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Homo Erectus Were Tougher than Researchers Assumed
They were far more ecologically flexible than researchers realized
It’s well known that we, Homo sapiens, are the last remaining branch of the Human family tree going back millions of years. We like to let this fact boost our egos and boast that it means we’re the superior species. We may be in some ways, but science shows us that our hominin cousins were capable of far more than we give them credit for.
For instance, we used to portray Neanderthals as grunting, club-dragging, unintelligent cavemen. However, science shows they were compassionate, creative, skilled, and perceptive. Furthermore, our two species not only coexisted but also produced children together. Now, archaeologists are debunking previous assumptions made about another hominin species — Homo erectus.
Who Were Homo Erectus?
Coming onto the scene at least 1.9 million years ago, Homo erectus was, as the National History Museum describes them, a species of firsts.
Compared to previous hominin species, H. erectus (whom I shall henceforth refer to as Erectus) was the first of our hominin ancestors to have what we’d recognize as a human-like body, including longer legs and shorter arms in relation to their torsos. They also had bigger…
