Homo Erectus

What is Homo erectus?

Homo erectus or ‘upright man’ is an extinct species of the human genus.

• They most likely originated in Africa or Eurasia.
• Fossils connected with this species have been found ranging from Africa all the way to Southeast Asia.
• H. erectus had a similar range of body sizes to modern humans, and it is the first human ancestor to have similar limb and torso proportions to those seen in modern humans.
• Homo erectus’ ability to make complex tools was possible because of the strength and dexterity in its hands, which it owes to a certain hand-bone projection called a “styloid process”.
• H. erectus appears to have been the first human species to control fire, some 1,000,000 years ago.
• The species seems to have flourished until some 200,000 years ago (200 kya) or perhaps later before giving way to other humans including Homo sapiens.

Q1) What is the difference between Homo sapiens and Homo erectus?

Homo erectus was the first upright man and the first hominin who used fire. He used sophisticated tools and lived in caves. While on the other hand, Homo sapiens, who gave rise to the modern man has more cognitive abilities than Homo erectus and uses more sophisticated tools.

‹ ›