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Homo erectus: Full Documentary
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Apr 9, 2025
Homo erectus is one of the most adventurous and adaptable human species in our twisted prehistory. This video delves into the fascinating world of Homo erectus, highlighting their unique characteristics, extensive temporal and geographical reach, and their pivotal role in human evolution. Starting with their emergence around 2 million years ago, we explore the key anatomical and behavioral traits that set Homo erectus apart from other hominins. Learn about their advanced tool use, fire control, and hunting strategies that enabled them to colonize diverse environments beyond Africa. Discover the complexities within the fossil record, showcasing the variations among Homo erectus specimens from different regions, including Africa, Asia, and even the intriguing findings in Georgia. We’ll examine the debates surrounding the classification of African Homo erectus as Homo ergaster and the unique traits of the Asian specimens. From the iconic "Java Man" fossils in Indonesia to the "Peking Man" discoveries in China, trace the migration routes that Homo erectus took as they spread across the globe. We also touch on their possible coexistence with other early Homo species, shedding light on the dynamic interactions in our ancient past. Join us as we explore how the Pleistocene climate shifts, changes in dietary habits, and cultural developments influenced the vast travels and adaptability of Homo erectus. Through stunning visuals and expert insights, this video offers a comprehensive overview of the remarkable journey of Homo erectus, our adventurous ancestors who paved the way for modern humans. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more fascinating explorations into our prehistoric past!
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0:01
[Music]
0:06
in our Twisted prehistory
0:08
anthropologists have identified nearly a
0:10
dozen distinct human species each
0:13
species with its own distinct
0:16
characteristics has left behind
0:17
fragments of their ancient
0:20
presence yet among this diverse array of
0:23
hominins homor rectus stands out in both
0:26
time and space in this video we will
0:29
explore the story of homo erectus filled
0:32
with Adventure and
0:35
adaptability among the diversity of the
0:37
homo genus the status of some of the
0:39
early species such as Homo habilis and
0:42
Homo rudol fenus has recently undergone
0:45
scrutiny as they occupy a transitional
0:48
phase between Australopithecus and
0:51
Homo these ancestors found their Niche
0:54
primarily in the vast expanses of
0:57
Africa as we journey further back we
1:00
encounter the presence of homo
1:03
heidelbergensis they roam the Earth from
1:05
around 800,000 to 400,000 years ago
1:09
leaving their mark on the ancient
1:12
landscape and then we come face to face
1:15
with the enigmatic neanderthals and
1:17
denisovans closely related human species
1:20
that found their habitats in specific
1:22
regions of Eurasia for approximately
1:25
300,000
1:27
years we must not forget the fascinating
1:30
twists offered by homon NTI and Homo
1:34
fanis the burials of homon NTI deep
1:37
within the rising star cave system in
1:39
South Africa signal the complexity of
1:41
their
1:43
behavior equally captivating is the
1:45
story of homo
1:47
florensis discovered on the Indonesian
1:49
island of Flores in 2003 these
1:52
small-bodied hominin lived as recently
1:55
as 50,000 to 60,000 years ago
2:00
yet when we step back and consider the
2:02
grand Panorama of human history there is
2:05
one species that Reigns Supreme with its
2:07
extensive temporal and geographical
2:09
reach Homo erectus emerges as the most
2:12
diverse and successful human species to
2:15
have ever roam the
2:19
Earth 2 million years ago Homo erectus
2:22
emerged as a new homin and species the
2:25
major questions with regard to Homo
2:27
erectus have been the degree of human
2:29
like anatomic features in them these
2:31
include sexual
2:32
demorphis complex cognitive abilities
2:36
cranio Dental anatomy and growth
