title: Comfort women

text: On December 13, 2007, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on "Justice for the 'Comfort Women' (sex slaves in Asia before and during World War II)" calling on the Japanese government to apologise and accept legal responsibility for the coercion of young women into sexual slavery before and during WWII.


title: Comfort women

text: In 2014, Pope Francis met with seven former comfort women in South Korea. Also in 2014, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called for Japan to, as the committee's deputy head Anastasia Crickley put it, "conclude investigations into the violations of the rights of 'comfort women' by the military and to bring to justice those responsible and to pursue a comprehensive and lasting resolution to these issues". U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay had also spoken out in support of comfort women several times.


title: Comfort women

text: In the aftermath of the war, the women recalled bouts of physical and mental abuse that they had experienced while working in military brothels. In the Rorschach test, the women showed distorted perceptions, difficulty in managing emotional reactions and internalized anger. A 2011 clinical study found that comfort women are more prone to showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even 60 years after the end of the war.


title: Comfort women

text: The last surviving victims have become public figures in Korea, where they are referred to as "halmoni", the affectionate term for "grandmother". There is a nursing home, called House of Sharing, for former comfort women in South Korea. China remains more at the testimony collection stage, particularly through the China "Comfort Women" Issue Research Center at Shanghai Normal University, sometimes in collaboration with Korean researchers. For other nations, the research and the interaction with victims is less advanced.


title: Comfort women

text: Despite the efforts at assigning responsibility and victims compensation, in the years after World War II, many former Korean comfort women were afraid to reveal their past, because they are afraid of being disowned or ostracized further.


title: Comfort women

text: On December 1, 2015, the first memorial hall dedicated to Chinese comfort women was opened in Nanjing. It was built on the site of a former comfort station run by the invading Japanese troops during World War II.


title: Comfort women

text: The memorial hall stands next to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.


title: Comfort women

text: In June 2016, the Research Center for Chinese Comfort Women was established at Shanghai Normal University. It is a museum that exhibits photographs and various items related to comfort women in China.


title: Comfort women

text: Since the 1990s, Taiwanese survivors have been bringing to light the comfort woman issue in Taiwanese society, and gaining support from women's rights activists and civil groups. Their testimony and memories have been documented by newspapers, books, and documentary films.


title: Comfort women

text: Survivors' claims against the Japan government have been backed by the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF) a non-profit organization helping women against violence, and sexual violence. This organization gives legal and psychological support to Taiwanese comfort women, and also helps in the recording of testimony and doing scholarly research. In 2007, this organization was responsible for promoting awareness in society, by creating meetings in universities and high schools where survivors gave their testimonies to students and the general public. TWRF has produced exhibitions that give survivors the opportunity to be heard in Taipei, and also in the Women's Active Museum on War and Peace, based in Tokyo.


title: Comfort women

text: Thanks to this increasing awareness in society, and with the help of TWRF, Taiwanese comfort women have gained the support their government, which on many occasions has asked the Japanese government for apologies and compensation.


title: Comfort women

text: In November 2014, "Song of the Reed", a documentary film directed by Wu Hsiu-ching and produced by TWRF, won the International Gold Panda documentary award.


title: Comfort women

text: On August 14, 2018, the first 'comfort women' statue in Taiwan was unveiled in the city of Tainan. The statue symbolizes women forced to work in wartime brothels for the Japanese military. The bronze statue portrays a girl raising both hands to the sky to express her helpless resistance to suppression and silent protest, according to its creator.


title: Comfort women

text: In September 2018, Japanese right-wing activist kicked the statue and caused outrage in Taiwan, with the Taiwanese government branding his behavior as unacceptable. A Japanese right-wing group with affliations to him apologized for his behavior and said he resigned from his group position.


title: Comfort women

text: Every Wednesday, living comfort women, women's organizations, socio-civic groups, religious groups, and a number of individuals participate in the Wednesday Demonstrations in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, sponsored by "The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (KCWDMSS)". It was first held on January 8, 1992, when Japan's Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa visited South Korea. In December 2011, a statue of a young woman was erected in front of the Japanese Embassy to honor the comfort women on the 1,000th Wednesday Demonstration. The Japanese government has repeatedly asked the South Korean government to have the statue taken down, but it has not been removed.


title: Comfort women

text: On December 28, 2015, the Japanese government claimed that the Korean government agreed the removal of the statue. As of September 3, 2016, the statue was still in place due to a majority of the South Korean population being opposed to the agreement. On December 30, 2016, another comfort woman statue identical to the one in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul was erected in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan, South Korea. As of January 6, 2017, the Japanese government is attempting to negotiate the removal of the statue. On May 11, 2017, newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced the agreement would not be enacted in its current stage and that negotiations for a deal between Japan and South Korea over the comfort women dispute had to start over.


title: Comfort women

text: On June 30, 2017, the local government of Busan enacted the legal foundation to protect the Statue of Peace by passing the relative ordinance. By reason of this, it has become difficult to shift the site or demolish the statue.


title: Comfort women

text: On August 14, 2018, South Korea held an unveiling ceremony for a monument memorializing Korean women forced to work in wartime brothels for the Japanese military, as the nation observed its first official "comfort women" memorial day.


title: Comfort women

text: On November 21, 2018, South Korea officially cancelled the 2015 agreement and shut down the Japan-funded comfort women foundation which was launched in July 2016 to finance the agreement's settlement to the victims. The settlement had received criticism from victims' groups.


title: Comfort women

text: The House of Sharing is a nursing home for living comfort women. The House of Sharing was founded in June 1992 through funds raised by Buddhist organizations and various socio-civic groups and it moved to Gyeonggi-do, South Korea in 1998. The House of Sharing includes "The Museum of Sexual Slavery by Japanese Military" to spread the truth about the Japanese military's brutal abuse of comfort women and to educate descendants and the public.


title: Comfort women

text: Some of the survivors, Kang Duk-kyung, Kim Soon-duk and Lee Yong-Nyeo, preserved their personal history through their drawings as a visual archive. Also, the director of the Center for Asian American Media, Dai Sil Kim-Gibson, made a comfort women video archive, a documentary film for K–12 through college level students. Feminist visual and video archives have promoted a place for solidarity between the victims and the public. It has served as a living site for the teaching and learning of women's dignity and human rights by bringing people together despite age, gender, borders, nationality, and ideologies.


title: Comfort women

text: Comfort women in the Philippines, called "Lolas" (grandmothers), formed different groups similar to the Korean survivors. One group, named "Lila Pilipina" (League of Filipino Women), started in 1992 and is member of GABRIELA, a feminist organization. Together with the Malaya Lolas (Free grandmothers) they ask for a formal apology from the Japanese government, compensation, and the inclusion of the issue in the Japanese history textbooks. These groups also ask the Philippine government to back their claims against the Japanese government. These groups have taken legal actions against Japan. , after failing in legal action against their own government to back their claims, they planned to take the case the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Children (CEDAW).


title: Comfort women

text: These groups have made demonstrations in front of the Japanese embassy in Manila on many occasions, and have given testimonies to Japanese tourists in Manila.


title: Comfort women

text: Similar to the Korean grandmothers, Filipino "Lolas" have their own Grandmother house with a collection of their testimonies. Also two of them have published two autobiographic books: "Comfort Woman: Slave of Destiny" by Rosa Henson and "The Hidden Battle of Leyte: The Picture Diary of a Girl Taken by the Japanese Military" by Remedios Felias. This second book was written in the 1990s, after Lila Filipina was formed.


title: Comfort women

text: In Bulacan, there is an empty villa house Bahay na Pula which was seized by Japanese soldiers during WWII and had been used as a comfort station where Filipino women were raped and held as comfort women. The Bahay na Pula is seen as a memorial to the forgotten Filipino comfort women in the Philippines.


