Homo erectus: physical and cultural characteristics

The human being is the end of a long evolutionary line, so there have been a large number of ancestors, of which human beings are the last species. One of the most recognized ancestors of human beings is the Homo erectus, being the first species of hominid that kept similar physical characteristics with us. Therefore, in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about the physical and cultural characteristics of Homo erectus.

Homo erectus was a hominid that inhabited the planet between 2 million years and 50,000 years ago. Its name comes from Latin and translates as straight man mentioning that at the time it was discovered it was thought to be the first human species fully bipedal, that is, it could be held on both legs.

The origins of Homo erectus can be found on the african continent, It is considered that they were spreading throughout the world, mainly in Europe and Asia. It is in Asia where it is thought that Homo erectus had a greater presence, since it is in China and Indonesia where the greatest number of sites with fossil remains of this species have been found. Such is the importance of

asian fossils, that many scholars only consider Homo erectus fossils those found in Asia, considering that those found in Europe and Africa correspond to another class of hominid.

Homo erectus had a great expansion for many centuries, until little by little it was disappearing during the Lower Pleistocene. Its disappearance is associated with the theory of the Toba catastrophe, in which an Indonesian supervolcano erupted, devastating everything and influencing human evolution.

The great historical relevance of Homo erectus is due to the fact that it is the first known species to possess a series of common characteristics with modern human beings. To see these great similarities, and also the differences, we must talk about some of the characteristics of Homo erectus.

• His body was set up to be able to move bipedal shape, being able to travel great distances with only the legs. This is one of the reasons why it is thought that it was a direct ancestor of human beings.
• Its skull has a size that is halfway between gorillas and humans.
• His cranial vault was low and angular, with a cranial volume that was changing over the years.
• Its teeth were very small compared to other human ancestors, defended by a powerful jaw.
• The differences between male and female were enormous, much higher than in humans.
• They were nomads, moving to new areas where it was easier to hunt and gather.
• It is thought that they were capable of use fire, although it is not something totally safe.
• They were capable of create and use tools, which they made using bone and stone.
• They produced lithic industry, mainly Acheulean, this being the characteristic industry of the Lower Palaeolithic.

To conclude this lesson on the physical and cultural characteristics of Homo erectus, we must talk about the different subspecies of Homo erectus that have been discovered throughout the centuries. Many of these divisions are created by the area where the fossil has been discovered, while others of them are formed by some small difference from the original fossils.

Some of these subspecies are the following:

• Homo erectus erectus: Also known as the Java man, it was the first find of Homo erectus, being found in Java.
• Homo erectus pekinensis: Also known as Peking man, it was a subspecies of Homo erectus found in the Chinese city of Peking.
• Homo erectus soloensis: Also known as the Solo man, being a subspecies also found in Java.
• Homo erectus lantianensis: Found in China, the importance of the fossil of this specimen is that it is the oldest fossil found in North Asia.
• Homo erectus yuanmouensis: Also called Yuanmou man, it is a fossil found in China.
• Homo erectus nankinensis: Also called Nanking Man, it is a subspecies of Homo erectus found in China.