2:39
patterns they exhibited humanlike
2:42
behaviors such as advanced tool use
2:44
hunting Fire Control and the ability to
2:47
colonize new environments Beyond
2:50
Africa Homo erectus fossils range in age
2:53
from approximately 1.8 million years ago
2:56
in Africa to as recent as 100,000 years
2:59
ago ago in
3:00
Indonesia the species rapidly spread
3:03
throughout its entire range but
3:05
disappeared from Africa at least half a
3:08
million years earlier than in
3:11
Asia the fossil record for Homo erectus
3:14
is more abundant but also more diverse
3:16
and complex this complexity is evident
3:19
in both the fossils themselves and their
3:22
locations of Discovery this complexity
3:25
has led to intense debates about the
3:26
philogyny of homo erectus
3:30
Homo erectus had distinct anatomical
3:33
features they had larger brains
3:35
averaging around 900 CC and their skull
3:39
shape was unique with a receding
3:40
forehead prominent brow ridges and a
3:43
squared off appearance at the back their
3:46
cranial bones were thicker and some Had
3:49
A sagittal Keel their faces had reduced
3:52
projection and their back teeth were
3:56
smaller there were variations among Homo
3:59
erectus fossils from different regions
4:02
Asian specimens had thicker skulls and
4:04
larger brow ridges than African ones the
4:07
sagittal Keel was more pronounced in
4:11
Asians fossils from Georgia also had
4:14
distinct
4:15
characteristics some researchers argue
4:17
for classifying African Homo erectus as
4:20
a separate species called homo erger
4:23
while the Asian variant is still called
4:25
Homo
4:27
erectus Homo erectus had a body size
4:29
size and proportions similar to modern
4:32
humans they had long and Powerful legs
4:35
suggesting they could run in open
4:36
Savannah environments evidence suggests
4:39
they had reduced body hair efficient
4:42
sweating and darker skin indicating an
4:44
active
4:46
lifestyle however recent findings show
4:49
greater variability within Homo erectus
4:52
fossils some African and Georgian
4:54
fossils are smaller than the well-known
4:56
turab boy fossil this variation May be
4:59
due to adaptations to different local
5:02
environments similar to modern
5:05
humans Homo erectus also had reduced
5:08
sexual demorphis in body size compared
5:10
to earlier
5:11
hominins this suggests changes in Social
5:14
organization and a different lifestyle
5:17
compared to earlier hominins such as
5:19
intense male competition for mating
5:21
access was
5:24
common the increase in female size may
5:27
also be related to the benefits of
5:28
increased energy transferred to
5:30
offspring and the mechanical advantages
5:33
of a lengthened lower limb during
5:36
walking these changes suggest that homo
5:39
erectus required a shift to a higher
5:41
quality diet to support their large body
5:43
and brain size these body size and
5:46
energetic shifts also necessitated
5:48
assistance during childbirth and
5:51
Cooperative care of
5:53
infants African sites associated with
5:55
Homo erectus feature stone tools of the
5:58
olden industry such as as Flakes and
6:00
choppers around 1.5 million years ago
6:04
some homo erectus populations began
6:06
using more advanced tools called aulan
6:10
tools these tools were carefully shaped
6:13
on both sides through bifacial flaking
6:15
requiring planning and skill hand axes
6:18
with a thicker base and rounded tip were
6:20
the most common tool form other tools
6:23
like scrapers and Cleavers were also
6:27
present Homo erectus originated around
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1.8 to 1.9 million years ago and existed
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until approximately 0.78 million years
6:35
ago although the first wave of migration
6:38
from Africa to Eurasia is not well
6:41
understood it is generally believed that
6:43
homo erectus was the first to leave
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Africa the earliest fossils of homo
6:49
erectus have been found in East Africa
6:52
particularly in sites like kuora in
6:55
Kenya significant discoveries have also
6:58
been made in Tanzania Ethiopia and South
7:02
