Evolution
Main Erectus Sites
Jean Vaucher (Mar. 2022)

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1887: First discovery (Java Man):

In the late 19th century, scientists speculated that the most ancient humans would be found in tropical regions of East Asia. In 1887, Eugene Dubois, a Dutch anatomist who held this view, was posted to Indonesia as a military doctor. This job allowed him time to search for early human fossils. First excavating in caves on the island of Sumatra, he found a hominid jaw fragment in 1890. Later, he moved on to Java. Around 1891-1892, he recovered a Homo Erectus brain case and femur in the Solo river valley. Returning to the Netherlands with his fossils in 1895, he proclaimed them to be from our earliest ancestor. Dubois had named his discovery Pithecanthropus erectus; but the press preferred the name Java Man. [ Ref: Palomar College ]

1921: Zhoukoudian (China):

In 1921, remains similar to Java Man are discovered just north of Beijing. Thereafter, the "Peking Man" site will be investigated by multinational teams of archeologists until the start of WW2. It has yielded the largest collection of hominin bones ever found at one site: six skulls, and hundreds of fragmentary remains from about 40 early humans (Homo erectus) who lived between 750,000 and 400,000 years ago. [ Hominins in China ]

1930s: Solo river valley (Java):

In the 1930s, major exploration started at Sangiran , near the site of the original Java Man discovery. The first partial cranium of H. erectus (Sangiran 2) was discovered in 1937, with Sangiran 4 (partial cranium with palate and most of the maxillary teeth) found in 1939. The most complete specimen so far discovered is Sangiran 17 Site has yielded remains of over than 100 individuals of Homo erectus, dating back to at least 1.5 million years ago. These fossils show human evolution process during the Pleistocene period, particularly from 1.5 to 0.4 million years ago.
Later Discoveries

1965: Yuanmou Man (China)

Yuanmou Man is the earliest fossil evidence of humans in China. The remains, estimated to be roughly 1.7 million years old, were found in the Yunnan Province of southwestern China; and consist of two upper first incisors presumed to have belonged to a male, and a partial tibia presumed to have belonged to a female. The female may have stood about 125–130 cm (4 ft 1 in–4 ft 3 in) in life. These remains are anatomically quite similar to those contemporary early Homo in Africa, namely H. habilis and H. ergaster.

1983: Atapuerca (Spain)

Massive evidence of Hominin presence in Europe comes from sites in the Atapuerca region (Northern Spain), rich with limestone caves that have preserved a million years of human evolution. [ Wikipedia ]

First, in 1983, at the Sima de los Huesos ("Pit of Bones") site, excavators found the remains of 30 hominins dated to about 400,000 years ago. The remains have been tentatively classified as Homo heidelbergensis and may be ancestors of the Neanderthals.

In 1994, the cave of Gran Dolina, nearby, yielded earlier specimens; six hominin skeletons, dated between 780,000 and 1.2 million years ago. Experts have debated whether these skeletons belong to the species Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, or a new species called Homo antecessor.

Finally, in 2013, an even older human fossil estimated 1.4 Mya was found at Orce in Andalusia.
[ Hominins in Europe ]

1991: Dmanisi, (Caucasus)

Here, 5 skulls dated reliably to 1.8-1.85 million years old were discovered in the buried lair of a large carniverous predator. One skull in particular, is the world’s first completely preserved adult hominid skull from the early Pleistocene. One disturbing aspect of the find was the discovery that individuals combined features previously considered characteristic of different species. [ Ref1 ]

References: Facts & Details

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