Made a follow up video on whether hand axes were made to seduce partners. Check it out. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZruefayXxL24gac.html

Never been so excited to see some Erectus.

It really fascinates me to imagine that for 2 million years, there was another species of intelligent human beings struggling to survive on a very different Earth. They had real thoughts, dreams at night, aspirations and emotional connections, relationships. What was their life like? So many untold stories man, I wish time travel was possible. Just to observe our ancestors

the whole video built up to the end where he giggles after saying “there is a little erectus in all of us” literally my fav part of the whole video😭

I just discovered Stefan and his videos today. His sense of humor, frequent charges of locations, and talking into a spoon spices up what could be a dry presentation of a fascinating subject. Great job!

Love how these guys made tools, migrated thousands of miles, and survived nearly 2 million years all to be named “Homo erectus”

Geez, leave some documentary-style quality for the rest of us!

I´m a brazilian guy and your channel is being a wonderful find for me. Because here in Brazil the lack of the tipe of content is considerable. Paleoanthropology open a new world in my field of interess. Congratulation for your work here.

i love videos like these because they’re not overstimulating and they are SO good as background noise when youre doing something

Before this video I watched a 1 hr lecture On the same topic. In 25 minutes you covered basically all the same areas and did it in a highly accessible way. There is a great talent in that

I also like the "boiling water" theory of food. This ties back to my earlier theory, that early man developed, not with spears, but with 'baskets'. Some early monkey humanoid figured out you can carry more bird eggs, if you carry the whole nest down, with the eggs in them. So they figured out how to use containers. This use of containers led to us humanoids walking upright, so we would carry our baskets.

I really like how you do these mini documentaries with your own twist. This subject has always intrigued me on how we got here.

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Did anyone walk by when you were sitting in the snow, talking to a camera, holding a spoon and waving a skull around?

Hey everyone! With every video I make, there’s always stuff that has to be left out, just for the sake of time. This is especially the case with homo erectus who lived for so long and was so crucial to our development. Stay tuned for some bonus vids including extra detail about the handaxes because there’s a lot of debate around those. Thanks for watching!

Why's there a plastic spoon on your mic

Im honestly astounded that an anthropology channel has so many subscribers. Well, you deserve it!

I love that you still have your spoon on the microphone

We've evolved more in terms of technology in 80 years than our entire species has in millions of years. Wild.

I've been binging all of your videos and I'm really impressed by your ability to talk about such a complicated subject for a half hour and you don't say "uh" 1,000 times

The complicated story of how we became to be is of endless fascination to me. Earlier today I watched a video by PBS Eons in fermentation and in this video they hypothesized that perhaps Homo Erectus had discovered the benefits of fermentation in food to aid in digestion since we don’t have any real evidence that they cooked their food in a regular basis. This would have allowed for the better diet that aided in our evolution. Like you, I think that the sophisticated tools they made and their ability to successfully spread across the globe suggests some rudimentary ability for purposeful communication not to mention the rudimentary art they produced. Fascinating video!

Your “story telling” abilities are wonderful. No fancy effects or irrelevant stock footage just fascinating information in an easy to understand format. Thank you for sharing your big brain with us (and the adorable assistant who provided us with demonstrations of early communication)

I love how as we learn about our ancestors and evolutionary cousins we’re beginning to view them with more respect and insight. Love what you do, Stefan! Shout out from Oregon!

Firstly and most importantly i would like to applaud you for how informative and enjoyable this video is, I always enjoy your video's and look forward to new releases. However- the horror and confusion I felt when I first saw Elmo in the background is indescribable.

Dude, you channel is literally 🔥 Your knowledge, and presentation is unlike anything else on YT. I can't wait to see where you will take your content!

Since a young child, I've had this fantasy that I somehow got access to a time machine. Somehow it didn't affect the environment, it was as if I wasn't there. Made for the perfect observatory of our ancient past. And sadly it's only science fiction!

Having watched a number of Stefan's videos, I have to say this is one of his best. Not only the science, but the way the science is communicated. Excellent. Louis Leakey and Carl Sagan would be proud.

Your gesturing with the skull just never gets old.

"There's a little Erectus in all of us" Well said lol

Adult me: "This is such a great documentary." That 13 yo me still living in the back of my head: "Hehe, Early Homo."

the part where he showed the inscribed seashell in Java made me tear up, it's something so human to carve your mark into something, almost everytime I go for a walk in the wods I find a stick or a rock that grabs my attention and makes me wanna carve it, it's so humbling to see how the seeds of our existence date so far back in time, how even our most distant cousins were in a way human just like us would be, curious, inventive, kind and resourceful.

Very nice presentation Stefan. Very human and pointing out the flaws or unknowns in today's evidence. No effort to "make stuff up" and not delineate the possible deviations. Thanks, learning new things is fun and conscious raising.

During the 1950s I was a Patrol Officer with the Australian Administration in Papua New Guinea. I used to patrol the villages built along the Turama River. There were also villages in the pinnacle limestone eastern interior which I also visited. On the way to these villages I walked past a number of huge caves. I have often wondered since if anyone has done any digging in these caves as I am sure people would have lived in them.

