Evolution And History

Homo erectus 181

Eurasia. Fossil specimens dating to 1.8 million years old

have been recovered from Dmanisi, Georgia, as well as

from Mojokerto, Indonesia. Many additional specimens

have been found at a variety of sites in Europe and Asia.

Physical Characteristics

of Homo erectus

Characteristic features of H. erectus are best known from the

skull. Cranial capacity in H. erectus ranges from 600 to 1,225

cc (average about 1,000 cc). Thus cranial capacity overlaps

with the nearly 2-million-year-old KNM ER 1470 skull from

unified by a number of shared characteristics. However,

because the fossil evidence also suggests some differences

within and among populations of H. erectus inhabiting

discrete regions of Africa, Asia, and Europe, “splitters”

prefer to divide H. erectus into multiple distinct groups,

limiting the species H. erectus only to the specimens from

Asia. In this taxonomic scheme Homo ergaster is used for

African specimens from the early Pleistocene period that

others describe as early H. erectus (Table 8.1).

Regardless of species designation, it is clear that be-

ginning 1.8 mya these larger-brained members of the ge-

nus Homo not only lived in Africa but also had spread to

Dmanisi

(1.8 mya?

Bilzingsleben (350,000)?

Mauer (500,000)?

Ceprano

(780,000)?

Atapuerca

(800,000)

Ternifine

(800,000)?

Melka Kunturé

(700,000-1.3 mya)?

Zhoukoudian

(500,000)

Lantian

(800,000)?

Hexian

(300,000)

Yuanmou (?)

Longgupo

(1.8 mya)

Jianshi

(300,000)

Olduvai Gorge

(1.4 mya)

Swartkrans

(1.5 mya)?

Konso

Gardula

(1.3-1.9 mya)

Omo

Nariokotome (1.4 mya)

(1.6 mya) Koobi Fora

(1.8 mya)

Salé

(400,000)?

Thomas Quarries

& Sidi Abderrahman

(400,000)?

Boxgrove (500,000)

mya = Million Years Ago

Sambungmachan

(<500,000)?

Mojokerto

(1.8 mya)

Java

Trinil

(900,000)?

Sangiran

(1.6 mya)

Figure 8.3 Sites, with dates, at which Homo erectus remains have been found. The arrows indicate
the proposed routes by which Homo spread from Africa to Eurasia.

Name Explanation

Homo ergaster Some paleoanthropologists feel that the large-brained successors to H. habilis from Africa and Asia are

too different to be placed in the same species. Therefore, they use H. ergaster for the African specimens,

saving H. erectus for the Asian fossils. Some paleoanthropologists place the recent discoveries from

Dmanisi into this taxon.

Homo antecessor This name was coined by “splitters” for the earliest Homo fossils from western Europe discovered in

Spain; antecessor is Latin for “explorer” or “pioneer.”

Homo heidelbergensis Originally coined for the Mauer jaw (Mauer is not far from Heidelberg, Germany), this name is now used

by some as a designation for all European fossils from about 500,000 years ago until the appearance of

the Neandertals.

Table 8.1 Alternate Species Designations for Homo erectus Fossils from Eurasia and Africa