What is Homo Erectus?
Homo erectus is an extinct member of the genus Homo of which humans, Homo sapiens, are the only surviving member. The Homo genus is the fourth of the great apes, other members being chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, all part of the homonid family. Sometimes the word “human” is used interchangeably with the genus Homo, although the Homo erectus was certainly not a modern human. The species is called Erectus because of its upright posture and humanlike gait. Homo erectus lived between 1.8 million and about 500,000 years ago (but possibly as recently as 30,000 years ago), emerging in Africa and migrating as far as Southeast Asia. Although Homo erectus is the longest-lived and most successful member of the genus aside from modern humans, it had a skull and brain only about 75% the size of ours. Otherwise, Homo erectus would look remarkably similar to a modern human, much more so than its chimpanzee-like predecessor, Homo habilis. Yet, it lacked the ability for complex speech, as shown
A good example of Lubenow’s second point, the arbitrary downgrading of human fossils to make them appear to be our ancestors, is Homo erectus. Homo erectus is said to span the time, from around 1.7 million years ago to nearly 400,000 years ago. From its first appearance, erectus is admitted to have a fully human post-cranial skeleton (that means everything but the head). But the brain size is given an evolutionary twist by saying that it only approaches the average for modern humans. In reality, Homo erectus brain size is within the range of modern humans. • Throughout the course of their book, Origins Reconsidered, Leakey and Lewin document an impressive array of characteristics that distinguish the ape-like qualities of australopithecines from the human qualities of Homo erectus. Australopithecines are small in stature, only 34 feet tall, and the males are twice the size of females. In humans and Homo erectus, the males are only 1520% larger than females and a juvenile erectus fossil