title: Comfort women

text: On December 8, 2017, the 'Filipina Comfort Women' statue by artist Jonas Roces was installed in Baywalk, Roxas Boulevard in Manila. About four months later, the statue was removed by government officials due to a "drainage improvement project" along the Baywalk, and it has not been put back since.


title: Comfort women

text: In 2010, the first American monument dedicated to the comfort women was established in Palisades Park, New Jersey.


title: Comfort women

text: On March 8, 2013, Bergen County erected a comfort women memorial on the lawn of the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, NJ.


title: Comfort women

text: In 2013, a memorial statue to comfort women called "Peace Monument of Glendale" was established in Glendale, California. The statue has been subject to multiple legal attempts to remove it. A 2014 lawsuit seeking the statue's removal was dismissed.


title: Comfort women

text: On August 16, 2014, a new memorial statue honoring the comfort women was unveiled in Southfield, Michigan.


title: Comfort women

text: On September 22, 2017, in an initiative led by the local Chinese-American community, San Francisco erected a privately funded San Francisco Comfort Women Memorial to the comfort women of World War II. Some Japanese and Japanese-American opponents of the initiative argue the statue would promote hatred and anti-Japanese sentiment throughout the community and object to the statue singling out Japan. Tōru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, Japan, objected that the memorial should be "broadened to memorialize all the women who have been sexually assaulted and abused by soldiers of countries in the world". Supporting the statue, Heather Knight of the San Francisco Chronicle pointed to the San Francisco Holocaust Memorial and the landmarked Japanese internment camps in California as evidence that Japan is "not being singled out". In protest over the statue, Osaka ended the sister city relationship with San Francisco that had been established since 1957. When the city accepted the statue as public property in 2018, the mayor of Osaka sent a 10-page letter to the mayor of San Francisco, complaining of inaccuracies and unfairly singling out Japan for criticism.


title: Comfort women

text: A 2010 proposal to create a memorial in Koreatown, Fort Lee, New Jersey has been controversial and was undecided .


title: Comfort women

text: On May 23, 2018, a comfort women memorial was installed in Constitution Park in Fort Lee, NJ. Youth Council of Fort Lee, a student organization led by Korean American high school students in Fort Lee designed the memorial.


title: Comfort women

text: In March 2017, the first comfort women statue in Europe was elected in Wiesent, Bavaria, Germany. The statue was a replica of the bronze statue installed in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Another German city, Freiburg, had planned to set up a comfort woman statue there but it was scuttled due to "strong obstruction and pressure" by Japan.


title: Comfort women

text: A comfort women statue was unveiled in Sydney in August 2016. The 1.5-metre statue imported from Korea was originally meant for a public park in Strathfield, but local council rejected it. Reverend Bill Crews then agreed to install the statue outside his church, Ashfield Uniting Church. He said, "It's finally found a home."


title: Comfort women

text: A number of former comfort women had come forward and spoken out about their plight of being a comfort woman:


title: Homo erectus

text: Homo erectus (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as "H. heidelbergensis" and "H. antecessor" — with the former generally considered to have been the ancestor to Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans — appear to have evolved from "H. erectus". Its specimens are among the first recognizable members of the genus "Homo". "H. erectus" was the first human ancestor to spread throughout Eurasia, with a continental range extending from the Iberian Peninsula to Java. Asian populations of "H. erectus" may be ancestral to "H. floresiensis" and possibly to "H. luzonensis". The last known population of "H. erectus" is "H. e. soloensis" from Java, around 117,000–108,000 years ago.


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" had a more modern gait and body proportions, and was the first human species to have exhibited a flat face, prominent nose, and possibly sparse body hair coverage. Though brain size certainly exceeds that of ancestor species, capacity varied widely depending on the population. In earlier populations, brain development seems to cease early in childhood, suggesting that offspring were largely self-sufficient at birth, thus limiting cognitive development through life. "H. erectus" was an apex predator; sites generally show consumption of medium to large animals, such as bovines or elephants, and suggest the development of predatory behaviour and coordinated hunting. "H. erectus" is associated with the Acheulean stone tool industry, and is postulated to have been the earliest human ancestor capable of using fire, hunting and gathering in coordinated groups, caring for injured or sick group members, and possibly seafaring and art (though examples of art are controversial, and are otherwise rudimentary and few and far between).


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" males and females may have been roughly the same size as each other (i.e. exhibited reduced sexual dimorphism), which could indicate monogamy in line with general trends exhibited in primates. Size, nonetheless, ranged widely from in height and in weight. It is unclear if "H. erectus" was anatomically capable of speech, though it is postulated they communicated using some proto-language.


title: Homo erectus

text: Despite what English naturalist Charles Darwin had hypothesised in his 1871 book "Descent of Man", many late-19th century evolutionary naturalists postulated that Asia, not Africa, was the birthplace of humankind as it is midway between Europe and America, providing optimal dispersal routes throughout the world (the Out of Asia theory). Among these was German naturalist Ernst Haeckel, who argued that the first human species evolved on the now-disproven hypothetical continent "Lemuria" in what is now Southeast Asia, from a species he termed ""Pithecanthropus alalus"" ("speechless apeman"). "Lemuria" had supposedly sunk below the Indian Ocean, so no fossils could be found to prove this. Nevertheless, Haeckel's model inspired Dutch scientist Eugène Dubois to journey to the Dutch East Indies. Because no directed expedition had ever discovered human fossils (the few known had all been discovered by accident), and the economy was strained by the Long Depression, the Dutch government refused to fund Dubois. In 1887, he enlisted in the Dutch East India Army as a medical officer, and was able to secure a post in 1887 in the Indies to search for his "missing link" in his spare time. On Java, he found a skullcap in 1891 and a femur in 1892 (Java Man) dating to the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene at the Trinil site along the Solo River, which he named "Pithecanthropus erectus" ("upright apeman") in 1893. He attempted unsuccessfully to convince the European scientific community that he had found an upright-walking ape-man. Given few fossils of ancient humans had even been discovered at the time, they largely dismissed his findings as a malformed non-human ape.


title: Homo erectus

text: The significance of these fossils would not be realized until the 1927 discovery of what Canadian palaeoanthropologist Davidson Black called ""Sinanthropus pekinensis"" (Peking Man) at the Zhoukoudian cave near Beijing, China. Black lobbied across North America and Europe for funding to continue excavating the site, which has since become the most productive "H. erectus" site in the world. Continued interest in Java led to further "H. erectus" fossil discoveries at Ngandong (Solo Man) in 1931, Mojokerto (Java Man) in 1936, and Sangiran (Java Man) in 1937. The Sangiran site yielded the best preserved Java Man skull. German paleoanthropologist Franz Weidenreich provided much of the detailed description of the Chinese specimens in several monographs. The original specimens were lost during the Second Sino-Japanese War after an attempt to smuggle them out of China for safekeeping. Only casts remain.


title: Homo erectus

text: Similarities between Java Man and Peking Man led Ernst Mayr to rename both as "Homo erectus" in 1950. Throughout much of the 20th century, anthropologists debated the role of "H. erectus" in human evolution. Early in the century, due in part to the discoveries at Java and Zhoukoudian, the belief that modern humans first evolved in Asia was widely accepted. A few naturalists—Charles Darwin the most prominent among them—theorized that humans' earliest ancestors were African. Darwin had pointed out that chimpanzees and gorillas, humans' closest relatives, evolved and exist only in Africa.


title: Homo erectus

text: In 1949, the species was reported in Swartkrans Cave, South Africa, by South African paleoanthropologists Robert Broom and John Talbot Robinson, who described it as ""Telanthropus capensis"". "Homo" fossils have also been reported from nearby caves, but their species designation has been a tumultuous discussion. A few North African sites have additionally yielded "H. erectus" remains, which at first were classified as ""Atlantanthropus mauritanicus"" in 1951. Beginning in the 1970s, propelled most notably by Richard Leakey, more were being unearthed in East Africa predominantly at the Koobi Fora site, Kenya, and Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.


title: Homo erectus

text: Archaic human fossils unearthed across Europe used to be assigned to "H. erectus", but have since been separated as "H. heidelbergensis" as a result of namely British physical anthropologist Chris Stringer's work.


title: Homo erectus

text: It has been proposed that "H. erectus" evolved from "H. habilis" about 2 Mya, though this has been called into question because they coexisted for at least a half a million years. Alternatively, a group of "H. habilis" may have been reproductively isolated, and only this group developed into "H. erectus" (cladogenesis).


title: Homo erectus

text: Because the earliest remains of "H. erectus" are found in both Africa and East Asia (in China as early as 2.1 Mya, in South Africa 2.04 Mya), it is debated where "H. erectus" evolved. A 2011 study suggested that it was "H. habilis" who reached West Asia from Africa, that early "H. erectus" developed there, and that early "H. erectus" would then have dispersed from West Asia to East Asia (Peking Man), Southeast Asia (Java Man), back to Africa ("Homo ergaster"), and to Europe (Tautavel Man), eventually evolving into modern humans in Africa. Others have suggested that "H. erectus"/"H. ergaster" developed in Africa, where it eventually evolved into modern humans.


