Timeline Chronology: 2 Mya
1.9 Mya
- Homo erectus (“upright man”), the first hominin with the body size of modern humans, evolves in Africa. Like an ape, Homo erectus has a low, flat forehead and a projecting jaw with big teeth.
1.9–1.6 Mya
- Homo habilis (“handy man”) is associated with stone tools and cut-marked bones
1.8 Mya
- Homo ergaster is much taller and more slender than its ancestors
1.7 Mya
- Earliest known hominin fossils from Eurasia (Homo georgicus), from Dmanisi in Georgia
1.65 Mya
- Acheulean handaxes appear –they may mark a significant step forward in human intelligence
1.65–1 Mya
- Finds of Homo erectus from Java dated to as early as 1.5 mya, but more likely to date from around 1 mya
1.6 Mya
- Earliest known artifacts in China thought to have been made by Homo erectus although fossils from region currently date to only 0.8 mya
1.5 Mya
- “Turkana boy” is an almost complete skeleton of an adolescent Homo ergaster from Tanzania
1.5–1.4 Mya
- Evidence of fire at sites in South Africa, but may be natural
- First traces of human presence in the Italian peninsula
1.2 Mya
- Appearance of first Europeans – Homo antecessor