Chapter 12
The Earliest Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo
Erectus and Contemporaries
Introduction
The Life and Times of Homo erectus
 The oldest specimens of H. erectus have been found in
East Africa, they’re dated to approximately 1.8 mya.
 These new East African hominids used the same stone
tools as their ancestors.
 They lived in lakeshores, riversides, forests, and
grasslands.
 They scavenged and ate at least some meat, as evidenced
by cut-marked bone.
Major Homo Erectus Sites and Localities of Other
Contemporaneous Hominids
Major Homo Erectus Sites and Localities of Other
Contemporaneous Hominids
Morphology of Homo erectus
 Brain size is related to overall body size.
 Body size dramatically increased compared to earlier
hominids.
 Cranium had a distinctive shape with a thick cranial bone and
large brow ridges.
 Shovel-shaped incisors suggest an adaptation in huntergatherers.
Morphology and Variation in
Homo erectus
Discoveries in East Africa
 Louis Leakey unearthed a fossil skull at Olduvai.
 An almost complete skull was discovered in east Turkana.
 The most complete H. erectus skeleton ever found was
uncovered in west Turkana.
 In Ethiopia, an abundance of Acheulian tools have been
found as well as a robust mandible dating to 1.3 m.y.a.
East African Homo erectus
 East African specimens have thinner cranial bones than
those found in Asia.
 Some scientists argue that the African and Asian erectus
finds should be classified as separate species.
 The African and Asian populations are separated by more
than one million years.
East Lake Turkana, Kenya
 Nearly complete skull of
Homo erectus from East Lake
Turkana, Kenya; dated to
approximately 1.8 mya.
Nariokotome, Kenya
 WT 15000 from
Nariokotome, Kenya: the
most complete H. erectus
specimen yet found.
Olduvai Gorge
 Location of a very robust skull discovered by Louis
Leakey in 1960.
 Dated at 1.4 mya, the cranial capacity is the largest of all
the African H. erectus specimens.
 The browridge is the largest known for any hominid, but
the walls of the braincase are thin.
 This differs from Asian H. erectus, in which cranial
bones are thick.
Gona and Daka
Key Homo erectus Discoveries from
Africa
Site
Dates (y.a.)
Human Remains
Bouri
1.0 my
Well-preserved cranium
Olduvai
1.4 my
Partial cranium and a few
postcranial pieces
Nariokotome
1.6 my
Mostly complete adolescent
Skeleton
E. Lake
Turkana
1.8 my
One nearly complete cranium
and a few postcranial pieces
The Dmanisi Hominids
 The discovery of the Dmanisi materials began in the
early 1990s.
 The Dmanisi crania have similarities to H. erectus, while
some characteristics are different from other hominid
finds outside of Africa.
Dmanisi Crania
 Dmanisi crania discovered
in 1999 and 2001 and
dated to 1.8–1.7 mya.
Specimen 2282.
Dmanisi Crania
 Dmanisi crania discovered
in 1999 and 2001 and
dated to 1.8–1.7 mya.
 Specimen 2280.
Dmanisi Crania
 Dmanisi crania discovered
in 1999 and 2001 and
dated to 1.8–1.7 mya.
 Specimen 2700
Dmanisi Cranium
 Most recently discovered
cranium from Dmanisi,
almost totally lacking in
teeth (with both upper and
lower jaws showing
advanced bone resorption).
Questions Raised by the Dmansi
Discoveries
Was Homo erectus the first hominid to leave Africa—or
was it an earlier form of Homo?
2. Did hominids require a large brain and sophisticated
stone tool culture to disperse out of Africa?
3. Was the large, robust body build of H. erectus a
necessary adaptation for the initial occupation of
Eurasia?
1.
Discoveries in Java
 Eugene Dubois
 Six sites in eastern Java have yielded all the H. erectus
fossils found on this island.
 Dates range from 1.8 m.y.a. to 1.6 m.y.a.
 The Ngandong individuals date from 50,000 to 25,000
y.a.
 If the Ngandong dates are correct it would make Homo
erectus and Homo sapiens contemporaries.
 In Java, no artifacts have been found that can be
associated with Homo erectus.
Trinil Skullcap
 The famous Trinil skullcap
discovered by Eugene
Dubois near the Solo River
in Java.
 This is the first time a fossil
human was found outside
of Europe or Africa.
Discoveries in China
 Zhoukoudian Cave
 “Dragon bones” used as
medicine and aphrodisiacs
were ancient bones.
 40 male and female adults and
children have been found
 The site was occupied for
250,000 years.
 40% of the bones were from
individuals less than 14 years
old, 2.6% were from
individuals between 50-60
years.
Zhoukoudian
 Composite cranium of
Zhoukoudian Homo
erectus, reconstructed by
Ian Tattersall and Gary
Sawyer of the American
Museum of Natural
History in New York.
Reconstructed Cranium of Homo erectus
 (a) Reconstructed cranium of Homo erectus from Lantian,
China, dated to approximately 1.15 mya. (b) Hexian
cranium.
Key Homo Erectus Discoveries From
Asia
Dates
Site
Evolutionary Significance
50,000–
25,000 ya
Ngandong
(Java)
Very late survival of
H. erectus in Java
670,000– Zhoukoudian
410,000 ya
(China)
1.6 mya
Sangiran
Most famous H. erectus site;
shows some populations well
adapted to the cold
First discovery of H. erectus;
shows dispersal out of Africa
by 1.6 mya
Africa vs. Asia
 East Africa
 Thinner cranial bones
 Less butressed crania
 Homo ergaster?
 Daka discovery
Later Homo erectus in Europe
 Spain and Italy
 Atapuerca
 Gran Dolina
 Ceprano
Gran Dolina
Ceprano Homo Erectus Cranium
 From central Italy,
provisionally dated to
800,000–900,000 ya.
 This is the best evidence
for Homo erectus in Europe.
Key Homo erectus Discoveries from
Europe
Site
Dates (y.a.)
Human Remains
Ceprano
900–800 ky
Well-preserved cranium
Gran Dolina
850–780 ky
Fragmentary remains
1.75my
4 crania plus a few postcranial
remains
Dmanisi
Time Line for Homo Erectus Discoveries and
Contemporary Hominids
Chinese Tools From Middle Pleistocene
Sites
Technological Trends
in Homo erectus
 Expansion of the brain enabled H. erectus to develop
sophisticated tools:
 Biface - stone that was worked on both sides and used
to cut, scrape, pound, and dig.
 Thousands of Acheulian hand axes have been found
with remains of large animals.
 Homo erectus is seen as a potential hunter and scavenger.
Small Tools of
the Acheulian Industry
 (a) Side scraper
 (b) Point
 (c) End scraper
 (d) Burin
Acheulian Biface
 A basic tool of the
Acheulian tradition.
Butchering
 A Middle Pleistocene butchering site at Olorgesailie,
Kenya, excavated by Louis and Mary Leakey who had the
catwalk built for observers.
Acheulian Tools
 Acheulian tools, mainly
hand axes, found at
Olorgesailie in Kenya.
Thousands of similar tools
were found at-this site.
Trends in Homo erectus
 Homo erectus liked to travel.
 Stone tools found on the island of Flores, suggest that H.
erectus constructed ocean-going vessels.
 Homo erectus embraced culture as a strategy of adaptation.