The First Humans: Java Man
Possessing a robust skull, with a slight projecting face and flaring cheekbones, Java Man (Homo erectus), discovered by Eugene Dubois in 1891 near Trinil in Java, is thought to be about 700,000 years old. The original finding of Java Man consisted of a flat, very thick skullcap, a few teeth, and a thigh bone found about 12 meters away. The brain size of the skull would have been about 940 cc. In 1969 at Sangiran on Java, a fairly complete cranium, with a brain size of roughly 1000 cc was found. It is the most complete erectus find from Java and is thought to be about 800,000 years old. Recent dating has suggested that the skull is closer to 1.7 million years old, which would mean that Homo erectus migrated out of Africa much earlier than previously thought.

·Read about the search for Java Man.

©2002 National Projects   All rights reserved.