' or ''[[Homo ergaster|H. ergaster]]'' obtained control of fire between 790,000 and 690,000&nbsp;BP.<ref name="Rincon">{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Rincon|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3670017.stm | title=Early human fire skills revealed|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=29 April 2004|accessdate=2007-11-12}}</ref> To date this has been the most widely accepted claim, although recent reanalysis of burnt bone fragments and plant ashes from the [[Wonderwerk Cave]] have sparked claims of evidence supporting human control of fire by 1 Ma.<ref name=Pringle2012>{{citation|date=2 April 2012 |author=Pringle, Heather |title=Quest for Fire Began Earlier Than Thought |journal=ScienceNOW |publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] |url=http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/04/quest-for-fire-began-earlier-tha.html?ref=em |accessdate=2012-04-04}}</ref> ===Cooking === There is no archaeological evidence that ''Homo erectus'' cooked their food. The idea has been suggested,<ref>{{cite book|last=Wrangham|first=Richard|title=Catching Fire|year=2009|publisher=Basic Books}}</ref> but is not generally accepted.<ref>{{cite book|title=Female Hierarchies|year=1972|publisher=Beresford Book Service|pages=220–229|author=Adrienne Zihlman|author2=Nancy Tanner|editor=Lionel Tiger, Heather T. Fowler|chapter=Gathering and the Hominid Adaptation}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Fedigan|first=Linda Marie|title=The Changing Role of Women in Models of Human Evolution|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|year=1986|volume=15|pages=25–66|doi=10.1146/annurev.an.15.100186.000325}}</ref> It is known, from the study of [[Use-wear analysis|microwear]] on [[handaxes]], that meat formed a major part of the erectus diet. Meat is digestible without cooking, and is sometimes eaten raw by modern humans. Nuts, berries, fruits are also edible without cooking. Thus cooking cannot be presumed: the issue rests on clear evidence from archaeological sites, which at present does not exist. ==Sociality== ''Homo erectus'' was probably the first hominid to live in a [[hunter-gatherer]] society, and anthropologists such as [[Richard Leakey]] believe that it was socially more like modern humans than the more ''[[Australopithecus]]''-like species before it. Likewise, increased cranial capacity generally coincides with the more sophisticated tools occasionally found with fossils. The discovery of [[Turkana boy]] (''H. ergaster'') in 1984 gave evidence that, despite its ''Homo-sapiens''-like anatomy, it may not have been capable of producing sounds comparable to modern human [[Speech communication|speech]]. ''Ergaster'' likely communicated in a [[Origin of language#Early Homo|proto-language]] lacking the fully developed structure of modern human language but more developed than the non-verbal communication used by [[chimpanzee]]s.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ruhlen, Merritt|title=The origin of language: tracing the evolution of the mother tongue |publisher=Wiley |location=New York |year=1994 |isbn=0-471-58426-6}}</ref> Such inference has been challenged by the discovery of ''H. ergaster''/''erectus'' [[vertebra]]e some 150,000 years older than the Turkana Boy in Dmanisi, Georgia, that reflect vocal capabilities within the range of ''H. sapiens''.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/4019325|title=Evolutionary back story: Thoroughly modern spine supported human ancestor|author=Bower, Bruce|journal=Science News|volume =169|issue =18| pages =275–276|date= 3 May 2006 }}</ref> Both brain size and the presence of the [[Broca's area]] also support the use of articulate language.<ref>{{cite book|title=Origins Reconsidered|author=Richard Leakey|year=1992|publisher=Anchor|pages=257–258|isbn=0-385-41264-9}}</ref> ''H. erectus'' was probably the first hominid to live in small, familiar [[band societies|band-societies]] similar to modern hunter-gatherer band-societies.