Composite photograph showing Eugene Dubois (1858- 1940) and the skull cap (left) of his hominid fossil find, Pithecanthropus erectus, meaning erect ape-man, later renamed Homo erectus. This specimen is popularly known as Java man. It was found, along with a complete femur (thighbone) in sedimentary deposits at a bend of the Solo river in Central Java, Indonesia. Homo erectus is the most widespread and longest-surviving of all the fossil hominids. Its geographical spread included north and east Africa, Europe, Indonesia and China. It survived from 1.6 million years ago (east Africa) to 300,000 (China). The dividers (metal instrument) are used to measure brain size.