Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus (pronounced /ˈhoʊmoʊ ɪˈrɛktəs/), from Latin: Homo meaning "human" and erectus meaning "upright", is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago.
Etymology
The name Homo erectus was given by the Dutch anatomist Eugene Dubois in 1892 who discovered the first fossil of this species in Trinil, Java. The name means "upright man" in Latin, referring to the species' ability to walk upright.
Description
Homo erectus were the first of the hominins to emigrate from Africa, and, from 1.8 to 1.3 million years ago, this species spread through Africa, Asia, and Europe. One population of H. erectus, also sometimes classified as a separate species Homo ergaster, remained in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens. It is believed that these species were the first to use fire and complex tools.
Related Terms
- Hominin: The group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors.
- Pleistocene: The geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the world's most recent period of repeated glaciations.
- Homo sapiens: The species to which all modern human beings belong and the only member of the genus Homo that is not extinct.
- Homo ergaster: An extinct chronospecies of the genus Homo that lived in eastern and southern Africa during the early Pleistocene, between 1.9 million and 1.4 million years ago.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Homo erectus
- Wikipedia's article - Homo erectus
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