<ref>{{cite book |author=Boehm, Christopher |title=Hierarchy in the forest: the evolution of egalitarian behavior |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1999|isbn=0-674-39031-8|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ljxS8gUlgqgC&pg=PA198 |page=198}}</ref> ''H. erectus''/''ergaster'' is thought to be the first [[hominid]] to hunt in coordinated groups, use complex tools, and care for infirm or weak companions. There has been some debate as to whether ''H. erectus'', and possibly the later [[Homo neanderthalensis|Neanderthal]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061030-neanderthals.html |title= Neanderthals, Modern Humans Interbred, Bone Study Suggests |work= National Geographic News |author= Owen, James |date=30 October 2006 |accessdate=2008-01-14 }}</ref> may have interbred with [[anatomically modern human]]s in [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]. ''See'' [[Neanderthal admixture theory]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=lovers-not-fighters |title= Lovers not fighters|work= Scientific American |author= Whitfield, John |date= 18 February 2008}}</ref> ==Descendants and subspecies== ''Homo erectus'' remains one of the most long-lived species of ''Homo'', having existed over a million years, while ''Homo sapiens'' so far has existed for 200,000 years. If considering ''Homo erectus'' in its strict sense as only referring to the Asian variety, no consensus has been reached as to whether it is ancestral to ''H. sapiens'' or any later hominids. [[File:Homo erectus adult female - head model - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - 2012-05-17.jpg|thumb|A model of the face of an adult female ''Homo erectus''. Reconstruction by [[John Gurche]], [[Smithsonian Museum of Natural History]], based on [[KNM ER 3733]] and [[KNM ER 992|992]].]] *'''''Homo erectus''''' ** ''[[Homo erectus erectus]]'' ([[Java Man]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus yuanmouensis]]'' ([[Yuanmou Man]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus lantianensis]]'' ([[Lantian Man]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus nankinensis]]'' ([[Nanjing Man]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus pekinensis]]'' ([[Peking Man]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus palaeojavanicus]]'' ([[Meganthropus]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus soloensis]]'' ([[Solo Man]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus tautavelensis]]'' ([[Tautavel Man]]) ** ''[[Homo erectus georgicus]]'' '''Related species''' * ''[[Homo ergaster]]'' * ''[[Homo floresiensis]]'' * ''[[Homo antecessor]]'' * ''[[Homo heidelbergensis]]'' * ''[[Human|Homo sapiens]]'' ** ''[[Homo sapiens idaltu]]'' ** ''[[Homo sapiens sapiens]]'' * ''[[Neanderthal|Homo neanderthalensis]]'' * ''[[Homo rhodesiensis]]'' * ''[[Homo cepranensis]]'' '''Previously referred taxa''' * ''[[Wushan Man|Homo erectus wushanensis]]'' (actually a stem-[[orangutan]]) The discovery of ''[[Homo floresiensis]]'' in 2003 and of the recentness of its extinction has raised the possibility that numerous descendant species of ''Homo erectus'' may have existed in the islands of [[Southeast Asia]] and await fossil discovery (see ''[[Orang Pendek]]''). ''Homo erectus soloensis'', who was long assumed to have lived on Java at least as late as about 50,000 years ago but was re-dated in 2011 to a much higher age,<ref>[http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Finding_showing_human_ancestor_older_than_previously_thought_offers_new_insights_into_evolution_999.html Finding showing human ancestor older than previously thought offers new insights into evolution], 5 July 2011.