Why Did Homo erectus, After Surviving for Nearly 2 Million Years, Finally Go Extinct Around 110,000 Years Ago? — Here’s What Experts Suggest

Homo erectus is one of modern humans’ ancient relatives who first existed around 2 million years ago. They are the longest-lived human species, but around 110,000 years ago, they finally vanished. But, if they have survived for an extraordinarily long period, what could possibly be the reasons for their disappearance?

Fossil evidence found in Java, Indonesia, suggests their existence may have overlapped in time with Homo sapiens and other hominins. Could these other human species have influenced their extinction to some degree? Or could it be because of the overwhelming pressures created by the changing world during those times? Well, let’s dive deep into the past and see how they lived, and what could be the factors that caused their end.

Environmental Change and Climate Pressures

One of the key factors influencing the extinction of Homo erectus is an environmental change. Their natural habitats, like open woodlands and grasslands, may have been transformed into dense forested areas or rainforests. There could be more vegetation in these environments, leading to an abundance of new kinds of animals to hunt; however, dense forests may have required a different skillset than what Homo erectus developed.

So, one of the reasons for their late populations to vanish could be that they may not have adapted fast enough to the changing world. This is because an abrupt shift like this phenomenon would have hindered their ability to find shelters, gather resources, and migrate to a new environment. The animals they usually hunt in their more natural habitat would not be present here. There would have been less open ground, slowing their movements, and they also could not have been accustomed to the wild edible plants yet.

Ultimately, the environmental change, such as the transition from open woodlands to rainforests, that Homo erectus encountered could be too overwhelming to overcome, especially for their last and smaller population.

Read more: AIP

Competition and Contact With Other Human Species

Homo Erectus: 'The Upright Man' | Prehistoric Humans Documentary

Another one of the reasons that Homo erectus could have vanished is competition and interaction with other hominin species. The last population of Homo erectus was recorded to be in Java, Indonesia; however, the modern human species, Homo sapiens, has only migrated out of Africa successfully around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago.

The modern humans have only arrived at this new environment around 60,000 to 45,000 years ago, but Homo erectus vanished around 110,000 years ago. In other words, they might not have encountered the modern humans in these specific regions.

However, Homo erectus’s spreading to other regions may have still been limited by competition from other newer species of humans, such as Homo sapiens in Africa, Neanderthals in Europe, and Denisovans in Asia. These other hominins may have possessed better technology, an adaptable diet, and more flexible behavior that allowed them to outcompete Homo erectus in different regions in the world.

So, while the last population of Homo erectus in Indonesia may not have been directly outcompeted by the modern human species, the competition with other hominins across the world and their broad history may have still played a role in their long-term decline and eventual disappearance.

Technological and Adaptive Limitations

Homo erectus were among the first humans, together with Homo habilis and other hominins, to possibly have used fire, and develop basic stone tools like those in the Oldowan industry. These tools are made by hitting one stone with another to create sharp flakes. However, Homo erectus, during its long survival on Earth, may have also pioneered the next generation of stone tools, named the Acheulean handaxes and cleavers.

So, overall, Homo erectus, to be able to survive for nearly 2 million years, were pretty adaptable and capable of making, utilizing, and inventing stone tools. But, a study in the Arabian Peninsula suggests they may have preferred a least-effort strategy in developing these tools. In other words, they may have valued efficiency, where they used known tools, rather than continuing to create more complex and advanced technology.

If a stone tool works, why change it, right? This could have worked if they were the only humans alive on the planet and their environment was stable, but the other hominins have been rapidly developing their technology to adapt to harsh habitats, and the world is continually changing. Some humans were able to create projectile weapons like throwing spears, and some were able to combine woodworking with stone-headed weapons.

In short, their technologically conservative behavior may not seem hurtful at first, but it puts them at risk of being outcompeted by other human species. Over time, this phenomenon could have led to their numbers around the world declining, leading us to another possible significant factor for their extinction, which is isolation and their shrinking population.

Read more: Smithsonian Human Origins

Shrinking Populations, Isolation, and Extinction Risk

Homo erectus | Why Did the Most Successful Early Human Go Extinct?

When a group of human species became fragmented and isolated, they would be at risk of having genetic diseases from the lack of genetic diversity and inbreeding. This would then make them more vulnerable to pathogens and natural disasters. Each fragmented and small group could then face several separated local extinctions and genetic bottlenecks.

The last known population of Homo erectus was in Java, Indonesia, and they may have also represented a very small population group living in an isolated environment. It means that they could have also faced the same phenomena that could have led to local extinction in this refuge.

But overall, their population around the world may have all faced the combination of all these factors discussed. They may not have adapted fast enough to a changing environment, they could have been outcompeted in their natural habitats by newer human species, and their population could have been separated and fragmented, putting them at risk of genetic bottlenecks and total annihilation as a species.

Author's Final Thoughts

Homo erectus is the most lived human species. They were successful for 2 million years, until they weren’t. The factors that could have influenced their demise are a multitude of reasons and not just a single cause. Their population around the world could have been outcompeted by different groups of human species like Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and others that we may not have discovered yet.

Their story is still very powerful as it shows us two different tales, which include how a species could last for millions of years, and what factors could lead to their extinction. As a species, sometimes, we may think that we are invulnerable, but in reality, we have only been alive on this planet for nearly 300,000 years. Homo erectus may be gone now, but we could still learn a lot from their story and carry on their legacy.

Read next: Why Did Homo sapiens Interbreed With Neanderthals Around 50,000 Years Ago? — Here’s What DNA Reveals About Their Union

References & Further Reading

Rizal, Y., et al. (2020). Last appearance of Homo erectus at Ngandong, Java, 117,000–108,000 years ago. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1863-2

Indriati, E., et al. (2011). The age of the 20 Meter Solo River Terrace, Java, Indonesia and the survival of Homo erectus in Asia. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021562

Raia, P., et al. (2020). Past extinctions of Homo species coincided with increased vulnerability to climatic change. One Earth. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.09.007

Louys, J., & Roberts, P. (2020). Environmental drivers of megafauna and hominin extinction in Southeast Asia. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2810-y

Westaway, K. E., et al. (2017). An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000–63,000 years ago. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23452

O’Connell, J. F., et al. (2018). When did Homo sapiens first reach Southeast Asia and Sahul? PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1808385115

Bacon, A.-M., et al. (2021). A multi-proxy approach to exploring Homo sapiens’ arrival and environments in Southeast Asia. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99931-4