What Was Homo Erectus Like?
Homo erectus, meaning “upright man,” lived from 1.8 million years ago, if H ergaster is included, or 1.25 million years ago, if excluded. Homo erectus disappeared about 70,000 years ago, and is a member of the homonid family and the Homo genus, which includes modern humans. However, H. erectus was an intermediate form of the genus, falling between the first tool users, early Homo habilis, and present day Homo sapiens. Homo erectus is widely considered to be an ancestor of modern humans. Homo erectus displayed more humanlike characteristics than its predecessor Homo habilis, being more upright-standing and taller at about 1.8m (5.9 feet) tall instead of 1.3m (4.2 feet). Homo erectus also had a larger brain, though still 75% the size of Homo sapiens. He had smaller teeth, less slope to his forehead, and developed more complex tools. Homo erectus primarily used tools created in the Acheulean style, a type of stone tool industry. The Acheulean era of stone-tooling lasted from about 1.2 mil
