Human Evolution Human Evolution andand PREHISTORYPREHISTORY

Chapter Eight:Chapter Eight:

HOMO HOMO ERECTUS AND THE ERECTUS AND THE EMERGENCE OF HUNTING EMERGENCE OF HUNTING

AND GATHERINGAND GATHERINGSan persistence hunting

Chapter PreviewChapter PreviewChapter PreviewChapter PreviewWho Was Who Was Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster??

What Were The Cultural Capabilities Of What Were The Cultural Capabilities Of Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster??

What Were The Consequences Of What Were The Consequences Of Homo Homo erectus/ergastererectus/ergaster’s Improved Abilities To ’s Improved Abilities To

Adapt Through Culture?Adapt Through Culture?

Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster hominin complex hominin complex

Some anthropologists view the variation in post-1.9 my Homo fossils of Africa, Asia and Europe to be different enough to warrant two species

Others (“lumpers”) assign all fossils immediately after Homo habilis only to Homo erectus

There are great adaptive similarities; hence, a hominin complex

Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster Fossils Fossils

Fossil evidence shows that by 1 million-500,000 ya hominins of this species had spread from Africa to China, Europe, the Republic of Georgia, India, Java

Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster Cranial capacity range, 600 – 1,225 cc;

overlaps with KNM ER1470 and modern humans (figure 8.3)

Low, long, narrow cranial vault, with greatest width at base

Near-modern development of brain, especially in speech area

Massive brow ridges with marked constriction

Sloping forehead and receding chin Rugged face, teeth and jaws but smaller

than H. habilis

Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster

Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergasterPostcranial skeleton

Known mainly from African H. ergaster More heavily muscled than ours Increase in stature from early Homo Decrease in sexual dimorphism in body

size; this may be due to the increase in female size as an adaptation to childbirth

Homo erectus Homo erectus from Javafrom Java

Eugene Dubois, original discoverer of first fossils in 1891

1.8 million to 500,000 years ago

About 40 individuals

Teeth and jaws of earliest fossils are quite similar to those of Homo habilis

Homo erectus Homo erectus from Chinafrom China

Davidson Black was the original discoverer of the first H. erectus fossils (~45 individuals) at Zhoukoudian in 1927

Sinanthropus

600,000 to 300,000 years ago

Homo erectus Homo erectus from Chinafrom ChinaRecent discoveries:

Earliest fossil (Lunguppo), a lower jaw fragment as old as the Java fossils

resembles African Homo habilis

Overall, Chinese fossils are more recent than the Java and have more modern characteristics, e.g. smaller teeth, larger cranial capacity

Homo erectus/ergasterHomo erectus/ergaster

The African FossilsThe African FossilsOlduvai and Lake Turkana

12-year old boy who died 1.6 mya

An adult who died of a massive overdose of vitamin A

Olorgesailie, Kenya

Slightly younger than 1 my

Turkana boy

Remains of a boy who died in his early teens.

The African FossilsThe African FossilsIn some African fossils, there are more

strongly developed brow ridges and temporal muscle scars than in Asian fossils

In others, there are thinner crania and more primitive mandibles

The variation between Asian and African/European fossils may lie well beyond that of a single species

Homo erectus Homo erectus from Europefrom Europe

Dmansi, republic of Georgia, dating to 1.7 mya

Likely ancestor to Asian H. erectus

Difficult to assign to a species because they share characteristics with both earlier and later fossils

Cranium is small and rounded, with face similar to early H. erectus/ergaster

Mandible is unique

Brain size is small, within range of H. habilis

EarliestEarliest Homo erectus Homo erectus from Europefrom Europe

England, Germany, Spain, Italy

860,000 to 500,000 years ago

The Spanish fossils are the oldest human ancestors with a relatively modern face

These fossil traits are derived and the discoverers of the fossils place them in a separate species, H. antecessor, ancestral to H. heidelbergensis

Multiple SpeciesMultiple SpeciesThe fact that the earliest evidence of hominins comes from Spain and Italy suggests crossing from North Africa

