Homo Erectus Shows the First Clear Evidence of Symbolic Use of Art

Homo erectus

Discovery Appointment: 1891

Where Lived: Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Southwest asia (Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia); East asia (China and Indonesia)

When Lived: Between near i.89 meg and 110,000 years ago

Height: Ranges from four ft 9 in - 6 ft 1 in (145 - 185 cm)

Weight: Ranges from 88 - 150 lbs (40 - 68 kg)

Overview:

Early African Human being erectus fossils (sometimes calledHuman ergaster) are the oldest known early humans to have possessed modern human-like body proportions with relatively elongated legs and shorter arms compared to the size of the torso. These features are considered adaptations to a life lived on the ground, indicating the loss of earlier tree-climbing adaptations, with the ability to walk and perchance run long distances. Compared with before fossil humans, note the expanded braincase relative to the size of the face. The most complete fossil private of this species is known equally the 'Turkana Boy' – a well-preserved skeleton (though minus almost all the hand and foot bones), dated around ane.half dozen one thousand thousand years old.  Microscopic study of the teeth indicates that he grew up at a growth rate similar to that of a great ape. There is fossil evidence that this species cared for old and weak individuals. The appearance of Man erectus in the fossil record is often associated with the earliest handaxes, the first major innovation in rock tool technology.

Early fossil discoveries from Java (beginning in the 1890s) and China ('Peking Human being', commencement in the 1920s) comprise the classic examples of this species. Generally considered to have been the first species to have expanded beyond Africa, Homo erectus is considered a highly variable species, spread over two continents (it's non certain whether it reached Europe), and possibly the longest lived early human species - about nine times as long as our ain species, Homo sapiens, has been effectually!

History of Discovery:

Eugène Dubois, a Dutch surgeon, found the get-go Human erectus individual (Trinil 2) in Indonesia in 1891. In 1894, Dubois named the speciesPithecanthropus erectus, or 'cock ape-man.' At that time, Pithecanthropus (later on changed to Homo) erectus was the most primitive and smallest-brained of all known early on human species; no early human fossils had fifty-fifty been discovered in Africa notwithstanding.

How They Survived:

The tall bodies and large brains of Homo erectus individuals required a lot of energy on a regular basis to part. Eating meat and other types of protein that could be apace digested made it possible to absorb nutrients with a shorter digestive tract, making more energy available faster. There is likewise speculation that honey and cloak-and-dagger tubers may have been significant food sources for Homo erectus.

Soon after we see bear witness in the fossil tape of the primeval Homo erectusfossils (by about ane.9 million years ago), we see testify in the archeological record for the first major innovation in rock tool applied science (by about i.76 million years ago). Known as the Acheulean stone tool industry, information technology consisted of the creation of large cutting tools like handaxes and cleavers. Increased reliance on a broader set of tools may have helped Man erectus survive during changing climates.

The primeval testify of hearths (campfires) occur during the time range ofHomo erectus. While we have evidence that hearths were used for cooking (and probably sharing) nutrient, they are likely to have been places for social interaction, and too used for warmth and to keep away large predators.

Evolutionary Tree Information:

Some scientists distinguish between the African (Homo ergaster) and Asian (Homo erectus sensu stricto) fossils of this taxon, while others lump them together asHuman erectus sensu lato.  In either example, there is general agreement that it descended from an earlier species of Homo (e.thou., Human being habilis) and represents one of the widest dispersals of early humans in our evolutionary history.  Information technology is likely that singled-out populations of Homo erectus sensu lato led to the emergence of later hominin species, such as Homo heidelbergensis, and ultimately to our own species, Homo sapiens.

At the beginning of its time range, around 1.9 Mya, H. erectus coexisted in East Africa with several other early on human species including Homo rudolfensis, Human habilis, and Paranthropus boisei. Sometimes they were even found at the same fossil sites. At the terminate of its time range, effectually 143,000 years ago, it coexisted with Homo sapiens and possibly Human being floresiensis in Republic of indonesia.

Questions:

We don't know everything about our early ancestors—but nosotros keep learning more! Paleoanthropologists are constantly in the field, excavating new areas, using groundbreaking engineering, and continually filling in some of the gaps about our agreement of homo evolution.

Below are some of the nevertheless unanswered questions about Homo erectus that may be answered with future discoveries:

1. Was Homo erectus the direct ancestor of Human sapiens, our own species?
2. Data propose that increasing trunk size, greater reliance on animal nutrient resources, and increased range size were part of a web of factors that facilitated the initial early on dispersal of H. erectus from Africa. Was i of these factors more important than the others?
3. Are the fossils from earlier time periods in East Africa, and from Georgia, all part of a single species (Homo erectus), regionally variable in size and shape? Or are there really several species of early human represented by what we are now calling Homo erectus?
4. How well did Man erectus principal the control of fire and how widespread was burn used? What does this say about possible dietary shifts in this species?
5. Did Homo erectus grow up in a more human being-like design and rate, or a more ape-similar one?  Was Homo erectus the first early on human species to feel an adolescent growth spurt?

References:

Commencement paper:

Dubois, Due east.,. 1894. Pithecanthropus erectus: eine menschenaehnlich Uebergangsform aus Java. Batavia: Landsdrukerei.

Other recommended readings:

Antón, Due south.C., 2003. Natural history of Human erectus. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 46, 126–170.

Le Gros Clark W.E., 1964. The fossil bear witness for man development, second ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Leonard, W.R., Robertson, M.L., 1997. Comparative primate energetics and hominid evolution. American Journal of Concrete Anthropology 102, 265–281.

Mayr, E., 1950. Taxonomic categories of fossil hominids. Common cold Leap Harbor Symp Quant Biol 25, 109–118.

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Source: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-erectus

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