D2282

D2282

Code interpretation: 

This is the code interpretation.

Exhibit item

Site: 

Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia

Date of discovery: 

1999

Discovered by: 

A team led by Leo Gabunia

Age: 

About 1.77 million years old

Species: 

Homo erectus

Early humans spread beyond Africa

For the first several million years of human evolution, early humans lived only in Africa. By about 1.8 million years ago, they began to spread into other parts of the world. There they encountered new environments and new challenges. This Homo erectus skull from Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia, is one of the earliest skulls known outside of Africa.

Image Credit: James Di Loreto, & Donald H. Hurlbert, Smithsonian Institution