First human ancestors to leave Africa died out in Java, scientists say

Dating of bones from Indonesia confirm Homo erectus roamed planet for 1.8m years

The last known resting place of Homo erectus, one of the most successful human ancestors and the first to walk fully upright, has been traced to a floodplain near the longest river on the Indonesian island of Java.

A dozen partial skulls and two shinbones, discovered in a bonebed near the Solo river in the 1930s, but never reliably dated, have now been placed at between 108,000 and 117,000 years old after a comprehensive survey of the site.