Open water crossing was required, a feat that H. erectus/ergaster was capable of doing 800,000 ya in Indonesia

Gene flow was possible between Africa and Europe; could the early Europeans be a separate species if there was no reproductive isolation? (see Table 8.1, text)

Relationship between Relationship between H. H. erectus/ergaster erectus/ergaster and and H. habilisH. habilis

Smaller teeth and larger brains are a continuation of the trend first seen in H. habilis

New traits are increased body size, reduced sexual dimorphism, more “human” body form

It is difficult to distinguish early erectus/ergaster from habilis (Figure 8.6), but likely one evolved from the other fairly abruptly, 1.9 to 1.6 mya

THE CULTURE OF THE CULTURE OF Homo Homo erectus/ergastererectus/ergaster

The Acheulean Tool TraditionThe Acheulean Tool Tradition

Africa, Europe, Southwest AsiaHandaxe is central toolIn East Africa, handaxes date to 1.6 myaIn Europe, they are no older than 500,000 yearsSites in Europe increase in number dramatically at same time as handaxes appear; this suggests increased gene flow into Europe

Characteristics of Acheulean ToolsCharacteristics of Acheulean Tools

Developed from the Oldowan tradition, e.g. Beds I and II, Olduvai

Tool shapes have become standardized Sharper points and more regular

cutting edges than Oldowan tools More cutting edge available from same

amount of stone

Acheulean Tool KitsAcheulean Tool Kits

DiversificationCleavers, picks and knivesFlake toolsRetouched flakes, e.g. points, scrapers, borersSupplementary tools of bone, antler, wood

Tools in East AsiaTools in East Asia

Spread of Homo from Africa took place before the invention of the handaxe

In East Asia people developed a variety of choppers, scrapers, points, burins different from those in the West

Overall, stone implements were not common; likely bamboo and other local woods were used

ORIGINAL STUDY

Homo erectusHomo erectus and the Use of and the Use of BambooBamboo

The frequency of the handaxe in Asian tool kits is very lowChopper-chopping tools predominateTheir distribution coincides with the distribution of bambooIt has been suggested that bamboo was the main source of materials for making tools and the stone choppers were manufactured to work with bamboo

Acheulean ToolsAcheulean ToolsEach tool served more than one

purpose; e.g. handaxes could kill game, dig up roots

Improved selection of raw materials, e.g. flint rather than basalt

Invention of the baton and striking-platform methods of percussion

Use of FireUse of Fire

Earliest use of fire appears in South Africa, 1.3 to 1 mya, possibly for protection from predators

Kao Poh Nam rock shelter, Thailand, 700,000 ya; fire hearth with butchered, burned animal bones

Other uses for fire could have been warmth, light, cooking, thawing carcasses, clearing forest

Fire gave people more control over their environment

Other Aspects of Other Aspects of Homo erectusHomo erectus culture culture

1. Construction of shelters, e.g. Bilzingsleben, Germany, 350,000 ya

2. Clothing was necessary in the climates of China and Europe

Courtesy of Palomar College, Anthropology

Other Aspects of Other Aspects of Homo erectusHomo erectus culture culture

3. Developed an ability to organize a hunt for live animals, and skill in huntinge.g. Ambrona and Torralba, Spain, 400,000 ya

elephants, horses, rhinoceroses

butchered and killed

Other Aspects of Other Aspects of Homo erectusHomo erectus culture culture

4. open-water travel, e.g. to the island of Flores, Indonesia

5. Rudimentary symbolic artifacts, e.g. ox rib with engraving from a site in France

LanguageLanguage Vocal tract and brain of Homo erectus are

intermediate between Homo sapiens and Australopithecus

Modern-sized hypoglossal canal by 500,000 years ago

Changeover from gestural to spoken language may have played role in reduction of tooth and jaw size, making it easier to speak

Archaic Archaic Homo sapiensHomo sapiens and the Middle and the Middle

PaleolithicPaleolithic