[blam]

Here's an interesting article about Homo-Erectus in Georgia: Stranger In A New Land, that are 1.75 milliom year old. The Chinese claim to have Homo-Erectus skeletons (with tools) that are 2.25 million years old (unsubstanciated).

Now, I saw a program about the 'Hobbits' on Flores and they were speculating that they are Homo-Erectus however, they found 80k year old shell necklaces at the site. Homo-Erectus wasn't suppose to have the brain capacity for making necklaces.

Also, I've read that the brain size of Cro-Magnon Man was larger than modern humans. And, someone mentioned on another thread that Homo-Erectus and Neanderthal had larger brains too but, I suspect this is incorrect.

[AntiGuv]

Neanderthal had very slightly larger brain capacity; Homo erectus was definitely smaller (75%). I'm not sure about Cro-Magnon, although my impression was that they are all but indistinguishable from modern humans.

I don't dispute the 1.75 million year date (the oldest estimates of Homo erectus migration out of Africa is 1.8 million BC). I do doubt the 2.25 million year date, only because China is a marked distance from Africa and if Homo erectus had so expanded its range that early one would expect that it would be more readily apparent. However, I have no problem with the idea in the abstract. The Chinese are notorious for 'unsubstantiable' archeological claims..

As for the Flores 'hobbits' if they are what they appear to be from what little I know of them (a dwarf species typical of island fauna) then it seems they could very well be a pygmy erectus. Since the isolated population would've obviously experienced significant genetic change in any event, that may just as well include greater intelligence. That being said, I have no objection to the concept of Homo erectus necklace ability either.

PS. Cutest dwarf species of all: pygmy mammoth!

[dread78645]

Also, I've read that the brain size of Cro-Magnon Man was larger than modern humans. And, someone mentioned on another thread that Homo-Erectus and Neanderthal had larger brains too but, I suspect this is incorrect.

Cro-Magnon is about the same height, a larger brain case (~1500cc), and probably larger in body size than modern humans (we got smaller around the start of agriculture 15,000 - 10,000 ya). But anatomically, they were modern humans.

Brain capacity, in general:

• A. afarensis 375-550
• A. africanus 420-500
• H. habilis 550-725
• H. ergaster 750-900 (remained in Africa)
• H. erectus 800-1225 (migrated out of Africa)
• H. heidelbergensis 1200-1300
• H. sapien neanderthalensis 1350-1750
• H. sapien sapien 1300-1500