Africa from Africa Homo erectus spread
7:05
to Western and Southeastern Asia around
7:08
1.7 to 1.8 million years ago and
7:11
persisted until the middle
7:13
Pline in China homoerectus evidence has
7:17
been found in various regions and time
7:21
periods the famous peaking man fossils
7:23
were discovered near Beijing estimated
7:26
to be 400,000 to 700,000 years old
7:30
stone tools dating back 2.1 million
7:32
years have been found in China
7:34
suggesting earlier homin migration from
7:38
Africa in Island Southeast Asia Homo
7:41
erectus or its descendants may have
7:43
survived until the end of the
7:46
Pline The first Homo erectus fossils
7:49
outside of Africa were discovered in
7:51
Java Indonesia known as Java
7:55
man these fossils are around 1.6 to 1.8
7:59
million years old with more recent
8:01
findings suggesting ages ranging from
8:04
43,000 to 500,000
8:07
years the presence of isolated homon and
8:10
populations in the region is intriguing
8:13
considering the discovery of homo
8:15
florensis fossils in Flor as andoss
8:18
hominin fossils in the
8:21
Philippines the dispersal of Homo rectus
8:24
was likely complex and the migration
8:26
routes and gene flow involved were more
8:28
intricate than previously
8:30
thought recent discoveries in Dei
8:33
Georgia suggest that early specimens
8:36
classified as homo orter or a new taxon
8:39
homo georgicus may have been part of the
8:42
first
8:43
migration the demines fosil exhibit
8:46
distinct traits but have smaller brains
8:48
and bodies compared to African Homo
8:52
erectus this challenges the theory that
8:55
the Demi hominins represent an early
8:58
form of homo erectum
9:00
and suggest they may have evolved from
9:02
habilis likee ancestors who had already
9:04
left Africa this would require a
9:07
re-evaluation of the reasons for the
9:09
initial homon and migration from
9:12
Africa in Western Europe it was
9:15
previously believed that homo erectus
9:17
arrived much later due to the harsh Ice
9:20
Age
9:21
climate however recent fossil
9:23
discoveries challenged this
9:25
assumption fossils dating to about 1.2
9:28
million years ago were found in Spain
9:31
and a collection of fossils from the
9:33
grand Delina site in Spain dates to
9:36
around 800,000 years
9:39
ago in England Footprints believed to be
9:42
950,000 years old were discovered making
9:45
them the oldest human footprints found
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outside
9:49
Africa the classification of the first
9:51
Europeans as
9:53
homoerectus or a later species is still
9:56
debated among researchers
9:59
during its existence Homo erectus
10:01
coexisted with other early homo species
10:05
in Africa Homo erectus overlap with Homo
10:08
habilis and in China there may have been
10:10
overlap with homo hyal
10:13
bensis in Indonesia there is a
10:15
possibility of overlap with Homo
10:18
sapiens around 3 million years ago the
10:21
earth became drier and this was followed
10:24
by cycles of glacial periods starting
10:26
around 2.5 million years ago
10:29
these changes affected the environment
10:32
with grasslands replacing forests in
10:34
East Africa and spreading into parts of
10:38
Eurasia this had a big impact on the
10:40
animals living at that
10:42
time Homo erectus had a body that was
10:45
good for walking long distances with
10:47
less energy during a period about 1.9 to
10:51
1.4 million years ago there is no
10:54
clarity about Homo erectus habitat
10:57
however they were less likely to be
10:58
found in areas with lots of big
11:01
carnivores this suggests they tried to
11:04
avoid those dangerous predators by
11:06
living in
11:08
groups in a later period around 1.39 to
11:12
0.9 million years ago Homo erectus
11:15
started to prefer living at higher
11:17
altitudes this may mean they changed
11:20
their strategy to avoid Predators or
11:22
became better at defending
11:25
themselves Homo erectus chose places
11:28
with certain types of rocks and
11:29
sediments outside of Africa this was
11:32
because those areas had Flint which they
11:34
used to make tools in Africa they
11:37
preferred to live near Old large lakes
11:39
