Re: Homo erectus
Jim Foley (jimf@vangelis.FtCollins.NCR.com)
28 Jun 1995 18:37:47 GMT
In article <SDYOUNGE.91.2FEF6381@elecom2.watstar.uwaterloo.ca>,
Stephen Younge <SDYOUNGE@ELECOM2.watstar.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
>Homo Erectus - Java and Peking Man
>==================================
>. 1.5 mya - 400 kya
>. 780-1225 cc brain, almost human size
>. stocky, human-like body, bigger than H. habilis
>. found in Java, China, and Africa
>. evidence suggests use of fire
>. increased but infrequent group hunting
>. brain sufficiently developed for language
>. crude shelters and migration to colder areas
>. used Acheulean tool industry
I have sometimes read that the Ngangdong fossils are relatively recent,
100-200,000 years old, and they are usually assigned to Homo erectus
(which doesn't square well with the usual claim that erectus disappeared
300-500,000 years ago; I would like to resolve this contradiction).
As for the stocky build, one exception is the Turkana Boy, who would
have grown to be about 6 ft tall, and is apparently fairly slender. I
don't know (but I would like to know) whether his bones were more robust
than those from similar modern humans, and whether, like other erectus
limb bones, they have thicker limb bone walls with a smaller hollow
centre.
ER 1808 is another erectus, thought to be about 5'9" (175 cm), and
possibly female.
Jim (Chris) Foley, jim.foley@symbios.com
Assoc. Prof. of Omphalic Envy Research interest:
Department of Anthropology Primitive hominids
University of Ediacara (Australopithecus creationistii)
|