Summary. Homo ergaster is an extinct hominid species which lived throughout
eastern and southern Africa between about 2 and 1 million years ago with
the advent of the lower Pleistocene and the cooling of the global climate.
It is currently somewhat controversial whether H. ergaster or the later,
Asian H. erectus was the direct ancestor of modern humans.
From his African homeland H. ergaster found favourable pathways to disperse during
Pleistocene times, possibly in more than one phase, across Eurasia to the
Far East. The northernmost finding in East Africa is the cranium of Homo
erectus from Buia in the Eritrean Dankalia, dating back to 1 My before the present. Professor Coppa and collaborators are carrying out an in-depth analysis of the
features of this cranium (by means of advanced techniques, such as a High
Resolution CT ), in order to clarify his morphological, paleoneurological,
physiological placement within the evolutionary pattern towards Homo
sapiens. Recent results will be presented.