</ref> would be one of them. Some scientists are skeptical of the claim that ''Homo floresiensis'' is a descendant of ''Homo erectus''. One explanation holds that the fossils are of a modern human with [[microcephaly]], while another one holds that they are from a group of [[pygmies]]. ==Individual fossils== [[File:Pithecanthropus-erectus.jpg|thumb|Original fossils of ''Pithecanthropus erectus'' (now ''Homo erectus'') found in [[Java]] in 1891.]] Some of the major ''Homo erectus'' fossils: * Indonesia (island of Java): [[Trinil 2]] ([[holotype]]), [[Sangiran]] collection, Sambungmachan collection,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Delson E, Harvati K, Reddy D, et al. |title=The Sambungmacan 3 Homo erectus calvaria: a comparative morphometric and morphological analysis |journal=The Anatomical Record |volume=262 |issue=4 |pages=380–97 |date=April 2001 |pmid=11275970 |doi=10.1002/ar.1048}}</ref> [[Solo Man|Ngandong collection]] * China ("[[Peking Man]]"): Lantian (Gongwangling and Chenjiawo), Yunxian, [[Zhoukoudian]], Nanjing, [[Hexian]] * Kenya: [[KNM ER 3883]], [[KNM ER 3733]] * Vértesszőlős, Hungary "[[Samu (Homo erectus)|Samu]]" * Vietnam: Northern, Tham Khuyen,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ciochon R, Long VT, Larick R, et al. |title=Dated co-occurrence of Homo erectus and Gigantopithecus from Tham Khuyen Cave, Vietnam |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=93 |issue=7 |pages=3016–20 |date=April 1996 |pmid=8610161 |pmc=39753 |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=8610161 |doi=10.1073/pnas.93.7.3016}}</ref> Hoa Binh{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} * Republic of Georgia: Dmanisi collection ("[[Homo erectus georgicus]]") * Ethiopia: [[Daka skull|Daka calvaria]] * Eritrea: Buia cranium (possibly H. ergaster)<ref>http://archive.archaeology.org/9809/newsbriefs/eritrea.html{{full|date=October 2014}}</ref> * [[Denizli Province]], Turkey: Kocabas fossil<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kappelman J, Alçiçek MC, Kazanci N, Schultz M, Ozkul M, Sen S |title=First Homo erectus from Turkey and implications for migrations into temperate Eurasia |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=135 |issue=1 |pages=110–6 |date=January 2008 |pmid=18067194 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20739}}</ref> == Gallery == {{Gallery | lines = 3 | align = center |File:Homo erectus tautavelensis.jpg|''[[Homo erectus tautavelensis]]'' skull. |File:Tautavel UK 2.JPG|Replica of lower jaws of ''Homo erectus'' from [[Tautavel]], [[France]]. |File:Calvaria Sangiran II (A).jpg|[[Calvaria (skull)|Calvaria]] "[[Sangiran]] II" Original, Collection [[Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald|Koenigswald]], [[Senckenberg Museum]]. |File:Daka Homo erectus.jpg|A reconstruction based on evidence from the [[Daka skull|Daka]] Member, Ethiopia. }} ==See also== * ''[[Homo ergaster]]'' * [[Java Man]] * [[Kozarnika]] '''General:''' * [[List of fossil sites]] ''(with link directory)'' * [[List of human evolution fossils]] ''(with images)'' ==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}} ==External links== *[http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/origins/homo_erectus.php Homo erectus] Origins - Exploring the Fossil Record - Bradshaw Foundation {{Commons category|Homo erectus}} *[http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/homoerectus.htm Archaeology Info] *[http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-erectus Homo erectus] – The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6937476.stm Possible co-existence with Homo Habilis] – BBC News *[[John D. Hawks|John Hawks]]'s [http://johnhawks.net/weblog/fossils/middle/kocabas/kappelman_2007_kocabas_tuberculosis.html discussion of the Kocabas fossil] *[http://www-personal.une.edu.au/~pbrown3/palaeo.html Peter Brown's Australian and Asian Palaeoanthropology] {{Human Evolution}} {{Prehistoric technology}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Homo Erectus}} [[Category:Early species of Homo]] [[Category:Pliocene primates]] [[Category:Pleistocene primates]] [[Category:Prehistoric mammals of Africa]] [[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1892]] [[Category:Prehistoric Indonesia]] [[Category:Prehistoric China]] [[Category:Prehistoric India]] [[Category:Prehistoric Kenya]] [[Category:Prehistoric Tanzania]] [[Category:Prehistoric Hungary]] [[Category:Prehistoric Vietnam]] [[Category:Prehistoric Georgia (country)]] [[Category:Prehistoric Ethiopia]] [[Category:Prehistoric Eritrea]] [[Category:Prehistoric Anatolia]] [[Category:Prehistoric Spain]] [[Category:Prehistoric mammals of Asia]] [[Category:Prehistoric mammals of Europe]]'