An ancient human ancestor survived far longer than first believed, a study has found.
Homo erectus evolved around two million years ago and was the first known human species to walk fully upright.
After looking into remains found on the Indonesian island of Java, in the 1930s, scientists concluded that it lived until just over 100,000 years ago.
The groundbreaking report released by the journal Nature shows the species survived 300,000 years longer than previously thought until being wiped out, making Homo erectus the most long-lived human species - thriving for at least nearly two million years.
Researchers used five dating techniques on sediments and fossil animal bones from the area, combining 52 age estimates for the analysis. The project took 13 years to complete.
Palaeoanthropologist Russell Ciochon of the University of Iowa, an author of the study, said: "I don't see any way to date this site more thoroughly."
Homo erectus arose in Africa about two million years ago and spread widely there and in Asia, and possibly into Europe. It reached Java more than 1.5 million years ago, and the new dates suggest it died out at least 35,000 years before the arrival there of our own species, Homo sapiens.
The international team mainly from the USA and Australia 'time-stamped' the site by analysing fossilised animal remains from a prehistoric graveyard.
The graveyard had contained 12 Homo erectus skull caps and two shinbones dug up by a Dutch expedition in 1930.
Scientists originally had some difficulty dating them - with some experts estimating they could have been up to 550,000 years old.
