Homo erectus, or 'upright man', is an extinct species of human that occupies an intriguing spot within the human evolutionary lineage. These prehistoric hunter-gatherers were highly successful in adapting to vastly different habitats across the Old World, as fossils connected with this species have been found ranging from Africa all the way to Southeast Asia. With the first remains appearing around 1,9 million years ago, and the latest ones surviving into the Middle Pleistocene, Homo erectus spanned an extraordinarily large time frame. However, the amount of variation between different fossils from different times and places has raised a lot of questions regarding the actual classification of the species, and its exact role in the evolutionary story.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 2600000 BCE - c. 12000 BCEThe Pleistocene epoch, ranging from c. 2,6 million years ago until c. 12,000 years ago. It is characterised by repeated cycles of glacials and interglacials.
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c. 2600000 BCE - c. 1000000 BCEOldowan tool industry.
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c. 2600000 BCE - c. 12000 BCEThe Palaeolithic (or Old Stone Age) period, ranging from c. 2,6 million years ago until c. 12,000 years ago.
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c. 1900000 BCEOldest fossils currently associated with Homo erectus.
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c. 1700000 BCE - c. 250000 BCEAcheulean tool industry.
