Homo erectus is the most long-lived species of Homo, having survived for almost two million years. By contrast, Homo sapiens emerged about a third of a million years ago.

A key site in our understanding of Homo erectus, at Ngandong, in Java, Indonesia, has until now defeated all attempts at reliable dating since it was first excavated more than 90 years ago.

Homo erectus, extinct species of the human genus (Homo), maybe an ancestor of modern humans (H. sapiens). H. erectus, apparently the first human species to control fire, likely originated in Africa and dispersed quickly through Africa, Europe, and South and Southeast Asia starting about 1.9 million years ago.

The result: The H. erectus fossils of Ngandong are 108,000 to 117,000 years old. The new, more robust date range confirms the Ngandong hominins are the last known members of H. erectus in the fossil record.

Was Homo erectus the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens, our own species? Data suggest that increasing body size, greater reliance on animal food resources, and increased range size were part of a web of factors that facilitated the initial early dispersal of H. erectus from Africa.