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" had reached Sangiran, Java, by 1.6 Mya, and a second and distinct wave of "H. erectus" had colonized Zhoukoudian, China, about 780 kya. Early teeth from Sangiran are bigger and more similar to those of basal (ancestral) Western "H. erectus" and "H. habilis" than to those of the derived Zhoukoudian "H. erectus". However, later Sangiran teeth seem to reduce in size, which could indicate a secondary colonization event of Java by the Zhoukoudian or some closely related population.


title: Homo erectus

text: "Wushan Man" was proposed as "Homo erectus wushanensis", but is now thought to be based upon fossilized fragments of an extinct non-hominin ape.


title: Homo erectus

text: Since its discovery in 1893 (Java man), there has been a trend in palaeoanthropology of reducing the number of proposed species of "Homo", to the point where "H. erectus" includes all early (Lower Paleolithic) forms of "Homo" sufficiently derived from "H. habilis" and


title: Homo erectus

text: distinct from early "H. heidelbergensis" (in Africa also known as "H. rhodesiensis"). It is sometimes considered as a wide-ranging, polymorphous species.


title: Homo erectus

text: Due to such a wide range of variation, it has been suggested that the ancient "H. rudolfensis" and "H. habilis" should be considered early varieties of "H. erectus". The primitive "H. e. georgicus" from Dmanisi, Georgia has the smallest brain capacity of any known Pleistocene hominin (about 600 cc), and its inclusion in the species would greatly expand the range of variation of "H. erectus" to perhaps include species as "H. rudolfensis", "H. gautengensis", "H. ergaster", and perhaps "H. habilis". However, a 2015 study suggested that "H. georgicus" represents an earlier, more primitive species of "Homo" derived from an older dispersal of hominins from Africa, with "H. ergaster/erectus" possibly deriving from a later dispersal. "H. georgicus" is sometimes not even regarded as "H. erectus".


title: Homo erectus

text: It is debated whether the African "H. e. ergaster" is a separate species (and that "H. erectus" evolved in Asia, then migrated to Africa), or is the African form ("sensu lato") of "H. erectus (sensu stricto)". In the latter, "H. ergaster" has also been suggested to represent the immediate ancestor of "H. erectus". It has also been suggested that "H. ergaster" instead of "H. erectus", or some hybrid between the two, was the immediate ancestor of other archaic humans and modern humans. It has been proposed that Asian "H. erectus" have several unique characteristics from non-Asian populations (autapomorphies), but there is no clear consensus on what these characteristics are or if they are indeed limited to only Asia. Based on supposed derived characteristics, the 120 ka Javan "H. e. soloensis" has been proposed to have speciated from "H. erectus", as "H. soloensis", but this has been challenged because most of the basic cranial features are maintained.


title: Homo erectus

text: In a wider sense, "H. erectus" had mostly been replaced by "H. heidelbergensis" by about 300 kya, with possible late survival of "H. erectus soloensis" in Java an estimated 117-108kya.


title: Homo erectus

text: "Homo erectus" is the most long-lived species of "Homo", having survived for almost two million years. By contrast, "Homo sapiens" emerged about a third of a million years ago.


title: Homo erectus

text: Regarding many archaic humans, there is no definite consensus as to whether they should be classified as subspecies of "H. erectus" or "H. sapiens" or as separate species.


title: Homo erectus

text: "Meganthropus", based on fossils found in Java, dated to between 1.4 and 0.9 Mya, was tentatively grouped with "H. erectus" in contrast to earlier interpretations of it as a giant species of early human although older literature has placed the fossils outside of "Homo" altogether. However, Zanolli et al. (2019) judged "Meganthropus" to be a distinct genus of extinct ape.


title: Homo erectus

text: "Homo erectus" featured a flat face compared to earlier hominins; pronounced brow ridge; and a low, flat skull. The presence of sagittal, frontal, and coronal keels, which are small crests that run along these suture lines, has been proposed to be evidence of significant thickening of the skull, specifically the cranial vault. CT scan analyses reveal this to not be the case. However, the squamous part of occipital bone, particularly the internal occipital crest, at the rear of the skull is notably thicker than that of modern humans, likely a basal (ancestral) trait. The fossil record indicates that "H. erectus" was the first human species to have featured a projecting nose, which is generally thought to have evolved in response to breathing dry air in order to retain moisture. American psychologist Lucia Jacobs hypothesized that the projecting nose instead allowed for distinguishing the direction different smells come from (stereo olfaction) to facilitate navigation and long-distance migration.


title: Homo erectus

text: The average brain size of Asian "H. erectus" is about . However, markedly smaller specimens have been found in Dmanisi, Georgia ("H. e. georgicus"); Koobi Fora and Olorgesailie, Kenya; and possibly Gona, Ethiopia. Overall, "H. erectus" brain size varies from , which is greater than the range of variation seen in modern humans and chimps, though less than that of gorillas.


title: Homo erectus

text: In an article published in 2021 titled 'Interpopulational variation in human brain size: implications for hominin cognitive phylogeny' it was found that the brain size of Asian "H. erectus" over the last 600,000 years overlaps significantly with modern human populations. Significantly, some small brained modern populations showed greater affinity with "H. erectus" than they did with other large brained and large bodied modern populations. The paper points out methodological flaws in current understanding of brain size increase in human evolution, where species averages are compared with fossils, which overlooks interpopulational variation. It also overlooks the fact that some modern populations have not seen any dramatic brain size increase relative to "H. erectus" with most of the increase occurring in European populations, which has the result of obscuring interpopulational variation. As the authors write '...the increase in the mean of "H. sapiens" cranial capacity is to a large extent due to an increase in the upper limit with a much less pronounced increase in the lower limit relative to our "H. erectus" sample. And this increase in the upper limit seems to be more pronounced in European populations – which may be a result of correlated increases in body size in addition to climatic factors'. Consequently, the authors argue that purely based on brain size similarities, Asian "H. erectus" could be re-classified as a subspecies of "H. sapiens", that is "H. sapiens soloensis" - as was suggested by earlier authors.


title: Homo erectus

text: Dentally, "H. erectus" have the thinnest enamel of any Plio–Pleistocene hominin. Enamel prevents the tooth from breaking from hard foods, but impedes shearing through tough foods. The bodies of the mandibles of "H. erectus", and all early "Homo", are thicker than those of modern humans and all living apes. The mandibular body resists torsion from the bite force or chewing, meaning their jaws could produce unusually powerful stresses while eating, but the practical application of this is unclear. Nonetheless, the mandibular bodies of "H. erectus" are somewhat thinner than those of early "Homo". The premolars and molars also have a higher frequency of pits than "H. habilis", suggesting "H. erectus" ate more brittle foods (which cause pitting). These all indicate that the "H. erectus" mouth was less capable of processing hard foods and more at shearing through tougher foods, thus reducing the variety of foods it could process, likely as a response to tool use.