in the rift valley where they had access
11:41
to wooded areas and
11:43
water scientists created maps to show
11:46
the most likely paths Homo erectus took
11:49
when they moved out of Africa they
11:51
considered factors like the likelihood
11:53
of encountering carnivores the distance
11:56
to water the type of rocks and sediments
11:58
in area and the
12:02
altitude these Maps suggest that homo
12:04
erectus left Africa through the Sinai
12:07
Peninsula and possibly the levantine
12:09
corridor and eventually reached places
12:12
like the Caucasus southeast Asia and
12:14
southern
12:16
Europe the reasons behind their vast
12:18
travels can be attributed to several
12:22
factors firstly Homo erectus had a
12:25
larger brain and body size which was
12:27
supported by a diet that included more
12:29
meat their increased physical
12:32
capabilities such as longer and more
12:34
powerful legs enabled them to walk and
12:36
run longer distances in search of
12:39
food as they consumed higher up the food
12:42
chain they needed to expand their home
12:44
range to find sufficient
12:47
game additionally cultural developments
12:50
played a significant role in their
12:52
migration Homo erectus improved their
12:54
Stone tool technology allowing them to
12:57
adapt to different environment more
13:01
effectively the discovery and
13:03
utilization of fire provided them with
13:05
greater flexibility in surviving and
13:07
thriving in various Landscapes
13:09
furthermore the plyto scene climate
13:12
shift during that time had a profound
13:14
impact changes in air temperature
13:17
precipitation patterns and access to
13:20
water sources affected the distribution
13:22
of plant and animal communities
13:24
including Homo
13:26
erectus if they relied heavily on
13:28
hunting
13:29
the migration patterns of their prey
13:32
might have led them to travel
13:33
increasingly longer distances in search
13:35
of
13:38
food the role of fire in human societies
13:41
transcends as a mere chemical reaction
13:44
or natural resource it becomes a
13:46
technology a societal necessity and even
13:50
part of our spiritual experience all of
13:52
which are deeply connected to the
13:54
functioning of human
13:56
societies the cooking hypothesis is
13:59
proposes that homo erectus was the first
14:02
to evolve the ability to consume cooked
14:04
food during the lower Paleolithic
14:07
Era while early evidence of controlled
14:10
fire is sparse before the upper
14:12
Paleolithic period debate persists on
14:15
whether this absence indicates a lack of
14:17
systematic fire use or if it's just hard
14:20
to find evidence for
14:23
it the earliest evidence of human
14:25
interaction with fire appears around 1
14:28
Mill million years ago which was likely
14:31
sporadic and seasonal evident from sites
14:33
like jeser Beno Yakov in Israel and
14:36
wonderwork caves in South
14:39
Africa evidence suggests brief
14:42
interactions with fire without
14:44
consistent maintenance research has
14:46
considered alternative sources of
14:48
evidence like changes in biology and
14:50
behavior of early
14:52
hominins humans have evolved to need
14:55
cooked food in their diets which
14:57
significantly boosts energy into take
14:59
and aids in digestion cooking makes food
15:02
easier to digest increases energy gain
15:04
by around 30% and reduces the energy our
15:08
bodies spend on
15:10
digestion this enhanced energy intake is
15:13
crucial for human health and survival
15:16
especially during times of food
15:19
scarcity humans have adapted for
15:21
efficient processing of easily digested
15:24
foods and struggle with relatively
15:26
indigestible raw foods these adaptations
15:29
include changes in the mouth jaw stomach
15:32
and intestines making us less efficient
15:35
at digesting raw foods compared to other
15:39
primates human saliva contains more
15:42
enzymes that break down starch compared
15:44
to our primate relatives suggesting an
15:47
adaptation to consuming cooked starchy
15:50
Foods additionally there are some genes
15:53
related to lipid and carbohydrate
15:55
metabolism which have been positively
15:57
selected in humans neanderthals and
