Homo erectus
Speech, Big Brains, and Fire
1.6 mya-100,000 ya
Earliest H. erectus in Africa
First hominid species to leave Africa
Spread to Asia & Europe
Evidence for speech
Asymmetrical brains
Evident in endocasts
Shape of basicranium
Larger hypoglossal canal to control tongue
Size of spinal cord
Control over breathing movements
Position of larnyx
Discovered fire
Warmth
Light
Thaw frozen food
Scare predators
Clear forests
Time to plan
Work stone
Harden wood
Other behaviors…
Possibly cooperative hunting (no longer just scavengers)?
Some archaeological evidence of shelter
Acheulian tool technology: hand axes, flakes, cleavers
Bifacial tools
Body Proportions
Similar to modern humans except:
More heavily muscled
Conical rib cage
Narrower hips
Head widest at base
Larger teeth
Comparative Cranial Capacity
How did H. erectus get large brains?
1.5 mya 
Long after bipedalism
Coincided with tool making behavior
Early Homo ate more meat; enhanced brain development?
Early Homo ate more nutritious tubers; enhanced brain development?
Hypothesis:
Australopithecus & Homo co-existed for at least one million years
Homo (the meat eater?) became smarter & survived
Research questions remaining:
Did H. erectus hunt or scavenge?
Was change sudden or gradual (i.e., larger brains, discovery of fire, travel out of Africa)
Which populations contributed genes to H. sapiens?
Did they build shelters?
Did they have culture?