title: Homo erectus

text: Like modern humans, "H. erectus" varied widely in size, ranging from in height and in weight, thought to be due to regional differences in climate, mortality rates, or nutrition. Among primates, this marked of a response to environmental stressors (phenotypic plasticity) is only demonstrated in modern humans.


title: Homo erectus

text: Like modern humans and unlike other great apes, there does not seem to have been a great size disparity between "H. erectus" males and females (size-specific sexual dimorphism), though there is not much fossil data regarding this. Brain size in two adults from Koobi Fora measured , and another significantly smaller adult measured , which could possibly indicate sexual dimorphism, though sex was undetermined. Another case that depicts the difficulty of assigning sex to the fossil record is a few samples taken in Olduvai Gorge. In 1960, in Olduvai Gorge two skulls identified as OH12 and OH9, were found to be that of H. erectus with a cranial capacities of 1000 cc and 700 cc. It is unclear if sexual dimorphism is at play here since the remains are fragmentary. If "H. erectus" did not exhibit sexual dimorphism, then it is possible that they were the first in the human line to do so, though the fragmentary fossil record for earlier species makes this unclear. If yes, then there was a substantial and sudden increase in female height. Certain features of sexual dimorphism are often identified in the possibility of determining sex such as lack of muscle marking.


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" had about the same limb configurations and proportions as modern humans, implying humanlike locomotion, the first in the "Homo" lineage. "H. erectus" tracks near Ileret, Kenya, also indicate a human gait. A humanlike shoulder suggests an ability for high speed throwing. It was once thought that Turkana boy had 6 lumbar vertebra instead of the 5 seen in modern humans and 11 instead of 12 thoracic vertebrae, but this has since been revised, and the specimen is now considered to have exhibited a humanlike curvature of the spine (lordosis) and the same number of respective vertebrae.


title: Homo erectus

text: It is largely unclear when human ancestors lost most of their body hair. Genetic analysis suggests that high activity in the melanocortin 1 receptor, which would produce dark skin, dates back to 1.2 Mya. This could indicate the evolution of hairlessness around this time, as a lack of body hair would have left the skin exposed to harmful UV radiation. It is possible that exposed skin only became maladaptive in the Pleistocene, because the increasing tilt of the Earth (which also caused the ice ages) would have increased solar radiation bombardment- which would suggest that hairlessness first emerged in the australopithecines. However, australopithecines seem to have lived at much higher, much colder elevations—typically where the nighttime temperature can drop to —so they may have required hair to stay warm, unlike early "Homo" which inhabited lower, hotter elevations. Populations in higher latitudes potentially developed lighter skin to prevent vitamin D deficiency. A 500–300 ka "H. erectus" specimen from Turkey was diagnosed with the earliest known case of tuberculous meningitis, which is typically exacerbated in dark-skinned people living in higher latitudes due to vitamin D deficiency. Hairlessness is generally thought to have facilitated sweating, but reduction of parasite load and sexual selection have also been proposed.


title: Homo erectus

text: The 1.8 Ma Mojokerto child specimen from Java, who died at about 1 year of age, presented 72–84% of the average adult brain size, which is more similar to the faster brain growth trajectory of great apes than modern humans. This indicates that "H. erectus" was probably not cognitively comparable to modern humans, and that secondary altriciality—an extended childhood and long period of dependency due to the great amount of time required for brain maturation—evolved much later in human evolution, perhaps in the modern human/Neanderthal last common ancestor. It was previously believed that, based on the narrow pelvis of Turkana boy, "H. erectus" could only safely deliver a baby with a brain volume of about , equating to a similar brain growth rate as modern humans to achieve the average adult brain size of . However, a 1.8 Ma female pelvis from Gona, Ethiopia, shows that "H. erectus" babies with a brain volume of could have been safely delivered, which is 34–36% the mean adult size, compared to 40% in chimps and 28% in modern humans. This more aligns with the conclusions drawn from the Mojokerto child. A faster development rate could indicate a lower expected lifespan.


title: Homo erectus

text: Based on an average mass of for males and for females, the total energy expenditure (TEE)—the amount of calories consumed in one day—was estimated to be about 2271.8 and 1909.5 kcal, respectively. This is similar to that of earlier "Homo", despite a marked increase in activity and migratory capacity, likely because the longer legs of "H. erectus" were more energy-efficient in long-distance movement. Nonetheless, the estimate for "H. erectus" females is 84% higher than that for "Australopithecus" females, possibly due to an increased body size and a decreased growth rate. A 2011 study, assuming high energy or dietary fat requirements based on the abundance of large game animals at "H. erectus" sites, calculated a TEE of 2,700–3,400 kcal of which 27–44% derived from fat, and 44–62% of the fat from animal sources. In comparison, modern humans with a similar activity level have a DEE of 2,450 calories, of which 33% derives from fat, and 49% of the fat from animals.


title: Homo erectus

text: The cortical bone (the outer layer of the bone) is extraordinarily thickened, particularly in East Asian populations. The skullcaps have oftentimes been confused with fossil turtle carapaces, and the medullary canal in the long bones (where the bone marrow is stored, in the limbs) is extremely narrowed (medullary stenosis). This degree of thickening is usually exhibited in semi-aquatic animals which used their heavy (pachyosteosclerotic) bones as ballasts to help them sink, induced by hypothyroidism. Male specimens have thicker cortical bone than females.


title: Homo erectus

text: It is largely unclear what function this could have served. All pathological inducers would leave scarring or some other indicator not normally exhibited in "H. erectus". Before more complete skeletons were discovered, Weidenreich suggested "H. erectus" was a gigantic species, thickened bone required to support the massive weight. It was hypothesised that intense physical activity could have induced bone thickening, but in 1970, human biologist Stanley Marion Garn demonstrated there is a low correlation between the two at least in modern humans. Garn instead noted different races have different average cortical bone thicknesses, and concluded it is genetic rather than environmental. It is unclear if the condition is caused by increased bone apposition (bone formation) or decreased bone resorption, but Garn noted the stenosis is quite similar to the congenital condition in modern humans induced by hyper-apposition. In 1985, biological anthropologist Gail Kennedy argued for resorption as a result of hyperparathyroidism caused by hypocalcemia (calcium deficiency), a consequence of a dietary shift to low-calcium meat. Kennedy could not explain why the calcium metabolism of "H. erectus" never adjusted. In 1985, American palaeoanthropologist Mary Doria Russell and colleagues argued the supraorbital torus is a response to withstanding major bending moment which localises in that region when significant force is applied through the front teeth, such as while using the mouth as a third hand to carry objects.


title: Homo erectus

text: In 2004, Noel Boaz and Russel Ciochon suggested it was a result of a cultural practice, wherein "H. erectus" would fight each other with fists, stones, or clubs to settle disputes or battle for mates, since the skull is reinforced in key areas. The mandible is quite robust, capable of absorbing heavy blows (no "glass jaw"); the heavy brow ridge protects the eyes, and transitions into a bar covering the ears, connecting all the way in the back of the skull, meaning blows to any of these regions can be effectively dissipated across the skull; and the sagittal keel protects the top of the braincase. Many skullcaps bear usually debilitating fractures, such as the Peking Man skull X, yet they can show signs of surviving and healing. Anthropologist Peter Brown suggested a similar reason for the unusual thickening of the modern Australian Aboriginal skull, a result of a ritual popular in central and southeast Australian tribes where adversaries would wack each other with waddies (sticks) until knockout.