16:00
Denise ens indicating adaptation to a
16:03
cooked
16:04
diet while neanderthals sometimes lived
16:07
without fire they also had genes
16:10
associated with
16:12
cooking Homo erectus changed their diet
16:15
over time starting to eat cooked food
16:18
which provided more energy compared to
16:20
raw food this dietary shift coincided
16:23
with an increase in their overall energy
16:25
expenditure suggesting cooking played a
16:27
significant role in their
16:30
Evolution Homo erectus started eating
16:32
cooked food which provided more energy
16:35
compared to raw food this dietary shift
16:38
coincided with an increase in their
16:40
overall energy expenditure suggesting
16:43
cooking played a significant role in
16:45
their
16:46
evolution studies of homoerectus
16:49
digestive system show changes in teeth
16:51
Jaws rib cage and pelvis suggesting
16:55
adaptations to a cooked diet while many
16:58
believe that increased consumption of
17:00
animal-based foods like meat and Marrow
17:02
could be a possible
17:05
reason however a challenge arises
17:07
because erectus had to eat fallback
17:09
Foods including raw plants during times
17:13
of food scarcity their teeth and
17:15
digestive systems weren't suited for
17:17
processing raw high-fiber plants if they
17:20
couldn't
17:21
cook physically processing plants like
17:24
underground storage organs before eating
17:27
them to make them easier to chew digest
17:29
is one possibility but it is
17:33
rare Homo erectus likely scavenged for
17:36
food including meat and Marrow but face
17:39
challenges with disease from raw meat
17:42
eating marrow and brains with lower
17:44
bacterial loads may have been safer but
17:46
cooking would have been even
17:48
safer cooking reduced the risk of
17:51
disease and provided a reliable backup
17:53
when hunting
17:55
failed researchers have found that
17:57
chimpanzees understand the concept of
18:00
cooking and can demonstrate inhibition
18:02
by taking food to be cooked rather than
18:04
eating it raw given that homo erectus
18:08
likely had even greater cognitive
18:10
abilities it's plausible that they could
18:12
have cooked food
18:14
too while hunting for meat and Marrow is
18:17
lucrative it's unreliable as evident in
18:20
modern tropical hunter gatherers
18:22
struggles to obtain sufficient animal
18:24
food
18:26
daily in times of meat scarce Reliance
18:29
on starchy cooked plants as a quick
18:31
energy source is crucial as seen in
18:34
modern contexts without access to cooked
18:37
food failed Hunters would spend many
18:40
hours chewing and digesting raw plant
18:42
foods to meet their energy
18:45
needs Homo erectus likely relied on
18:48
cooked food as a backup during meat
18:50
shortages to meet daily energy
18:53
needs scientists recognize two major
18:56
rises in human brain size
18:59
suggesting that the first rise in brain
19:01
size around 2 million years ago which
19:04
includes Homo habilis and Homo erectus
19:07
was linked to increased meat
19:10
consumption the second was in the latter
19:12
half of the middle Pline in homo
19:14
heidleberg insus in which fire could
19:17
have played a
19:19
role however if cooked food indeed
19:21
contributed to this we would expect to
19:24
see other signs of improved diet quality
19:26
or changes in tooth size
19:29
surprisingly there are no such signals
19:31
from that time period making the
19:34
introduction of cooked food at that time
19:37
problematic another challenge arises
19:40
from calculations which suggest that if
19:42
Homo erectus only ate raw food they
19:45
would have needed to spend more than 8
19:46
hours a day chewing similar to
19:50
gorillas however this assumption might
19:52
underestimate the actual chewing time
19:54
needed by Homo erectus due to their
19:57
smaller teeth and possibly smaller
19:59
gut homoerectus and later species likely
20:03
needed to eat cooked food to get enough
20:05
calories per day to support their larger
20:08
bodies and brains without spending all
20:10
day
20:12
chewing an alternative theory proposes
20:15
that early humans starting with Homo
20:17
habilis fold their larger brains with a
20:20
