Homo erectus

Epic card · No. 13303

Homo erectus ( lit. 'upright man') is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, spanning nearly 2 million years. It is the first human species to evolve a humanlike body plan and gait, to leave Africa and colonize Asia and Europe, and to wield fire. Some populations of H. erectus were ancestors of later human species, including H. heidelbergensis—the last common ancestor of modern humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans. As such a widely distributed species both geographically and temporally, H. erectus anatomy varies considerably. Subspecies are sometimes recognized: H. e. erectus, H. e. pekinensis, H. e. soloensis, H. e. ergaster, H. e. georgicus, and H. e. tautavelensis. The species was first described by Eugène Dubois in 1893 as "Pithecanthropus erectus" using a skullcap, molar, and femur from Java, Indonesia. Further discoveries around East Asia were used to contend that humanity evolved out of Asia. Based on historical race concepts, it was argued that local H. erectus...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Eduard Pop et al., CC BY 4.0