title: Homo erectus

text: The only fossil evidence regarding "H. erectus" group composition comes from 4 sites outside of Ileret, Kenya, where 97 footprints made 1.5 Mya were likely left by a group of at least 20 individuals. One of these trackways, based on the size of the footprints, may have been an entirely male group, which could indicate they were some specialised task group, such as a hunting or foraging party, or a border patrol. If correct, this would also indicate sexual division of labour, which distinguishes human societies from those of other great apes and social mammalian carnivores. In modern hunter gatherer societies who target large prey items, typically male parties are dispatched to bring down these high-risk animals, and, due to the low success rate, female parties focus on more predictable foods. Based on modern day savanna chimp and baboon group composition and behaviour, "H. erectus ergaster" may have lived in large, multi-male groups in order to defend against large savanna predators in the open and exposed environment. However, dispersal patterns indicate that "H. erectus" generally avoided areas with high carnivore density. It is possible that male–male bonding and male–female friendships were important societal aspects.


title: Homo erectus

text: Because "H. erectus" children had faster brain growth rates, "H. erectus" likely did not exhibit the same degree of maternal investment or child-rearing behaviours as modern humans.


title: Homo erectus

text: Because "H. erectus" males and females are thought to have been about the same size compared to other great apes (exhibit less size-specific sexual dimorphism), it is generally hypothesised that they lived in a monogamous society, as reduced sexual dimorphism in primates is typically correlated with this mating system. However, it is unclear if "H. erectus" did in fact exhibit humanlike rates of sexual dimorphism. If they did, then it would mean only female height increased from the ancestor species, which could have been caused by a shift in female fertility or diet, and/or reduced pressure on males for large size. This in turn could imply a shift in female behaviour which made it difficult for males to maintain a harem.


title: Homo erectus

text: Increasing brain size is often directly associated with a meatier diet and resultant higher caloric intake. Human entomophagy and therefore an increase in protein consumption through insects has also been proposed as a possible cause. However, it is also possible that the energy-expensive guts decreased in size in "H. erectus", because the large ape gut is used to synthesize fat by fermenting plant matter which was replaced by dietary animal fat, allowing more energy to be diverted to brain growth. This would have increased brain size indirectly while maintaining the same caloric requirements of ancestor species. "H. erectus" may have also been the first to use a hunting and gathering food collecting strategy as a response to the increasing dependence on meat. With an emphasis on teamwork, division of labor, and food sharing, hunting and gathering was a dramatically different subsistence strategy from previous modes.


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" sites frequently are associated with assemblages of medium- to large-sized game, namely elephants, rhinos, hippos, bovine, and boar. "H. erectus" would have had considerable leftovers, potentially pointing to food sharing or long-term food preservation (such as by drying) if most of the kill was indeed utilized. It is possible that "H. erectus" grew to become quite dependent on large-animal meat, and the disappearance of "H. erectus" from the Levant is correlated with the local extinction of the straight-tusked elephant. Nonetheless, "H. erectus" diet likely varied widely depending upon location. For example, at the 780 ka Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site, Israel, the inhabitants gathered and ate 55 different types of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and tubers, and it appears that they used fire to roast certain plant materials that otherwise would have been inedible; they also consumed amphibians, reptiles, birds, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, in addition to the usual large creatures such as elephant and fallow deer. At the 1.95 Ma FwJJ20 lakeside site in the East Turkana Basin, Kenya, the inhabitants ate (alongside the usual bovids, hippos, and rhinos) aquatic creatures such as turtles, crocodiles, and catfish. The large animals were likely scavenged at this site, but the turtles and fish were possibly collected live. At the 1.5 Ma Trinil H. K. site, Java, "H. erectus" likely gathered fish and shellfish.


title: Homo erectus

text: Dentally, "H. erectus" mouths were not as versatile as those of ancestor species, capable of processing a narrower range of foods. However, tools were likely used to process hard foods, thus affecting the chewing apparatus, and this combination may have instead increased dietary flexibility (though this does not equate to a highly varied diet). Such versatility may have permitted "H. erectus" to inhabit a range of different environments, and migrate beyond Africa.


title: Homo erectus

text: In 1999, British anthropologist Richard Wrangham proposed the "cooking hypothesis" which states that "H. erectus" speciated from the ancestral "H. habilis" because of fire usage and cooking 2 Million years ago to explain the rapid doubling of brain size between these two species in only a 500,000 year timespan, and the sudden appearance of the typical human body plan. Cooking makes protein more easily digestible, speeds up nutrient absorption, and destroys food-borne pathogens, which would have increased the environment's natural carrying capacity, allowing group size to expand, causing selective pressure for sociality, requiring greater brain function. However, the fossil record does not associate the emergence of "H. erectus" with fire usage nor with any technological breakthrough for that matter, and cooking likely did not become a common practice until after 400 kya.


title: Homo erectus

text: Java Man's dispersal through Southeast Asia coincides with the extirpation of the giant turtle "Megalochelys", possibly due to overhunting as the turtle would have been an easy, slow-moving target which could have been stored for quite some time.


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" is credited with inventing the Acheulean stone tool industry, succeeding the Oldowan industry, and were the first to make lithic flakes bigger than , and hand axes (which includes bifacial tools with only 2 sides, such as picks, knives, and cleavers). Though larger and heavier, these hand axes had sharper, chiseled edges. They were likely multi-purpose tools, used in variety of activities such as cutting meat, wood, or edible plants. In 1979, American paleontologist Thomas Wynn stated that Acheulean technology required operational intelligence (foresight and planning), being markedly more complex than Oldowan technology which included lithics of unstandardized shape, cross-sections, and symmetry. Based on this, he concluded that there is not a significant disparity in intelligence between "H. erectus" and modern humans and that, for the last 300,000 years, increasing intelligence has not been a major influencer of cultural evolution. However, a 1 year old "H. erectus" specimen shows that this species lacked an extended childhood required for greater brain development, indicating lower cognitive capabilities. A few sites, likely due to occupation over several generations, features hand axes en masse, such as at Melka Kunture, Ethiopia; Olorgesailie, Kenya; Isimila, Tanzania; and Kalambo Falls, Zambia.


title: Homo erectus

text: The earliest record of Acheulean technology comes from West Turkana, Kenya 1.76 Mya. Oldowan lithics are also known from the site, and the two seemed to coexist for some time. The earliest records of Acheulean technology outside of Africa date to no older than 1 Mya, indicating it only became widespread after some secondary "H. erectus" dispersal from Africa.


title: Homo erectus

text: On Java, "H. erectus" produced tools from shells at Sangiran and Trinil. Spherical stones, measuring in diameter, are frequently found in African and Chinese Lower Paleolithic sites, and were potentially used as bolas; if correct, this would indicate string and cordage technology.


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" is credited as the first human ancestor to have used fire, though the timing of this invention is debated mainly because campfires very rarely and very poorly preserve over long periods of time, let alone thousands or millions of years. The earliest claimed fire sites are in Kenya, FxJj20 at Koobi Fora and GnJi 1/6E in the Chemoigut Formation, as far back as 1.5 Mya, and in South Africa, Wonderwerk Cave, 1.7 Mya. The first firekeepers are thought to have simply transported to caves and maintained naturally occurring fires for extended periods of time or only sporadically when the opportunity arose. Maintaining fires would require firekeepers to have knowledge on slow-burning materials such as dung. Fire becomes markedly more abundant in the wider archaeological record after 400,000–300,000 years ago, which can be explained as some advancement in fire management techniques took place at this time or human ancestors only opportunistically used fire until this time. It is possible that firestarting was invented and lost and reinvented multiple times and independently by different communities rather than being invented in one place and spreading throughout the world. The earliest evidence of hearths comes from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel, over 700,000 years ago, where fire is recorded in multiple layers in an area close to water, both uncharacteristic of natural fires.


title: Homo erectus

text: Artificial lighting may have led to increased waking hours—modern humans have about a 16-hour waking period, whereas other apes are generally awake from only sunup to sundown—and these additional hours were probably used for socializing. Because of this, fire usage is probably also linked to the origin of language. Artificial lighting may have also made sleeping on the ground instead of the trees possible by keeping terrestrial predators at bay.


