Homo erectus << HOH moh ih REHK tuhs >> is regarded by most anthropologists as a species of human being that lived from about 1.9 million years ago to about 400,000 years ago. The Latin word Homo means human being. The term erectus means upright and refers to the creature’s upright posture. Homo erectus differed from physically modern human beings in having a large, projecting face; a low, sloping forehead; and a large browridge, a raised strip of bone across the lower forehead. Homo erectus also possessed a large jaw that lacked a chin. The brain of Homo erectus was smaller than the brain of modern human beings.
Anthropologists are not certain how many species of early human beings lived during the time of Homo erectus. Many believe that Homo erectus originated in Africa and soon after migrated from that continent. Fossils of Homo erectus that are about 1.8 million years old have been found at a site called Dmanisi in the country of Georgia, which lies at the eastern end of the Black Sea. Fossil remains show that Homo erectus migrated as far as the island of Java in Southeast Asia before spreading into southern Europe and northern China (see Java fossils; Peking fossils).
Some anthropologists think that the earliest Homo erectus fossils from Africa should be called by another name, Homo ergaster. These anthropologists point out that the earlier fossils have thinner skull bones than those of later Homo erectus fossils. They believe that Homo ergaster migrated out of Africa to Asia and that Homo erectus developed from this earlier species. Anthropologists also disagree on the fate of Homo erectus. Some think that Homo erectus was an ancestor of modern human beings, but others think the species became extinct.
In 1984, a nearly complete fossil skeleton of an adolescent Homo erectus boy was found near Lake Turkana in Kenya. The fossil is about 1.6 million years old. The skeleton indicated that he had died at about 11 or 12 years of age. The fossil is the most complete skeleton of an early human ancestor ever found.
