Homo Erectus Species (~2.0 MYA to ~108 KYA)

A Homo Erectus Species (~2.0 MYA to ~108 KYA) is a hominin species.

• AKA: Upright Man, Homo erectus, Java Man, Peking Man, Pithecanthropus erectus, Sinanthropus pekinensis.
• Context:
  • It can typically exhibit Obligate Bipedalism with human-like body proportions including shorter arms and longer legs.
  • It can typically display Cranial Capacity ranging from 546 cc to 1251 cc, showing brain size increase over time.
  • It can typically manufacture Lower Paleolithic Tools including Acheulean handaxes and Oldowan choppers.
  • It can typically occupy Diverse Habitats from African savannas to Asian tropical forests and temperate grasslands.
  • It can typically show Homo Erectus Regional Variation with distinct morphological differences between populations.
  • ...
  • It can often control Fire Use for cooking, warmth, and predator deterrence (especially at Zhoukoudian).
  • It can often hunt Large Game Animals and process bone marrow using stone tools.
  • It can often cross Water Barriers, possibly using primitive watercraft to reach islands like Flores.
  • It can often survive in Glacial Periods through behavioral adaptations and southern migrations.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Gracile Homo Erectus to being a Robust Homo Erectus, depending on its regional adaptation.
  • It can range from being an Early Homo Erectus to being a Late Homo Erectus, depending on its temporal period.
  • It can range from being a Small-Brained Homo Erectus to being a Large-Brained Homo Erectus, depending on its evolutionary stage.
  • ...
  • It can be classified into subspecies including H. e. erectus, H. e. pekinensis, H. e. soloensis, H. e. georgicus, and H. e. ergaster.
  • It can persist as Relict Populations in Southeast Asia while being replaced elsewhere by archaic Homo sapiens.
  • It can contribute to debates about Multiregional Evolution versus Out of Africa models of human origins.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • African Homo Erectus, such as:
    • Homo ergaster (sometimes considered same species), including:
      • KNM-ER 3733 (~1.75 MYA) from Koobi Fora, Kenya.
      • Turkana Boy (KNM-WT 15000) (~1.6 MYA), showing adolescent development.
      • Drimolen DNH 143 (~2.04 MYA), the oldest known H. erectus skull.
  • Asian Homo Erectus, such as:
    • Indonesian Homo Erectus, such as:
      • Java Man from Trinil (~700 KYA to 1.5 MYA), discovered by Eugène Dubois.
      • Sangiran Homo Erectus (~1.6 MYA), with multiple fossil specimens.
      • Ngandong Homo Erectus (~117-108 KYA), the last known H. erectus population.
      • Sambungmacan Homo Erectus, showing modern-like cranial base flexion.
    • Chinese Homo Erectus, such as:
      • Peking Man from Zhoukoudian (~800-230 KYA), with evidence of fire use.
      • Hexian Homo Erectus (~400 KYA), showing robust dentognathic morphology.
      • Nanjing Homo Erectus, from eastern China.
  • Western Asian Homo Erectus, such as:
    • Georgian Homo Erectus (H. e. georgicus), such as:
      • Dmanisi Skull 5 (~1.8 MYA), showing morphological variation.
      • Dmanisi Hominins, representing early Out of Africa migration.
  • South Asian Homo Erectus, such as:
    • Narmada Human (~250-50 KYA) from India, showing transitional features.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Homo Sapiens (Human) Species (300Kya -), which has larger brain, chin, and symbolic behavior.
  • Homo Habilis, which preceded H. erectus with smaller body and primitive tools.
  • Homo Heidelbergensis, which may have evolved from H. erectus with larger brain capacity.
  • Homo Neanderthalensis, a sister species with cold adaptations.
  • Homo Floresiensis, possibly descended from H. erectus but showing island dwarfism.
• See: Human Evolution, Pleistocene Epoch, Stone Tool Technology, Acheulean Industry, Fire Control, Hominin Migration, Java, Indonesia, Zhoukoudian, China, Dmanisi, Georgia, Eugène Dubois, Franz Weidenreich, Davidson Black, Out of Africa Theory, Multiregional Evolution, Fossil Dating Methods.

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References

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/homo_erectus Retrieved:2017-11-25.
  • 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 geological epoch. Its earliest fossil evidence dates to 1.9 million years ago and extends to 143,000 years ago. It is generally thought that H. erectus originated in Africa and spread from there, migrating throughout Eurasia as far as Georgia, Armenia, India, Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia.

    Debate also continues about the classification, ancestry, and progeny of Homo erectus, especially in relation to Homo ergaster, with two major positions: 1) H. erectus is the same species as H. ergaster, and thereby H. erectus is a direct ancestor of the later hominins including Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens ; or, 2) it is in fact an Asian species distinct from African H. ergaster. There is also another view — an alternative to 1): some paleoanthropologists consider H. ergaster to be a variety, that is, the "African" variety, of H. erectus ; the labels "Homo erectus sensu stricto" (strict sense) for the Asian species and "Homo erectus sensu lato" (broad sense) have been offered for the greater species comprising both Asian and African populations. A new debate appeared in 2013, with the documentation of the Dmanisi skulls. Considering the large morphological variation among all Dmanisi skulls, researchers now suggest that several early human ancestors variously classified, for example, as Homo ergaster, or Homo rudolfensis, and perhaps even Homo habilis, should instead be designated as Homo erectus.

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