title: Homo erectus

text: Migration into the frigid climate of Ice Age Europe may have only been possible because of fire, but evidence of fire usage in Europe until about 400–300,000 years ago is notably absent. If these early European "H. erectus" did not have fire, it is largely unclear how they stayed warm, avoided predators, and prepared animal fat and meat for consumption; and lightning is less common farther north equating to a reduced availability of naturally occurring fires. It is possible that they only knew how to maintain fires in certain settings in the landscapes and prepared food some distance away from home, meaning evidence of fire and evidence of hominin activity are spaced far apart. Alternatively, "H. erectus" may have only pushed farther north during warmer interglacial periods—thus not requiring fire, food storage, or clothing technology— and their dispersal patterns indicate they generally stayed in warmer lower-to-middle latitudes. It is debated if the "H. e. pekinensis" inhabitants of Zhoukoudian, Northern China, were capable of controlling fires as early as 770 kya to stay warm in what may have been a relatively cold climate.


title: Homo erectus

text: In 1962, a circle made with volcanic rocks was discovered in Olduvai Gorge. At intervals, rocks were piled up to high. British palaeoanthropologist Mary Leakey suggested the rock piles were used to support poles stuck into the ground, possibly to support a windbreak or a rough hut. Some modern day nomadic tribes build similar low-lying rock walls to build temporary shelters upon, bending upright branches as poles and using grasses or animal hide as a screen. Dating to 1.75 Mya, it is the oldest claimed evidence of architecture.


title: Homo erectus

text: In Europe, evidence of constructed dwelling structures dating to or following the Holstein Interglacial (which began 424 kya) has been claimed in Bilzingsleben, Germany; Terra Amata, France; and Fermanville and Saint-Germain-des-Vaux in Normandy. The oldest evidence of a dwelling (and a campfire) in Europe comes from Přezletice, Czech Republic, 700 kya during the Cromerian Interglacial. This dwelling's base measured about on the exterior and on the interior, and is considered to have been a firm surface hut, probably with a vaulted roof made of thick branches or thin poles, supported by a foundation of big rocks and earth, and likely functioned as a winter base camp.


title: Homo erectus

text: The earliest evidence of cave habitation is Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa, about 1.6 Mya, but evidence of cave use globally is sporadic until about 600 kya.


title: Homo erectus

text: It is largely unclear when clothing was invented, with the earliest estimate stretching as far back as 3 Mya to compensate for a lack of insulating body hair. It is known that head lice and body lice (the latter can only inhabit clothed individuals) for modern humans diverged about 170 kya, well before modern humans left Africa, meaning clothes were already well in use before encountering cold climates. One of the first uses of animal hide is thought to have been for clothing, and the oldest hide scrapers date to about 780 kya, though this is not indicative of clothing.


title: Homo erectus

text: Acheulean artifacts discovered on isolated islands that were never connected to land in the Pleistocene may show seafaring by "H. erectus" as early as 1 Mya in Indonesia. They had arrived on the islands of Flores, Timor, and Roti, which would have necessitated crossing the Lombok Strait (the Wallace Line), at least before 800 kya. It is also possible they were the first European mariners as well and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar between North Africa and Spain. A 2021 genetic analysis of these island populations of "H. erectus" found no evidence of interbreeding with modern humans. Seafaring capability would show "H. erectus" had a great capacity for planning, likely months in advance of the trip.


title: Homo erectus

text: Similarly, "Homo luzonensis" is dated between 771,000 to 631,000 years ago. Because Luzon has always been an island in the Quaternary, the ancestors of "H. luzonensis" would have had to have made a substantial sea crossing and crossed the Huxley Line.


title: Homo erectus

text: The earliest probable example of infirming sick group members is a 1.77 Ma "H. e. georgicus" specimen who had lost all but one tooth due to age or gum disease, the earliest example of severe chewing impairment, yet still survived for several years afterwards. However, it is possible australopithecines were capable of caring for debilitated group members. Unable to chew, this "H. e. georgicus" individual probably ate soft plant or animal foods possibly with assistance from other group members. High-latitude groups are thought to have been predominantly carnivorous, eating soft tissue such as bone marrow or brains, which may have increased survival rates for toothless individuals.


title: Homo erectus

text: The 1.5 Ma Turkana boy was diagnosed with juvenile spinal disc herniation, and, because this specimen was still growing, this caused some scoliosis (abnormal curving of the spine). These usually cause recurrent lower back pain and sciatica (pain running down the leg), and likely restricted Turkana boy in walking, bending, and other daily activities. The specimen appears to have survived into adolescence, which evidences advanced group care.


title: Homo erectus

text: The 1,000–700 ka Java man specimen presents a noticeable osteocyte on the femur, likely Paget's disease of bone, and osteopetrosis, thickening of the bone, likely resulting from skeletal fluorosis caused by ingestion of food contaminated by fluorine-filled volcanic ash (as the specimen was found in ash-filled strata). Livestock that grazes on volcanic ash ridden fields typically die of acute intoxication within a few days or weeks.


title: Homo erectus

text: An engraved Pseudodon shell DUB1006-fL with geometric markings could possibly be evidence of the earliest art-making, dating back to 546–436 kya. Art-making capabilities could be considered evidence of symbolic thinking, which is associated with modern cognition and behavior. In 1976, American archeologist Alexander Marshack asserted that engraved lines on an ox rib, associated with Acheulean lithics, from Pech de l'Azé, France, are similar to a meander design found in modern human Upper Paleolithic cave art. Three ostrich eggshell beads associated with Achuelian lithics were found in northwestern Africa, the earliest disc beads ever found, and Acheulian disc beads have also been found in France and Israel. The Middle Pleistocene "Venus of Tan-Tan" and "Venus of Berekhat Ram" are postulated to been crafted by "H. erectus" to resemble a human form. They were mostly formed by natural weathering, but slightly modified to emphasize certain grooves to suggest hairline, limbs, and eyes. The former has traces of pigments on the front side, possibly indicating it was colored.


title: Homo erectus

text: "H. erectus" was also the earliest human to have intentionally collected red-colored pigments, namely ochre, recorded as early as the Middle Pleistocene. Ochre lumps at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania—associated with the 1.4 Ma Olduvai Hominid 9—and Ambrona, Spain—which dates to 424–374 kya—were suggested to have been struck by a hammerstone and purposefully shaped and trimmed. At Terra Amata, France—which dates to 425–400 or 355–325 kya—red, yellow, and brown ochres were recovered in association with pole structures; ochre was probably heated to achieve such a wide color range. As it is unclear if "H. erectus" could have used ochre for any practical application, ochre collection might indicate that "H. erectus" was the earliest human to have exhibited a sense of aesthetics and to think beyond simply survival. Later human species are postulated to have used ochre as body paint, but in the case of "H. erectus", it is contested if body paint was used so early in time. Further, it is unclear if these few examples are not simply isolated incidents of ochre use, as ochre is much more prevalent in Middle and Upper Paleolithic sites attributed to Neanderthals and "H. sapiens".


title: Homo erectus

text: In 1935, Jewish German anthropologist Franz Weidenreich speculated that the inhabitants of the Chinese Zhoukoudian Peking Man site were members of some Lower Paleolithic Skull Cult because the skulls all showed fatal blows to the head, breaking in of the foramen magnum at the base of the skull, by-and-large lack of preserved facial aspects, an apparently consistent pattern of breaking on the mandible, and a lack of post-cranial remains (elements that are not the skull). He believed that the inhabitants were headhunters, and smashed open the skulls and ate the brains of their victims. However, scavenging animals and natural forces such as flooding can also inflict the same kind of damage to skulls, and there is not enough evidence to suggest manhunting or cannibalism.


