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Holiday, Trenton W. September 14, 2012.  Body Size, Body Shape, and the Circumscription of the Genus Homo. Current Anthropology. Volume 53. Issue S6. S330-S345. University of Chicago Press Journals; December 1, 2012. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/667360.

Gilbert, Henry W. August, 2003. Homo erectus, Homo ergaster, Homo “cepranensis,” and the Daka cranium. Journal of Human Evoution. Volume 45. Issue 3. 255-259. Elsevier Science Direct; September 2003. http://www.sciencedirect.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/science/article/pii/S0047248403001210.

Fuentes, Agustín ; Wyczalkowski, Matthew a. ; Mackinnon, Katherine c. June 2010. Niche Construction through Cooperation: A Nonlinear Dynamics Contribution to Modeling Facets of the Evolutionary History in the Genus Homo. Current Anthropology. Volume 51(3). Pages 435-444.

Derricourt, Robin. June 2005. Getting “Out of Africa”: Sea Crossings, Land Crossings and Culture in the Hominin Migrations. Journal of World Prehistory. Volume 19. Issue 2, Pages 119-132. Ebscohost; June 2005. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=b782bf66-6fa4-4892-8e9c-88d0e0638f21%40sessionmgr114&hid=103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=21541132&db=a9h.

All Images sourced from:
Homo Ergaster. September 25th, 2005. Blaxland, Beth. Dorey, Fran. March 8th, 2016. Available at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-ergaster.

Antón, S.C., 2003. Natural history of Homo erectus. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 46, 126–170. http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/

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Created for ANTH&205: Biological Anthropology

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Created for ANTH&205: Biological Anthropology

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“This presentation contains copyrighted material under the educational fair use exemption to the U.S. copyright law."

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How did the Homo-Erectus/Ergaster become extinct?

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How did the Homo-Erectus/Ergaster become extinct?

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The exact reason for why this species went extinct is yet to be discovered. Many Paleontologists hypothesis it may be due to aging and weakening of the genome of the species. There is evidence to support that the Asia descendants of the Homo erectus species couldn’t evolve in to a new species and therefore went extinct from “old age.”
A second theory suggests that this species met it’s demise after the Mount Toba eruption 75,000 years ago. Due to the magnitude of this volcanic eruption, it is classified as the biggest super volcanic explosion in the last two million years. It’s eruption spewed so much sulphur in to the atmosphere, that it lowered world temperatures by several degrees. The molten lava hardened to rock covering an area larger than Britain, and left waves of ash that covered most of the continent. Much of which can still be found today.
Because of this hominin’s inability to form full words and communicate effectively, it is believed they weren’t able to congregate quickly enough to ban together to help survive such a disaster. So over the next 40,000 years each of them slowly died off from being out-competed by the evolving Homo-Sapiens of today.

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Homo erectus developed more sophisticated tools, known as ...

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Recent Research Findings in the existence of Homo Erectus & Homo Ergaster and Their Place in Human Evolution

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Recent Research Findings in the existence of Homo Erectus & Homo Ergaster and Their Place in Human Evolution

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It was believed for a long time that Homo erectus & Homo ergaster species were restricted in their ability to control breathing and produce complex sounds. The Homo ergaster was presumably the first hominid to “use a human voice.” Their comprehension of communication was most likely limited compared to modern humans. There is no archaeological evidence that Homo ergaster (& H. Erectus) made use of symbolic thought (such as figurative art attributed to later species). However, the well-evolved brain and physical capabilities suggest their was some form of linguistic or symbolic communication amongst members of this group. (Gilbert 2003)

Another longstanding belief about the Homo erectus/Homo ergaster species were their co-habitation with the earliest Homo-Sapiens. Recent evidence shows that modern humans never co-existed with Homo-Erectus. This is a fact that is still in debate amongst many Paleontologist groups. Most recent discoveries from the Solo River Terrace Project in Indonesia show that the H. Erectus time in the Indonesia region ended before modern humans arrived. The studies suggest this species was gone by at least 143,000 years ago. This means the demise of Homo erectus & Homo ergaster occurred long before the arrival of Homo sapiens.

As mentioned before, the terms Homo erectus and Homo ergaster are often used interchangeably.  It was the migration of this species outside of Africa and into Asia where the Homo ergaster changed into Homo erectus. With the change in climate, food, and all around environment in Asia this species’ bone structure and skull shape fine tuned even more, but still mirrors that of the original Homo ergaster species. (Hence, the decades-long debate on whether or not these species are one-in-the-same.)

