Solo Man (Homo erectus soloensis) is the last known subspecies of Homo erectus, existing 117 to 108 thousand years ago along the Solo River in Java, Indonesia. First discovered in 1931, the subspecies was originally considered a direct ancestor of Aboriginal Australians, in accordance with historical race concepts. Solo Man probably has no living descendants, since the remains far predate modern human immigration into the area. The skull is elongated, and has inflated brows and cheekbones. Brain volume was large for the species, with some fossils indicating 1,013 to 1,251 cubic centimeters (61.8 to 76.3 cu in). The subspecies inhabited an open woodland environment much cooler than present-day Java, and probably went extinct with the replacement of this habitat by tropical rainforest. Solo Man manufactured simple stone tools, and possibly also made spears or harpoons from bones, daggers from stingray stingers, and bolas or hammerstones from andesite. (Full article...)