title: Homo erectus

text: In 1999, British science writers Marek Kohn and Steven Mithen said that many hand axes exhibit no wear and were produced en masse, and concluded that these symmetrical, tear-drop shaped lithics functioned primarily as display tools so males could prove their fitness to females in some courting ritual, and were discarded afterwards. However, an apparent lack of reported wearing is likely due to a lack of use-wear studies, and only a few sites yield an exorbitant sum of hand axes likely due to gradual accumulation over generations instead of mass production.


title: Homo erectus

text: In 1984, the vertebral column of the 1.6 Ma adolescent Turkana boy indicated that this individual did not have properly developed respiratory muscles in order to produce speech. In 2001, American anthropologists Bruce Latimer and James Ohman concluded that Turkana boy was afflicted by skeletal dysplasia and scoliosis. In 2006, American anthropologist Marc Meyer and colleagues described a 1.8 Ma "H. e. georgicus" specimen as having a spine within the range of variation of modern human spines, contending that Turkana boy had spinal stenosis and was thus not representative of the species. Also, because he considered "H. e. georgicus" ancestral to all non-African "H. erectus", Meyer concluded that the respiratory muscles of all "H. erectus" (at least non-"ergaster") would not have impeded vocalisation or speech production. However, in 2013 and 2014, anthropologist Regula Schiess and colleagues concluded that there is no evidence of any congenital defects in Turkana boy, and considered the specimen representative of the species.


title: Homo erectus

text: Neurologically, all "Homo" have similarly configured brains, and, likewise, the Broca's and Wernicke's areas (in charge of sentence formulation and speech production in modern humans) of "H. erectus" were comparable to those of modern humans. However, this is not indicative of anything in terms of speech capability as even large chimpanzees can have similarly expanded Broca's area, and it is unclear if these areas served as language centers in archaic humans. A 1-year-old "H. erectus" specimen shows that an extended childhood to allow for brain growth, which is a prerequisite in language acquisition, was not exhibited in this species.


title: Homo erectus

text: The hyoid bone supports the tongue and makes possible modulation of the vocal tract to control pitch and volume. A 400 ka "H. erectus" hyoid bone from Castel di Guido, Italy, is bar-shaped—more similar to that of other "Homo" than to that of non-human apes and "Australopithecus"—but is devoid of muscle impressions, has a shield-shaped body, and is implied to have had reduced greater horns, meaning "H. erectus" lacked a humanlike vocal apparatus and thus anatomical prerequisites for a modern human level of speech. Increasing brain size and cultural complexity in tandem with technological refinement, and the hypothesis that articulate Neanderthals and modern humans may have inherited speech capabilities from the last common ancestor, could possibly indicate that "H. erectus" used some proto-language and built the basic framework which fully fledged languages would eventually be built around. However, this ancestor may have instead been "H. heidelbergensis", as a hyoid bone of a 530 ka "H. heidelbergensis" specimen from the Spanish Sima de los Huesos Cave is like that of modern humans, and another specimen from the same area shows an auditory capacity sensitive enough to pick up human speech.


title: Homo erectus

text: The last known occurrence of "Homo erectus" is 117,000–108,000 years ago in Ngandong, Java according to a study published in 2019.


title: Homo erectus

text: In 2020 researchers reported that "Homo erectus" and "Homo heidelbergensis" lost more than half of their climate niche – climate they were adapted to –, with no corresponding reduction in physical range, just before extinction and that climate change played a substantial role in extinctions of past "Homo" species.


title: Homo erectus

text: The lower cave of the Zhoukoudian cave, China, is one of the most important archaeological sites worldwide. There have been remains of 45 homo erectus individuals found and thousands of tools recovered. Most of these remains were lost during World War 2, with the exception of two postcranial elements that were rediscovered in China in 1951 and four human teeth from 'Dragon Bone Hill'.


title: Homo erectus

text: New evidence has shown that "Homo erectus" does not have uniquely thick vault bones, as was previously thought. Testing showed that neither Asian or African "Homo erectus" had uniquely large vault bones.


title: Homo erectus

text: A cladogram of "Homo erectus" is as follows. It is indicated how many million years ago the clades diverged.


title: Homo erectus

text: "Homo erectus" was originally African. The extant "Homo heidelbergensis" (cladistically granting "Homo sapiens"), which was originally African, emerged within the Asian "Homo erectus". Contemporary groups appear to have been interbreeding, so any phylogeny like this only gives a coarse impression of the evolution of "Homo", and extinct lineage may have partially continued in other groupings. Not included are other contemporary groups such as "Homo floresiensis, Homo naledi", "Homo luzonensis", "Homo rudolfensis", "Australopithecus sediba, Australopithecus africanus, and Paranthropus."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe mainstream as a pop group. Antin negotiated a record deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records in 2003 turning the group into a music franchise comprising Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt. Their debut single, "Sway", was featured on the soundtrack of the 2004 film "Shall We Dance?".


