Homo sapiens
“Homo sapien” means “the wise human”.
Homo sapiens are species of all the primates on the earth, evolved and highly developed. Humans fall into this particular category under the domain Eukarya. Here, the primates are monkeys, lemurs, apes, lorises, etc. DNA is the genetic material in them, which is held as chromosomes in the nucleus in the cells of eukaryotic living entities.
Homo erectus
“Homo erectus” means “upright man”. These are extinct species of the archaic humans from the Pleistocene, and their earliest occurrence is close to 2 million years ago. Their last known population is around 117,000–108,000 years ago, H. e. soloensis from Java. Their body proportions and gait were human-like and were the first species of humans to have displayed an evident nose, flat face, potentially rare body hair coverage.
Despite their size of brain exceeding ancestor species, the capacity widely differed based on the population. They are linked with the Acheulean stone tool industry and are presumed to have been the earliest ancestors of humans to be capable of fire usage, hunting, gathering in organised groups, showing affection towards sick or injured members etc.
Key Differences between Homo sapiens and Homo erectus
The table below depicts the differences between Homo sapiens and Homo erectus.
|
Homo sapiens |
Homo erectus |
| What are they? | |
| Species of primates that are well-developed | These are extinct species of archaic humans that existed through most of the Pleistocene geological era |
| When were they distinguished? | |
| Said to have evolved from early European modern humans approximately 300,000 years ago | Said to have evolved from the Australopithecus approximately 2 million years ago |
| What it Refers to | |
| Wise man | Upright man |
| Current Status | |
| Thriving species at the moment | Extinct species |
| Where are they found? | |
| Widely distributed species at the moment | Thrived in Eurasia and Africa by 1.8 million years ago |
| Subspecies | |
| Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo sapiens idaltu | Yuanmou man, Java man, Peking man, Lantian man, Nanjing man, Meganthropus, Tautavel man, Solo man |
| Size of Brain | |
| 1300 cc | 850 cc-1100cc |
| Intelligence | |
| Intelligent | Less intelligent comparatively |
| Teeth | |
| Smaller teeth | Exhibited larger teeth |
| Prognathism and Eye Ridges | |
| Less prognathism and less heavy eye ridge | More prognathism and heavy eye ridges |
| Jaws | |
| Less heavily built jaws | Heavily built jaws |
| Chin | |
| More prominent | Less prominent |
| Height | |
| Taller | Shorter |
| Facial Features | |
| Similar to modern man | Similar to apes |
| Arms and Legs | |
| Arms are less slender, legs are shorter | Slender arms, longer legs |
| Speech | |
| Modern speech | Primitive speech |
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