diet rich in raw meat and animal fats
20:24
which are more energy efficient than
20:26
plant Foods
20:28
however evidence from carnivores doesn't
20:31
strongly support this idea as brain size
20:34
variation within the bear family doesn't
20:36
correlate with their meat
20:39
consumption if cooked food did
20:41
contribute to the increase in brain size
20:43
in Homo erectus what caused the later
20:46
shift in brain size during the mid PTO
20:48
scene one possibility is that
20:51
improvements in hunting skills allowed
20:53
for the procurement of fatr prey which
20:55
could have sustained brain growth
20:59
endurance running evolved in Homo
21:01
erectus for longdistance walking relying
21:04
on anatomical adaptations such as head
21:06
and trunk stabilization foot energy
21:09
storage and efficient heat dissipation
21:12
like reduced body
21:14
hair as evidence for clothing use came
21:17
later in human history their ability to
21:19
stay warm at night without body hair
21:22
suggests Reliance on alternative methods
21:24
like clothing or controlling
21:26
fire homo Rus likely slept on the ground
21:30
due to reduced climbing ability but
21:32
faced risks from predators in Savannah
21:35
environments while some animals sleep on
21:38
the ground Without fire they remain
21:40
Vigilant against predators and sleep for
21:42
short
21:44
spans however among Kalahari foragers
21:47
fire significantly reduces predation
21:50
risk during sleep therefore if Homo
21:53
erectus didn't control fire they might
21:56
have relied on behaviors like enhanced
21:58
spring in or building barriers against
22:02
predators despite the benefits of cooked
22:04
food early humans like Homo erectus
22:07
didn't thrive in terms of population
22:10
densities one possibility is that by
22:12
adapting to cooked food humans may have
22:15
lost the ability to digest fiber rich
22:18
foods which other homono like
22:20
chimpanzees can survive
22:22
on this could have led to a Reliance on
22:25
higher quality foods like animal
22:27
products and low toxin and plants making
22:30
survival more
22:32
challenging the transition from
22:34
homohabilis to Homo erectus wasn't
22:36
sudden but a gradual process suggesting
22:39
a complex series of shifts rather than a
22:42
single
22:43
event homo heists likely relied on
22:46
mechanically processed foods before the
22:48
prevalence of cooking as indicated by
22:51
their jaw size similar to ostr
22:55
opacus the increase in brain size in
22:57
homohabilis could have been driven by
22:59
intermittent use of fire allowing
23:02
consumption of tender Foods supporting
23:04
brain development despite inconsistent
23:07
access to cooked
23:09
food it's often suggested Homo habilis
23:12
had a faster life history compared to
23:14
Homo
23:15
erectus a faster life history implies
23:18
earlier weaning and greater dependence
23:20
of young individuals on adults for
23:23
food this raises questions about how
23:26
early weaning could be possible on a raw
23:28
diet unless certain elusive foods like
23:31
brain and fatr Marrow were reliably
23:35
available humans started to use fire to
23:37
cook to extract sufficient energy from
23:40
food is only partly testable through
23:42
experiments on the physiological and
23:44
molecular effects of cooked food
23:46
consumption it has limitations due to
23:49
lack of adequate archaeological
23:52
record signs of fire at sights like
23:54
Wonder cave indicate dispersal of homo
23:58
erect ice isn't strongly linked to
24:00
significant fire use challenging
24:03
theories of its revolutionary
24:05
impact the challenge in studying early
24:08
fire used lies in spatial
24:09
differentiation from Stone tool sites
24:12
making fire evidence hard to
24:15
find evidence of tuberculosis evolution
24:18
in homo suggests fire exposure between
24:21
6,000 and 70,000 years ago while dental
24:24
calculus analysis indicates raw food
24:27
consumption at 1.2 million years ago
24:30
adaptation to smoke toxins in Homo
24:33
sapiens suggests fire exposure by at
24:35
least 550,000 years ago
24:38
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#Anthropology
#Biological Sciences
#Paleontology