long before other human subspecies like the neanderthals denisovans and homo sapiens came the homo erectus the first real example of a human species although homo erectus could be split into multiple subspecies categories due to the length of their existence it's not incorrect to refer to them all simply as homo erectus so for ease in this video we will be referring to the species as a whole under the homo erectus umbrella and just to get it out of the way yes we know the name homo erectus is funny no there won't be too many jokes about it we like to think we're more upstanding than that are you enjoying a day in history don't forget to like and subscribe for more unusual historical content 1.9 million years ago the earth was in the pleistocene period and the first homo species was born the homo erectus which is latin for upright man homo erectus is the longest surviving relative of the modern day human having managed to live for approximately 1.5 million years to compare homo sapiens have only been around for about four hundred thousand years so far of course given how long homo erectus lived a lot of scientific study in this area hinges on speculation and guesswork and as the species evolved across a 1.5 million year period there are changes in the physiology and abilities but we are relatively comfortable with the notion that they are the first real example of a human-like species it is believed homo erectus first originated in africa not unlike homo sapiens and were the first species to expand from their point of origin but how far exactly they spread is still a subject of archaeological historical discussion today although the general consensus is that the species slowly spread across asia whether they ever reached europe is unknown although it's certainly a possibility the first homo erectus fossil was discovered by dutch scientist eugene dubois on the island of java in indonesia in 1891 the subject of much controversy and multiple reclassifications in the scientific world the groundbreaking nature of dubois discovery wasn't realized until several decades later initially dismissed as fossils of a prehistoric ape but subsequent fossil discoveries such as the peking man in northern china led to a renewed interest in dubois java man although they appear to be different subspecies of the homo erectus genome they are the first two agreed upon samples of the species modern-day homo sapiens found and many assumptions about homo erectus have been made from their findings the discovery of the peking man in the jokodian cave was also the precursor to further finds of over 45 different individuals remains and prehistoric tools making it one of the most important archaeological sites worldwide and a place from which a lot of our knowledge on homo erectus derives given the long time period over which homo erectus species existed it appears that they were a variety of sizes and shapes although common characteristics remained they were the first to exhibit human-like proportions and to stand upright being roughly the same height and weight of today's human beings from examining the few homo erectus skulls we've found there is a general consensus that they did not have the correct muscle and bone structure to allow for speech or language but it is possible that they communicated using proto-language which could have been a series of grunts and hand gestures that signified intent to their fellow homo erectus their skulls also tell us that their faces were both flatter and larger than our own with prominent protruding brows smaller teeth than the human subspecies that followed but with thicker jaw bones and no discernable chins their smaller thinner teeth has been a subject for scholarly debate as it suggests homo erectus were less adept than subsequent species at processing hard foods reducing their diet options greatly it's also thought that they were the first to develop projecting noses which evolved in response to breathing dry air in helping them retain moisture so today's big nose sufferers have homo erectus to thank for that particular genetic trait like our other ancestors the homo erectus brains were much smaller than ours 950 cubic centimeters which is around a third smaller than today's current brain size of 1130 to 1260 cubic centimeters although i'm sure we can all think of some homo sapiens whose brains are closer to our ancestors than others this especially makes sense when looking at the tools they used homo erectus tools were the first sign of a human species evolving enough to shape and create something that would aid their survival before homo erectus the types of tools used by human species were simply chipped off stone flakes named lithic but homo erectus may have slightly advanced upon this tool creating lithic up to 10 centimeters long some experts also argue that homo erectus were the first species to use the tool called the hand axe a prehistoric teardrop shaped stone tool that had a pointed end and a round base hand axes are the longest used tool in human history with first examples of the tool dating back to roughly 1.6 million years ago and most recent examples up to 100 000 years ago that means that for one and a half million years human subspecies deemed the handx an essential and valuable tool opinions on what it was used for are varied and there's no general academic consensus on its uses with theories ranging from prehistoric rituals to throwing at prey to digging up tubers and speaking of throwing things at food just what did homo erectus eat here is where homo erectus don't differ too greatly to the neanderthals and other human subspecies that roamed the earth over a million years later but they may have been the first hunter-gatherer ancestor of ours placing an emphasis on teamwork and division of labor older humans simply did not have the capacity to do earlier homo erectus survived off scavenging and foraging but later they developed hunting methods that allowed them to eat the meat of local animals like neanderthals the later homo erectus hunted large game straight tusk elephants rhinos hippos and bovine animals and probably had some way of preserving leftover meat for a while although homo erectus diet varied quite a lot depending on location it does seem like the species was heavily dependent on big game meat as the disappearance of homo erectus from the levant the eastern mediterranean area of east asia can be correlated with the extinction of the straight tusked elephant in that area exactly when homo erectus disappeared is a source of contention some experts argue they lived alongside homo sapiens for a brief period but the prevailing opinion is that it's more likely they disappeared before homo sapiens started to appear on the sahara we don't know exactly what caused homo erectus to become extinct but the prominent academic theory is that it had something to do with dramatic climate changes hundreds of thousands of years ago if you think homo erectus are interesting check out our video on neanderthals and don't forget to like and subscribe before fred flintstone clubs you over the head