All we know is that we giggle like school kids whenever we have the occasion to say “Homo Erectus.”
Even knowing that it means “upright man” doesn’t dampen our exuberant mirth. In fact, it only seems to add to it. But we don’t get out much, and we aren’t paleontologists, so we suspect they’re a little more serious than we are.
Homo erectus got his name, of course, for walking straighter than some of his earlier ancestors.
He could have also been called something else, since other early-human names are more descriptive of their accomplishments than their physical characteristics, like his early work with taming fire, perhaps.
For example, Homo habitus, which means “handy man,” in honor of their being the first to make stone tools. Or Homo sapiens, which means, despite the overwhelming evidence around you proving otherwise, “wise man.”
Now if that doesn’t get paleontologists snickering, what will?
Related Posts
-
Where does the word “coin” (quoin) come from and What does coin mean?
Although the minting of metals into coins has sometimes been done by casting, that is, by pouring molten metal into molds, the general practice has been to stamp the metal. Nowadays, as it…
-
What does the term Homo sapiens mean?
Homo sapiens means "Wise human." However, because anthropologists now identify other ancient subspecies of Homo sapiens (for example, Homo sapiens neandertalensis), modern humans are now known in the scientific world as Homo sapiens…
-
How did Homo Sapiens get their Name and what does it mean in Latin?
Homo Sapien means "Wise human" in Latin. That's already a fairly ironic joke, considering. However, it gets better. Because anthropologists have identified other ancient subspecies of Homo sapiens, for example, Homo sapiens neandertalensis,…
-
What Was Louis Leakey’s Greatest Archaeological Find and What Does Homo Habilis Mean In Latin?
In 1960, Louis Leakey found the skull, leg, foot, and hand bones of another hominid in Tanzania, East Africa. It was dated at around 2 million years old, just slightly older than Zinj.…
-
How did Winston Churchill coin the term “Iron Curtain” and when?
Winston Churchill is widely known to have coined the term "Iron Curtain". In most history texts, you'll find that he used the term publicly in a speech given at Westminster College in Fulton,…
-
What are the origins of the word “smog” and when did French scientist Dr. Des Voeux coin the term?
The word "smog" was originally coined by a French scientist, Dr. Des Voeux, at a July 3, 1905, Public Health Council meeting in London as a description for its worrisome pollution-saturated fog. The…
