HOMO ERGASTER: CHARACTERISTICS, DIET, SKULL - HISTORY - 2025

The Homo ergaster was a hominid that appeared in Africa about 2 million years ago. Since the discovery of the first remains, there has been great controversy among experts. Some consider ergaster and Homo erectus to be actually the same species, while others claim that they are different.

The prevailing theory today is that Homo ergaster was the direct ancestor of Homo erectus. Since it is considered to be the first hominid to leave Africa, African specimens are called Homo ergaster and their descendants in other areas of the planet are called Homo erectus.

Homo ergaster skull. Source: By Bjoertvedt, from Wikimedia Commons

The anatomy of Homo ergaster represents an evolutionary leap over previous species. Thus, their stature stands out, which could reach 1.8 meters. Likewise, their cranial capacity is especially relevant, well above that of their ancestors. Many authors consider that the higher consumption of meat explains this increase.

Homo ergaster, which means Working Man, brought with it a great improvement in tool making. Their utensils began to be more complex and of higher quality, favoring hunting and other social activities.

General characteristics of the

Facial reconstruction of Homo ergaster. Wolfgang Sauber (photograph); E. Daynes (sculpture) / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Studies of the remains of H. ergaster lead experts to consider it the successor to Homo habilis. On the other hand, many authors describe it as the predecessor of H. erectus. On this matter, there is no absolute consensus, since some paleoanthropologists think that both may have been a single species.

The first finds of H. ergaster were made in 1975, in Koobi Fora (Kenya). An expedition found two skulls there, one possibly female, KNM-ER 3733, and another male, KNM-ER 3883. The dating of the remains showed that they were 1.75 million years old.

However, the most important discovery took place years later, in 1984. At Lake Turkana, also in Kenya, the skeleton of a boy about 11 years old was unearthed. Known as the Turkana Child, it allowed a detailed study of his anatomy.

Among the most prominent features was his height, 1.60. Given the age of the individual at the date of his death, this means that he could have reached 1.80 meters. Its cranial capacity was 880 cubic centimeters and its body had a bone structure similar to that of modern man.

Dating and geographic scope

Homo ergaster inhabited during the Middle Pleistocene, between 1.9 and 1.4 million years ago. The deposits found so far indicate that its habitat was in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Eritrea. In that area, the climate of the time was very arid, with a drought that lasted for about one hundred thousand years.

Experts say that H. ergaster was the first hominid to leave the African continent and adapt to other areas of the planet.

At first, it spread throughout the rest of Africa, making the leap to the Asian Middle East between 1.8 and 1.4 million years ago. Continuing east, it came to occupy areas of the Caucasus.

In the west, it is known that it reached present-day Italy about 1.4 million years ago. Furthermore, remains have been found in Spain, specifically in Atapuerca and Sima Elefante.

It should be noted, as experts say, that H.ergaster quickly gave way to H. erectus. Some scientists even claim that it is the same species, varying only by its geographic range.

Physical characteristics

The skull of H. ergaster had a supraorbital visor, the area of ​​the eyebrows, much smaller than that of its ancestors, although still larger than that of the current human being.

The remains found allow us to affirm that they were very robust, with a height that ranged from 1.48 to 1.85 meters. The estimated weight ranged between 52 and 68 kilos. They were completely bipedal, with elongated legs.

Compared to other previous hominids, there is no evidence of marked sexual dimorphism. This implies that there were no huge anatomical differences between the two sexes, and they could perform almost the same tasks.

The appearance of the face was marked by its protruding nose, similar to that of H. sapiens. The jaw, and teeth, were smaller than that of H. habilis, giving it a more modern appearance.

Another fundamental physical aspect was brain and neocortex growth, probably caused by changes in diet. Likewise, its thermal regulation system was more advanced than that of H. habilis.

The chest was narrowing towards the shoulders, while the thigh bones were elongated, compensating for the small birth canal.

Other physical aspects

As noted before, in this species there was an important change in its way of regulating the internal temperature. The development of sweating caused H. ergaster to lose body hair in the medium term, while that of the head appeared.

In the same way, the lungs also developed. By developing more complex activities, this hominid needed more energy and oxygenated itself more frequently.

To this must be added that his breathing is no longer solely oral. H. ergaster also began to breathe through his nose. These aspects helped the hominin to survive in the open savannah, where increased mobility was essential to hunt and escape predators.

Behavior

All experts agree that H. ergaster stopped using trees to get around. Thus, he completely abandoned the arboreal condition of many of his ancestors, living only on the ground.

They were highly stylized hominids and their anatomy was adapted to the environment they inhabited, the savannah. The way of moving was practically the same as that of modern humans.

In the social aspect, it is considered that it could be the first hominid to establish complex relationships in communities. This could be favored by the appearance of oral language, although not all scientists agree with this.

If it seems that they developed the ability to elaborate rudimentary abstractions. Abstract thinking, due to the development of the cortical areas of the brain, is one of the great differences between humans and animals. This indicates that H. ergaster has a very important position on the evolutionary scale.

Socialization

Within this abstract thought is included an aspect that could favor the socialization of the species. One theory claims that the increased visibility of white sclera in H. ergasters may have given them the ability to intuit the moods of their peers by looking into their eyes.

Despite this mental development, it is thought that they were unable to develop long-term thoughts or plans for the future. In fact, the average lifespan was quite low and few were over 20 years of age.

Articulate language

Although the experts do not strictly confirm this, part of the scientific community thinks that H. ergaster could be the first hominid to develop an articulate oral language.

To affirm this they rely on brain structures, which certainly allowed the hominid to communicate orally. However, some remains seem to deny such a possibility, since the cervical vertebrae do not adapt to spoken language.

Another hypothesis points out that he even created a kind of song, more like a purr than a song. This rhythm, which did not include any words, was used to comfort the little ones.

Feeding

H. ergaster was omnivorous, with a diet that was based on the elements that it could obtain in its closest geographic environment. The main elements were vegetables and meat.

The analyzes carried out on the teeth show that their diet consisted mainly of roots, tubers, meat from the hunting of small animals and from scavenging.

In addition, an expedition from the Complutense University of Madrid has found the remains of elephants in a H. ergaster settlement, which opens the possibility that they ate large animals.

There is no consensus on whether H. ergaster knew how to handle fire. If it is certain that its successor, H. erectus, did, so many think that they also had that knowledge.

The introduction of greater amounts of meat in the diet, cooked or not, was one of the causes of the increase in the brain, since it provided a greater amount of quality proteins to the body.

Cranial capacity

The cranial structure was quite similar to that of H. habilis, but its capacity was much greater. Thus, the average among the remains found is between 800 and almost 1000 cubic centimeters. Its predecessors, however, hovered between 600 and 800 cc.

It seems that the physical and intellectual development was slower than that of their ancestors. This resulted in the strengthening of community ties. As they needed more time for the young to fend for themselves, they needed to create communities that would help them survive.

Tools

H. ergaster made a qualitative leap in tool making. It went from the simplest ones based on boulders to those belonging to the Acheulean period. In this, they begin to carve bifaces, also known as German axes.

These pieces had as their most characteristic element a head with two edges and a point. That shape made them much more functional than the old carved edges.

H. ergaster began to produce these tools while still in Africa and, upon migration, transferred the technique to Eurasia. Acheulean was in force for a long time due to its many uses.

Apart from this, H. ergaster left some remains of his dwelling, carved wooden tools, some wooden spears, and what is considered the most primitive container, a bowl of the same material.

References

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