How can anyone not think the hand axe is art!

Fist time watcher, Awesome delivery! enjoyed and looking forward to catching up. Cheers!

This video is so cool and your vibe is so nice. Keep up the good work ❤️🔥

I thought Homo Erectus was a spell that wizards could use on men to make their "Wands" go up

I love that the first humans were named “homo” and “erectus”

I rarely comment on here, but I just would like to express the Creator how excellent this video is. I could tell this was not made by like a professional crew (National Geographic for example), but I think the intelligence in the presentation and even the visualizations are at that level; if not better. I'm very impressed!

When I heard that outro line I was so touched. It's almost like I could feel the little Erectus coming inside me.

These guys hunted, survived the elements while struggling to survive at times, where im here sat on the sofa eating a bowl of cereal that someone made and packaged for me. Whos more 'human' ? 🤔

For me, all these chaps and chapettes are like family, I wish I could know more about them, even meet them, and it makes me sad knowing that I won't

I think that developing and perfecting complex tools following a certain standard requires the ability to accumulate information and transfer it from one generation to another, and I can think of no other system than language, just as we do.

'There's a little ... in all of us ..' .. Not sure how you kept a straight face on that one either .. lol.. Great stuff .. love your work .

Human evolution keeps getting more fascinating! Thanks for another very informative video. :^)

ahh Home Erectus. the most hilarious science name next to Uranus

Your channel is my new favorite! I truly love how you present the information. You do it with an unpretentious scientific purity that I wholly respect.

Love it, Stephan where did you get the Shulan hand from? Very cool

Great Video!

I am unoriginal and have nothing clever to say just commenting to boost engagement with the algorithm

I was under the impression that the fire pit in Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa was dated to 900,000+. Initially I remember hearing about the "1 million year old fire pit" but it looks like the date has been pushed closer a bit. I read that there were animal bones amongst the ash and it was supposed that Early Humans had been cooking meat there.

What really boggled my mind was the video of Mr Begun 's finding the ancestors of our ancestors in a brilliant brief synapsis on this topic . The synergistic occurrences in climate , plate tectonics ( continental drifting ) all shaped the evolution of the Humans going as far back as nearly 12 million years ago , and one can go further back than that most definitely !

Acheulean hand axes are so complex I don't see how H. erectus could have passed on skills like that without using language.

On the subject of language,babies easily pickup gestures. So it's not hard to believe the first languages were non verbal and that fired the nerves to create verbal language.

Well researched, easily explained and with great ilustrations

thanks for all the information, they are very valuable. I had a question about why you always have a white plastic spoon in the hand holding the microphone

"It's quite heavy and could definitely kill something" *murders random banana without warning*

Great videos!! Oddly curious about the spoon though lol!

One critique amongst this interesting video, the word "primitive" isn't used in anthropology as it gives such a pejorative tone to what is described we rather use archaic, early, ancient. I would argue that he is not the first human just because he looks more like us as it is a very Sapiens-centric point of view. He is the most remarkable of our genus as the earliest Homo to migrate out of Africa but remarkability doesn't influence the taxonomy of the human genus. Other than that, it is a VERY good vulgarisation of what we know about Homo Erectus and it's importance in human evolution. It is also refreshing to see an educational video constantly reminding to the viewer that these information aren't set in stone(pun intended). Interestingly enough, the discovery of the Lomekwian lithic culture in Dikika, ethiopia might suggest(at least to me) that vocalization in the goal of transmitting knowledge from generation to generation was present in earlier hominids than Homo Habilis or Erectus. In this case, Australopithecus Afarensis is the earliest hominin to really modify rocks in the goal of carcass processing and the behavior is observable in the Lomekwi 3 site in Kenya suggesting a certain complexification of transmission abilities in early hominins. It also shows " hominin knappers already had considerable abilities in terms of planning depth, manual dexterity and raw material selectivity." Source : Harmand, S., Lewis, J., Feibel, C. et al. 3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya. Nature 521, 310-315 (2015). doi.org/10.1038/nature14464

Dude, you are so natural at spreading your passion around, and you make it feel it so light, that seeing your videos is not just knowledge, but a pleasure and entertainment...

IT really puts things in perspective! When I was a wee lad many years ago, I had walk miles to school in any weather and brave the elements and nature. Homo Erectus crossed continents and oceans. I bow to their spirit!

love your video and essay editing

Its so wild to think about the time scales here, with some of these beings having lived 1.5 to 2 million years ago, on this same Earth we live now, and then to think that our ENTIRE recorded history for humans that live even somewhat similarly to what we do today can be traced over only the last few thousand years. A few thousand, compared to a few MILLION years in the past. At the direction we are currently moving our species, and assuming we can manage to keep our Earth in livable conditions, imagine what our species (with our brains) could accomplish given several MILLION years on this planet…!!! We’ve managed to influence huuge changes/evolution in dog species in just the last 200 years or so!

I remember reading a paper on how an orthopedic surgeon recognized an early hominid’s skeletal injury as a “fall on outstretched limb”, one he sees in people frequently

Im just a simple hominid, i see new Milo video, I tap.

