![Artist’s rendering of Homo erectus, which lived from approximately …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/38/79538-003-A3531D29.gif)
extinct species of the human genus (Homo), perhaps an ancestor of modern humans (Homo sapiens). H. erectus most likely originated in Africa, though Eurasia cannot be ruled out. Regardless of where it first evolved, the species seems to have dispersed quickly, starting about 1.7 million years ago (mya) near the beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch, moving through the African tropics, Europe, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. This history has been recorded directly if imprecisely by many sites that have yielded fossil remains of H. erectus. At other localities, broken animal bones and stone tools have indicated the presence of the species, though there are no traces of the people themselves. H. erectus was a human of medium stature that walked upright. The braincase was low, the forehead was receded, and the nose, jaws, and palate were wide. The brain was smaller and the teeth larger than in modern humans. H. erectus seems to have flourished until some 200,000 years ago (200 kya) or perhaps later before giving way to other humans including Homo sapiens.
![To go to an article on a select Homo erectus or …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/54/80454-003-DAD6DCDE.gif)
The first fossils attributed to Homo erectus were discovered by a Dutch army surgeon, Eugène Dubois, who began his search for ancient human bones on the island of Java (now part of Indonesia) in 1890. Dubois found his first specimen in the same year, and in 1891 a well-preserved skullcap was unearthed at Trinil on the Solo River. Considering its prominent browridges, retreating forehead, and angled rear skull, Dubois concluded that the Trinil cranium showed anatomic features intermediate between those of humans (as they were then understood) and those of apes. Several years later, near where the skull was discovered, he found a remarkably complete and modern-looking femur (thighbone). Since this bone was so similar to a modern human femur, Dubois decided that the individual to which it belonged must have walked erect. He adopted the name Pithecanthropus (coined earlier by the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel) and called his discoveries Pithecanthropus erectus (“upright ape-man”), but the colloquial term became “Java man.” Only a few other limb fragments turned up in the Trinil excavations, and it would be some three decades before more substantial evidence appeared. Most paleontologists now regard all of this material as H. erectus, and the name Pithecanthropus has been dropped.
Artists-rendering-of-Homo-erectus-which-lived-from-approximately-1700000Artist’s rendering of Homo erectus, which lived from approximately …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
To-go-to-an-article-on-a-select-Homo-erectusTo go to an article on a select Homo erectus or …[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Replica-of-Sangiran-17-a-Homo-erectus-skull-found-inReplica of Sangiran 17, a Homo erectus skull found in 1969 at …[Credits : Skulls Unlimited International, Inc.]
Replica-of-a-skull-of-Peking-man-reconstructed-from-aReplica of a skull of “Peking man,” reconstructed from a number of …[Credits : Skulls Unlimited International, Inc.]
Replica-of-KNM-ER-3733-a-175-million-year-oldReplica of KNM-ER 3733, a 1.75-million-year-old Homo erectus skull …[Credits : John Reader/Photo Researchers]
The-increase-in-hominin-cranial-capacity-over-timeThe increase in hominin cranial capacity over time.[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Artists-depiction-of-what-Homo-erectus-may-have-looked-likeArtist’s depiction of what Homo erectus may have looked like.[Credits : Painting by Zdenek Burian; reproduced with permission]
Click-on-each-individual-for-a-larger-imageClick on each individual for a larger image.[Credits : Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "Homo erectus" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.