Homo erectus (Peking Man)

3D Model

H. erectus was the first hominin that left the continent of Africa. Their skeletons are defined as “stocky” and short. They lived ~ 1.6 mya-100,000 ya. Eugene Dubois was the first to identify a type specimen, “Java Man,” in 1891.

This is a caste of “Peking Man,” a fossil from Zhoukoudian, China. Researchers originally combined female and male skull fragments to reconstruct the skull; though recent reconstructions only used fossil fragments from males (Australian Museum 2022).

The difference between “ergaster” and “erectus” is based on location and features. “Ergaster” is found in the continent of Africa, while “erectus” is found on the Asian continent (mostly China and Indonesia). Ergaster’s features tend to appear more gracile than erectus’, which is phenotypically more rugged. Though, variation does exist. For example, KNM-ER 42700 was found in Ileret, Kenya. They were classified as H. ergaster, but they have traits from both ergaster and erectus.