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Homo erectus: Difference between revisions
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: ''Main Article: [[Java Man]]'' | : ''Main Article: [[Java Man]]'' | ||
Java Man was the common name for the first fossil evidence to be discovered of what is now called ''Homo erectus''. It was found in 1891 by [[Eugene Dubois]] who was a former student of [[Ernst Haeckel]]. Dubois named the find ''[[Pithecanthropus erectus]]'' (erect ape-man).<ref name=perloff83>Perloff, James. ''[[Tornado in a Junkyard|Tornado in a Junkyard: The Relentless Myth of Darwinism]]''. Burlington, MA: Refuge Books, 1999.</ref> Java Man is arguably the best-known human [[fossil]], and was the evidence that first convinced many people that humans evolved from age-like ancestors.<ref>Lubenow, p. 86.</ref> Since its discovery, there has been much controversy over both the identification and dating of the strata where the fossils were found, and whether the fossils belonged to the same species. | Java Man was the common name for the first fossil evidence to be discovered of what is now called ''Homo erectus''. It was found in 1891 by [[Eugene Dubois]] who was a former student of [[Ernst Haeckel]]. Dubois named the find ''[[Pithecanthropus erectus]]'' (erect ape-man).<ref name=perloff83>Perloff, James. ''[[Tornado in a Junkyard|Tornado in a Junkyard: The Relentless Myth of Darwinism]]''. Burlington, MA: Refuge Books, 1999.</ref> Java Man is arguably the best-known human [[fossil]], and was the evidence that first convinced many people that humans evolved from age-like ancestors.<ref>Lubenow, p. 86.</ref> Since its discovery, there has been much controversy over both the identification and dating of the strata where the fossils were found, and whether the fossils belonged to the same species. | ||
[[File:Peking Man.jpg|thumb|120px|Peking Man Skull (replica) presented at Paleozoological Museum of China.]] | |||
=== Peking Man === | |||
: ''Main Article: [[Peking man]]'' | |||
'''Peking Man''' is the common name for one of the original ''[[Homo erectus]]'' fossils to be discovered. It was unearthed between 1923–27 near Beijing China from which it gets its name (Beijing was previously written 'Peking'). It was originally announced to be a new hominid species based on the discovery of a single tooth and named ''Sinanthropus pekinensis''. Later discoveries of several skull caps and jaw bones revealed that Peking man was very human-like and it was reclassified as ''Homo erectus pekinensis''.<ref>Lamb, Andrew. [http://creation.com/southwest-colorado-man-and-the-year-of-the-one-tooth-wonders ‘Southwest Colorado Man’ and the year of the one-tooth wonders] ''Creation Ministries International''. 2007.</ref> | |||
Excavations under the supervision of Chinese archaeologists Yang Zhongjian, Pei Wenzhong, and Jia Lanpo uncovered 200 human fossils (including 6 nearly complete skullcaps) from more than 40 individual specimens. Excavation came to an end in 1937 with the Japanese invasion, but resumed after the war, and parts of another skull were found in 1966. The Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987. New excavations were started at the site in June 2009.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_erectus_pekinensis Homo erectus pekinensis] ''Wikipedia''. Accessed January 12, 2012.</ref> | |||
[[Image:Homo_ergaster.jpg|thumb|120px|''Homo ergaster'' - Skull Khm-Heu 3733 discovered by Bernard Ngeneo in 1975 (Kenya)]] | [[Image:Homo_ergaster.jpg|thumb|120px|''Homo ergaster'' - Skull Khm-Heu 3733 discovered by Bernard Ngeneo in 1975 (Kenya)]] | ||
=== Homo ergaster === | === Homo ergaster === | ||
