Homo erectus: cranium

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Object Details

Discovered by

Eugene Dubois

Is this an original object?

Age

Between 1 million and 700,000 years old

Summary

While searching for fossils in Java, physician Eugène Dubois uncovered the tophalf of an early human skull in 1891. This skull, Trinil 2, is long, with a flat forehead and distinct browridges and a sagittal keel, though many of its features have been worn flat with age. Dubois named a new species, Pithecanthropus erectus after this specimen in 1894, but Ernst Mayr reassigned Trinil 2 to Homo erectus in the 1950s. This skull is flat on the bottom because the plaster base (brown and white areas) added underneath the fossil bone for display purposes is included in this scan.

Date of discovery

1891

Original Object Identifier

Trinil 2

USNM Number

N362451-0

Link to Original Record

ark:/65665/3041ce912-1a3d-46de-ab1b-6258bba94e54

Original Object Holding Institution

Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Netherlands)

Location of Discovery

Trinil, Indonesia

Site

Trinil, Java, Indonesia

Species

Homo erectus

Data Source

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

Metadata Usage

CC0

Record ID

dpo_3d_200058