"What are we if not big walking brains?" Such a great quote!

Well done! I find this subject very interesting.

"There's a little erectus in all of us." True. But some bigger than others.

When the camera angle went back and I saw the fire, I thought that crazy bastard has an open fire burning in his garage 😳

I’m new to the channel - what’s with the white plastic spoon he holds with his mic?

Just wondering, is there a historical reason you switch between ‘hoe • mo’ and ‘hoh • mo’ from a pronunciation standpoint? Or for political correctness?

This is such a slick and smoothly produced video. Clever use of obviously limited resources, disciplined research, tight editing, passionate delivery with a rich voice and killer smile. Have only recently discovered this channel and have been binge-watching all your videos. Great stuff. You are doing important work.

Following your development these last few years has been lots of fun; I always appreciate the research you put into them. Keep up the good work, and hold on to that sense of humor (it isn't lost on everybody). And thanks for introducing me to the illustrations of Ettore Mazza!

I like seeing Elmo in the background jaw dropped while being blown away by your knowledge. I'm right there with you Elmo!

Thanks for all your efforts. Good work.

I love the idea of us sitting around in hot tubs, chillin' and waiting for our soup to boil.

I wish I could observe our ancient ancestors. Very interesting. Many species use sound to communicate, it benefits survival and reproduction, but the impact of our development in that area of our history is really cool to think about. I also wonder how art can be linked to our evolution as a relatively hyper intelligent species. I assume the same parts of our brain that are easily explained with evolution such as caring for our tribe, thinking creatively to get out of a dangerous situation or make a kill, curiosity and being amused enjoying new things, are linked to artistic development as well.

17:37 the idea that small instinctive actions of ours tooks millions of years to develop is mind-boggling. Evolution is nature's greatest gift.

What is this art from in the video??

Not sure why I never thought of those HandAxes as being that huge. I like it.

I didn't realize how much I wanted this video. Homo erectus has always been one of my favorite humans. Great video!

As I sit here drinking a twisted tea I notice a twisted tea beside you while talking about fire

12:55-13:22 maybe they didn't even use something like stems, but just swam. Modern humans are known to swim much further than a few miles, for example a few people crossed the English Channel, which is around 32 km (around 20 miles) wide at it's narrowest point, but swimmers often take a much longer route because of currents.

The artwork is so amazing on these videos, it really makes them stand out, big fan!

Your videos are getting far more sophisticated, and more enjoyable. Keep at it, your channel is close to blowing up!

hello Stefan, i came across to your channel, and i listen to it now almost everyday, love your work. can you make any video about Homo semipens and Dinosaurs cohabitaion on the earth? keep up the good work ❤

Buddy's forehead got Megamind jealous

Nice argument and I tend to agree. As an anthropologist, I'm quite certain that while Erectus was not the first upright hominid, erect posture itself in the savannas was the key essential trait that led to all the others that define us, including speech, because a flute-like trachea entering the foramen magnum at 90 degrees is required for vocalizing human language.

So happy to hear from Stephen Milo again! I have been searching KZfaq. You have been missed!🤗

I am certain HE must have been creative and enjoyed art and culture just like us. I love this subject and thanks for this.

Imagine in a million years people talking about us like this. Life is awesome

i think ive just found my next favourite channel. everything about paleontological anthropology fascinates me and i LOVE whenever you mention art and creativity and it makes me love humans so much more :D you just GET it, man, i love this so much

I really love your thoughts about the little things that matter, like the scratched sea shell. Video quality was on point, really loved it throughout.

The Homo Erectus skull has some interesting features. Firstly, archaic Proto-Hominids retained their prognathism from earlier great ape ancestors; As the protrusion creates more jaw muscle attachment sites, allowing for a more powerful bite. Simian prognathism is always correlated with smaller cranial capacity, whereas a flatter facial profile and level jaw bone - as seen in Cro-Magnon - is correlated with a more developed pre-frontal cortex and larger cranial capacity. Secondly, the recessed, sloping forehead is indicative of the under-evolved pre-frontal cortex - An essential development in human reasoning, cognition, and the quelling of our emotional, animalistic impulses.

You're a rock star of the Stone Age, Stephan. You should investigate getting a contract with a streaming service. Your persona could work well with a mass audience. Netflix or Amazon or Disney might bite for a multi-part series; each part could have a central person or family as the star: Lucy, Turkana Boy, DNA Eve and Adam, the Hobbit guy, the mixed Denisovan/Neanderthal family suggested by a child's DNA. Or maybe all that sounds like a pipe dream. Anyway, thanks for your great work.

You go through all sides of the discussion but then you show the beauty in it and that just keeps me coming back man

I was binge watching Stefan's videos again and he uploads a new one. What a pleasant surprise. Thanks Stefan.

Insane thumbnail, it feel like it's going to move at any second and the impact it's going to be hard. Really anime style.

Banana decapitation punch-in was some pretty awesome production value

Solid, consistent narration, totally erratic narration backgrounds. Thanks again Stefan. Quality stuff.