Some have argued that certain ''Homo erectus'' fossils found in East [[Africa]] are a distinct species called ''Homo ergaster'', the name being derived from the Ancient Greek ἐργαστήρ "workman". Many that except this species hold that they are the ancestors of modern ''Homo sapiens'', rather than erectus. It is asserted that ''H. sapiens'' then migrated from Africa replacing ''Homo erectus'' (or archaic ''Homo sapiens'') populations found in other parts of the world.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_ergaster Homo ergaster] Wikipedia, Accessed September 18, 2011.</ref> This model of human evolution is known as the [[Out-of-Africa theory]], which is distinct from the competing view known as the [[Multiregional theory]].<ref>[http://www.nature.com/scitable/content/out-of-africa-versus-the-multiregional-hypothesis-6391 Out-of-Africa versus the multiregional hypothesis] Nature Education, Accessed September 18, 2011.</ref> However, there remains considerable debate as to whether ''Homo ergaster'' should be considered a separate species from ''Homo erectus'', and many in fact treat them one and the same.<ref>[http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo/homo_2.htm Homo erectus] by Dennis O'Neil. Behavioral Sciences Department, Palomar College, San Marcos, California.</ref> | Some have argued that certain ''Homo erectus'' fossils found in East [[Africa]] are a distinct species called ''Homo ergaster'', the name being derived from the Ancient Greek ἐργαστήρ "workman". Many that except this species hold that they are the ancestors of modern ''Homo sapiens'', rather than erectus. It is asserted that ''H. sapiens'' then migrated from Africa replacing ''Homo erectus'' (or archaic ''Homo sapiens'') populations found in other parts of the world.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_ergaster Homo ergaster] Wikipedia, Accessed September 18, 2011.</ref> This model of human evolution is known as the [[Out-of-Africa theory]], which is distinct from the competing view known as the [[Multiregional theory]].<ref>[http://www.nature.com/scitable/content/out-of-africa-versus-the-multiregional-hypothesis-6391 Out-of-Africa versus the multiregional hypothesis] Nature Education, Accessed September 18, 2011.</ref> However, there remains considerable debate as to whether ''Homo ergaster'' should be considered a separate species from ''Homo erectus'', and many in fact treat them one and the same.<ref>[http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo/homo_2.htm Homo erectus] by Dennis O'Neil. Behavioral Sciences Department, Palomar College, San Marcos, California.</ref> | ||
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In 2002, a skull was discoverd in [[Ethiopia]] with distinctive ''Homo erectus'' features that was dated at 1 mya (by evolutionary chronology), supporting the earlier view that erectus lived in Africa when ''Homo sapiens'' are believed to have first evolved.<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/03/22/ancestor/index.html Skull may link pre-humans to modern man] ''Cable News Network'', March 22, 2002.</ref> [[Carl Wieland]] from [[Creation Ministries International]] notes that this discovery simply highlights the subjectivity of human fossil interpretation and the tight morphological overlap between fossils that are often identified as separate species.<ref>[http://creation.com/skull-wars-new-homo-erectus-skull-in-ethiopia Skull wars: new ‘Homo erectus’ skull in Ethiopia] by Carl Wieland, ''Creation Ministries International'', March 22, 2002.</ref> | In 2002, a skull was discoverd in [[Ethiopia]] with distinctive ''Homo erectus'' features that was dated at 1 mya (by evolutionary chronology), supporting the earlier view that erectus lived in Africa when ''Homo sapiens'' are believed to have first evolved.<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/03/22/ancestor/index.html Skull may link pre-humans to modern man] ''Cable News Network'', March 22, 2002.</ref> [[Carl Wieland]] from [[Creation Ministries International]] notes that this discovery simply highlights the subjectivity of human fossil interpretation and the tight morphological overlap between fossils that are often identified as separate species.<ref>[http://creation.com/skull-wars-new-homo-erectus-skull-in-ethiopia Skull wars: new ‘Homo erectus’ skull in Ethiopia] by Carl Wieland, ''Creation Ministries International'', March 22, 2002.</ref> | ||
=== Turkana Boy === | === Turkana Boy === | ||
