The lower cave of Zhoukoudian Cave, China, is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. [142] The remains of 45 individuals of Homo erectus were found and thousands of tools were recovered. [142] Most of these remains were lost during World War II, with the exception of two postcranial elements rediscovered in China in 1951 and four human teeth from “Dragon Bone Hill.” [142] Although Javanese man was the first discovery of H. erectus, the discovery that revealed the most about this species is Turkana Boy. Homo erectus` ability to make complex tools was possible due to the strength and dexterity of its hands, thanks to a specific bone projection of the hand called the “styloid process,” previously thought only in Neanderthals and modern humans, according to a 2013 PNAS study. H. erectus may have been the first human parent to control fire. African Homo erectus fossils (sometimes called Homo ergaster) are the oldest humans known to possess modern body proportions similar to those of humans with relatively elongated legs and shorter arms relative to the size of the torso. These traits are considered adaptations to life on the ground, indicating the loss of previous adaptations to tree climbing, with the ability to walk and possibly run long distances. Compared to previous fossils, note the dilated shell of the brain relative to the size of the face. The most complete fossil individual of this species is known as the “Turkana boy” – a well-preserved skeleton (although without almost all the bones of the hand and foot) that is about 1.6 million years old.
Microscopic examination of the teeth shows that it has grown at a growth rate similar to that of a monkey. There is fossil evidence that this species cared for old and weak individuals. The appearance of Homo erectus in the fossil record is often associated with the first hand axes, the first major innovation in stone tool technology. The similarities between Java man and Peking man prompted Ernst Mayr to rename the two Homo erectus in 1950. For much of the 20th century, anthropologists debated the role of H. erectus in human evolution. At the turn of the century, in part because of the discoveries in Java and Zhoukoudian, the belief that modern humans first evolved in Asia was widely accepted. Some naturalists – Charles Darwin the most prominent of them – theorized that the first ancestors of humans were Africans. Darwin pointed out that chimpanzees and gorillas, the closest relatives of man, evolved and exist only in Africa. [13] In 2020, researchers reported that Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis had lost more than half of their climate niche on the brink of extinction – a climate to which they were adapted – without a corresponding reduction in their physical range, and that climate change had played a major role in the extinction of ancient Homo species. [139] [140] [141] Migration to the cold climate of glacial Europe may have only been possible by fire, but evidence of the use of fire in Europe until about 400 to 300,000 years ago is remarkably lacking. [99] If these early H.
erectus had no fire, it is not known how they stayed warm, avoided predators, and prepared animal fat and meat for consumption; And lightning is less common further north, resulting in lower availability of natural fires. It is possible that they only knew how to maintain fire in certain landscape environments and prepare food at some distance from the house, which means that evidence of fire and evidence of hominid activity are very far away. [87] On the other hand, H. erectus may have advanced farther north only during warmer interglacial periods – and therefore did not require fire, food storage or clothing technology – [102] and their dispersal patterns suggest that they generally resided at warmer lower and mid-latitudes. [81] It is debated whether the inhabitants of H. e. Pekinensis in Zhoukoudian, northern China, were able to control the fires as early as 770 kya to stay warm in a potentially relatively cold climate. [103] For many archaic people, there is no clear consensus on whether they should be classified as a subspecies of H.
erectus or H. sapiens or as a separate species. H. erectus was the first human species to make hand axes (Acheulean tools). These were sophisticated stone tools made on two sides. They were probably used, among other things, for the slaughter of meat. Illustration by Maurice Wilson showing Homo erectus with fire and preparation tools The 1.8 Ma child specimen from Java, who died around the age of 1, showed 72 to 84 percent of the average adult brain size, which is more similar to the faster brain growth trajectory of great apes than modern humans. This suggests that H. Erectus was probably not cognitively comparable to modern humans and this secondary altricity—a prolonged childhood and a long period of dependence due to the time needed for the brain to mature—evolved much later in human evolution, perhaps into the last common ancestor of modern humans/Neanderthals.
[73] It was previously thought that due to the narrowness of the Turkana boy`s pelvis, H. erectus could only safely give birth to a baby with a brain volume of about 230 cc (14 cu in), which corresponds to a brain growth rate similar to that of modern humans to reach the average brain size of 600-1,067 cc (36.6-65.1 cu in). However, a 1.8 Ma female pool from Gona, Ethiopia, shows that H. Erectus babies with a brain volume of 310 cc (19 cu in) could have been born safely, which is 34 to 36 percent of the average adult size, compared to 40 percent in chimpanzees and 28 percent in modern humans. This is more consistent with the conclusions drawn in Mojokerto child. [57] A faster rate of development may indicate a shorter expected lifespan. [74] Meal remains have been found at some Homo erectus sites in China. These show that they ate large amounts of meat supplemented with plant foods and generally had diets similar to those of early modern humans. Meganthropus, based on fossils found in Java dated to 1.4 to 0.9 million years ago, was tentatively grouped with H. erectus, contrary to previous interpretations, as a giant species of early humans,[29] although older literature has placed the fossils outside of Homo. [42] Zanolli et al.