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Author Topic:   What if Homo erectus was alive today?
AustinG
Member (Idle past 5168 days)
Posts: 36
Joined: 04-06-2009


Message 1 of 2 (510210)
05-28-2009 11:34 PM


Last year wildlife researchers discovered over 100,000 gorillas in a remote area of the Congo.
The fact that 100,000 gorillas could escape humankind's ever searching gaze got me thinking. What if instead of gorillas, the researchers uncovered a population of Homo erectus?
The General consensus among anthropologists is that we, Homo sapien sapiens, evolved from Homo erectus less than 2 million years ago (or even less than 1 million years ago if I remember correctly). I realize in order for my hypothetical situation to work my population of Homo erectus would have to have separated and isolated itself. I also understand that whatever selected pressures caused Homo erectus to evolve into Homo sapien would have to be absent from the environment that this isolated population lived in. In anycase, the possibility of a group of Homo erectus existing in the present is not an issue as my discussion only pertains to the hypothetical. Now on to the point...
Obviously, a discovery of a living population of Homo erectus would stir up the EvC debate. My question is, would this be the smoking gun of evolution for creationists? If not, what arguments could be made in defense of creationism?
After this point has been exhausted, I would like to discuss the human rights implications of a Homo erectus discovery. Would they be afforded human rights? If a group of Homo erectus immigrated to your country, would they be allowed to vote? Get a Job? Would they be treated as animals or some half-way point?
Obviously, I'm assuming Homo erectus is less intelligent then our own species, but only slightly. At the upper end of the spectrum, erectus specimens demonstrate cranial capacity that is close to our own. Indeed, if I remember correctly from my anthropology course, some Homo erectus specimen's cranial capacity exceeded Homo sapiens...or was that neanderthalensis? It doesn't matter... In anycase, there is evidence that they made clothes, used primitive stone tools, and may have even utilized fire.
Edited by AustinG, : No reason given.

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Message 2 of 2 (510220)
05-29-2009 12:32 AM


Thread copied to the What if Homo erectus was alive today? thread in the Human Origins and Evolution forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.

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