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Hominids on Pinterest | Evolution, Fossil and Ethiopia

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Cultural Characteristics of the Homo Erectus and Homo Ergaster

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Cultural Characteristics of the Homo Erectus and Homo Ergaster

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- The Homo erectus and Homo ergaster diets consisted of well balanced portions of meat, plant life, and nuts. In 2002, Gesher Benot Ya’aqov and his researchers recovered chunks of stone exhibiting pitting. (As if the tools were used to break open nuts.) As mentioned before when we discussed changes in the molars of this species,  and the rapid growth of brain mass; this hominin’s ability to run and hunt prey added a lot more protein to their diets than their ancestors were able to get. (Derricourt 2005)

- The term Erectus means “upright man” while Ergaster is derived from the Greek word for “workman.” A big reason why this name was coined for this species was because of their advanced design of the earliest known tools. Homo ergaster & Homo erectus are considered the innovators of the Acheulean stone tool industry. The fossil records of Homo erectus and Homo ergaster species are often discovered with findings of large cutting tools like hand axes and cleavers.

- Burnt stones, charred animal bones, and ash deposits indicate this species was one of the first to use and control fire. In addition to settling themselves in areas with caves to protect themselves from climate change. Their broad set of utensils are thought to have helped them survive during these times of drastic weather. The use of fire is believed not to only have been used for food, but also to warm places for social gatherings, and to ward away predators.

- It is interesting to see how similar this species is to our current Homo sapien ways of culture and biological growth.  As we learn more about the ways Homo ergaster/erectus species gather in social dwellings together, work as a groups to cook meals and use tools to make life easier, we are able to see the correlations of how similar their ways of life are to our own. Despite the modern day world being overstimulated with media and all the other easy-access stimuli of todays society,  we can see how the bare-bones of the everyday biological bases of social interactions originated through the Homo erectus/ergaster species.

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Early Homo erectus species were anatomically built like humans. Their teeth were between a modern humans, and australopithecines of the past. Having molars that were smaller were a product of eating meat and other types of protein that could be quickly digested. It made it possible to absorb nutrients with their shorter digestive tracts, making more energy available faster. (Holiday 2012)
Homo erectus & Homo ergaster had denser leg bones that allowed them to adapt to life on the ground. As they lost tree climbing abilities, those longer, stronger legs helped them to walk upright for long distances, and chase food faster.
It is believed that these species were primarily hairless in comparison to their ancestors. Being hairless allowed them to sweat proficiently, and kept them from overheating as they worked to hunt down food.
Although each of these are huge distinguishing factors in the evolution of this species. The biggest distinguishing difference between modern Homo sapiens and the Homo erectus/ergaster species, are seen in the brain and skull. (Gilbert 2003) Homo erectus and ergaster’s had stronger neck muscles, and shallow foreheads with narrower frontal and temporal lobes. This change in skull and brain shape is accredited to being a benefit from eating a diet much heavier in protein than species before them.

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"working man"

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"upright man"

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Extinct human species - Homo Erectus Trap Music Mix 2015 Vol...#3 ...

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Origin: Where and When was this Hominin discovered? 

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Origin: Where and When was this Hominin discovered? 

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Homo ergaster & Homo erectus are extinct species of Hominin that inhabited eastern and southern Africa from 1.9  million years ago, until 70,000 years ago.  There is still a lot of debate in the Paleoanthropologist community regarding whether or not Homo ergaster and Homo erectus’ are separate species. (Fuentes 2010)
The first Homo erectus fossil was first discovered by Eugene Dubois in Java, Indonesia in 1891. It was John T. Robinson’s discovery in Southern Africa in the 1950’s that confirmed an almost identical set of fossils, giving evidence that the early Homo erectus hominins originated there.
Due to the striking similarity between the remains from Dubois and Robinson, the two terms Homo erectus and Homo ergaster are often used interchangeably. Homo ergaster refers to the direct African ancestor of the Homo Erectus, who are thought to have emigrated out of Africa into Asia. This migration is what lead scientists to believe the Homo erectus might’ve branched into the distinct species we identify today as Homo erectus. (Blaxland 2005)