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The Pussycat Dolls achieved worldwide success with the singles "Don't Cha", "Stickwitu", "Buttons", and their multi-platinum debut album "PCD" (2005). However, despite their commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict due to the emphasis on Scherzinger, the group's lead vocalist, and the subordinate treatment of the other members. Bachar's departure from the group preceded the release of their second and final studio album "Doll Domination" (2008), which contains hit singles "When I Grow Up", "I Hate This Part", and "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)". Following the completion of their 2009 world tour, the group went on hiatus and fully disbanded in 2010. The original recording line-up, minus Thornton, announced their reunion in 2019 with an upcoming tour and a new album. However, with the worsening situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with breaches of contracts and logistical issues, the reunion tour was cancelled in 2022, leaving the group's fate uncertain.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The Pussycat Dolls brand diversified into merchandise, reality television programs, a Las Vegas act, product endorsements, spin-off recording groups (Girlicious, Paradiso Girls, G.R.L.), and other ventures. "Billboard" ranked the Pussycat Dolls as the 80th most successful musical act of the 2000s. The group has sold 55 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. In 2012, the Pussycat Dolls ranked 100th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music, and as the tenth all-girl group.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Antin began exploring the idea of a modern burlesque troupe during 1990 with Carla Kama and Christina Applegate as performers. The troupe began to perform in 1995, with a repertoire of 1950s and 1960s popular music standards while dressed in lingerie or old-fashioned pin-up costumes. They secured a Thursday night residency at a Los Angeles nightclub, The Viper Room, where they stayed from 1995 to 2001. They appeared briefly in the 1998 films "Matters of Consequence" (dancing to Henry Mancini's "", and Keely Smith's "When Your Lover has Gone"), and "The Treat" (directed by Jonathan Gems). From 1995 to 2003 there were numerous guest vocalists, and many changes to the dance personnel.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The troupe received wider press coverage during June 1999, when "Playboy" featured a Pussycat Dolls pictorial, featuring at least seven contemporary members posing semi-nude (Kasey Campbell, Kiva Dawson, Antonietta Macri, Erica Breckels, Katie Bergold, Erica Gudis and Lindsley Allen). Three years later, the Pussycat Dolls moved to The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood. They were featured in magazines, television specials for MTV and VH1, ad campaigns, and films. Some of the Pussycat Dolls appeared in the 2003 film "", dancing to Mancini's "The Pink Panther Theme". They were also featured in Pink's "Trouble" music video. Along with Applegate, Christina Aguilera and Carmen Electra (who was the group's lead performer for many of their shows) the troupe was featured in a "Maxim" magazine shoot in 2002, which increased public interest in them (Aguilera later appeared in the similarly themed 2010 film "Burlesque" directed by Robin Antin's brother Steve). In 2003, the troupe appeared alongside t.A.T.u. during the band's live performance of "All the Things She Said" / "Not Gonna Get Us" at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Following their growing popularity, Interscope Geffen A&M Records music producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair became involved with the group helping them to transform into a franchise after Gwen Stefani was asked to perform with the group. The former dance troupe evolved into a popular music recording group and became employees of Iovine's label Interscope Records. The only troupe members who remained after the re-casting process were Robin Antin, Carmit Bachar, Cyia Batten, Kasey Campbell, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt. Electra, when asked about her lack of involvement with the group's evolution into a popular music group, said, "I was part of [the Pussycat Dolls] for over two years and did every show with them [...] but financially, I couldn't become part of their new music project [...] It was a sacrifice I couldn't make."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: During 2003, Antin struck a joint venture with Interscope Records to develop the Pussycat Dolls into a brand, with Jimmy Iovine assigning the project to Ron Fair. Auditions followed suit, for a separate group which would not include celebrity members. Singers Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton and Kaya Jones were recruited, joining Bachar, Roberts, Sutta, Wyatt, Batten, Campbell and Antin to form a new recording group. In February 2004, they performed "Big Spender" live at the MTV Asia Awards. In 2004, they recorded "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going" for the "Shark Tale" soundtrack and recorded the single, "Sway" which is featured on the soundtrack of "Shall We Dance?" The group briefly reunited with Electra for a guest performance at "VH1 Divas 2004" where they performed "Tainted Love", "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (with Tom Jones) and "Girls on Film" before joining the headliners in a finale of "New Attitude" alongside Patti LaBelle. Kaya Jones left the group in September 2004, while Batten and Campbell left in January 2005. Antin would eventually shift into a strictly managerial and creative role.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The group's debut album, "PCD", was released in September 2005 and sold three million copies in the United States. The album's lead single, "Don't Cha", was a number-one hit in various countries worldwide, and reaching number two on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. It was followed by "Stickwitu", which became their second number-one single in the UK and New Zealand, and reached number five on the Hot 100. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. "Beep" also became a hit, reaching number one in Belgium and New Zealand, number two in the UK, and number thirteen in the US. The group became one of the top-selling artists in 2006, while the album appeared at number twelve on the "Billboard" 200-year-end chart that year.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The group was selected to perform for the introduction for ABC's coverage of the NBA. The Pussycat Dolls first opened for The Black Eyed Peas' Honda Civic Tour in North America. To further promote the album, Snoop Dogg was added to a remix of "Buttons", which became a worldwide hit reaching number three on the "Billboard" Hot 100, and top five elsewhere. The Pussycat Dolls embarked on their PCD World Tour with Rihanna as the opening act in the UK leg. One of the dates of the PCD World Tour was recorded and streamed via MSN Music. The group ran into trouble in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with the authorities for sexually explicit dancing. The performance, a part of the PCD World Tour, was not well received in the Muslim state, which frowned upon the group's "eye-popping attire" and "sexually suggestive stage routines". Absolute Entertainment, the company behind the group's appearance in Malaysia, was fined $3000 for the incident. Two final singles would be released from the album, "I Don't Need a Man" and "Wait a Minute", with the former becoming a moderate success and the latter becoming the group's fifth top 40 single on the Hot 100.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: To further promote "PCD", the Pussycat Dolls toured along with Danity Kane on Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics Tour in North America from February to May 2007. The success of the group's debut album brought them a wide array of spin-offs including a CW reality series, "". The goal of the show was to add a seventh member to join them in future endeavors. Asia Nitollano was announced as the winner on April 24, however several months later, it was revealed that Nitollano had actually quit the group shortly after the finale aired. Following their performance at Live Earth, the group would only have occasional one-off performances for a while and went on a hiatus in mid-2007, during which Scherzinger attempted to launch a solo career. Plans for her debut solo album, "Her Name is Nicole", would eventually be shelved after the release of four singles failed to make an impact on the charts. In August 2007, Sutta would be featured on the Paul van Dyke track "White Lies", which topped the US "Billboard" Hot Dance Singles chart.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: On March 3, 2008, it was announced via the group's website that Carmit Bachar had left the group, intending to pursue a solo career. At the time of her departure, she had been the longest performing member of the group, joining in 1995 when they were a burlesque act. Several days later, they performed for the first time without Bachar for the Operation MySpace concert which honored US troops stationed in Kuwait. In May 2008, they released their second album's lead single "When I Grow Up", which reached the top ten in 16 countries. At the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, its accompanying music video was nominated for six awards, the most of that ceremony, and went on to win Best Dancing in a Video. "Doll Domination" was released in September 2008 to mixed reviews. It attained their highest peak position on the "Billboard" 200, but failed to match the sales of its predecessor, selling less than a sixth as many as "PCD" sold (in the UK), and regarding it as a commercial disappointment. Three subsequent singles were released in 2008, "Whatcha Think About That", "Out of This Club", and "I Hate This Part"; the last one peaked at number 11 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: In January 2009, the Pussycat Dolls embarked on the Doll Domination Tour, their second headlining worldwide concert tour, which highlighted stops in Europe, Oceania, and Asia, and grossed over $14 million. Between the first two legs, the group opened for The Circus Starring Britney Spears in North America. In May 2009, Jessica Sutta suffered a back injury during the first Sydney show, leaving the group performing as a foursome throughout the following shows. While on tour in Europe, Nicole Scherzinger was asked to re-write pop version of "Jai Ho" from the film "Slumdog Millionaire" (2008). The song was entitled "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" and credited Scherzinger as a featured artist. This caused internal strife within the group, and a public outburst by Melody Thornton during one of the group's appearances on tour. Despite that, it became one of their most successful singles, and peaked at number 15 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, after charging eighty-five places, making the largest weekly leap from number 100. The album's final two singles, "Bottle Pop" and "Hush Hush; Hush Hush" topped the US Hot Dance/Club Songs chart. Meanwhile, "Doll Domination" was reissued into scaled down versions in various territories; in Australia, the album was subtitled "2.0." with ten songs and an EP subtitled "The Mini Collection" was released in the United Kingdom.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: After the tour's conclusion, the group went on a hiatus, with Robin Antin acknowledging that new members would be joining Scherzinger. By February 2010, Jessica Sutta, Ashley Roberts, Kimberly Wyatt, and Melody Thornton had announced their departures from the group, with Wyatt later acknowledging that "the group has fully disbanded." In May 2010, four new members surrounded Scherzinger in a new line-up, but by the end of the year, Scherzinger had left the group to pursue a solo career. In 2011, there were continued attempts to rebuild the group, and a line-up that included former Paradiso Girls member Lauren Bennett, former Girlicious member Chrystina Sayers, Paula van Oppen, Vanessa Curry, and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Erica Kiehl Jenkins was featured in a GoDaddy commercial during Super Bowl XLVI. The group would go on to call themselves G.R.L, citing the need for differentiating from the Pussycat Dolls due to their music being less urban and they would spend the rest of the year recording their debut album. In 2015, the group would disband nine months after member Simone Battle committed suicide following a battle with depression, before returning as a trio in 2016.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: In October 2017, social media sites were set up for a reunion. On April 25, 2018, during an appearance on "The Chris Ramsey Show", Wyatt claimed that the band could reunite before the end of 2018. "We're all just in a place where we're kind of ready to live it all again, and make it fun and enjoy it and everything," she said. "So yeah, we're looking at the possibilities."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The Pussycat Dolls were among hundreds of artists whose master tapes were destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire. The extent of damages and losses were not known due to conflicted reports over the number of primary masters kept in storage. Later in September 2019, "Entertainment Tonight" reported that Scherzinger has joined former members of the Pussycat Dolls for new studio sessions and the band would be reuniting for a "greatest hits" tour in 2020.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: On November 28, 2019, the group then confirmed their reunion on British radio station Heart, confirming that Bachar, Roberts, Scherzinger, Sutta, and Wyatt had been recording new music and have announced nine tour dates around the United Kingdom in 2020, with their The Pussycat Dolls Tour. It has been expanded to include dates in Australia and New Zealand. The tour, however, was pushed back to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. During the interview, Scherzinger remarked that it had been around ten years since the group's last tour and that the time felt right, "it's been a long time coming, but this feels like the perfect time to remind the world what it means to be a Pussycat Doll." According to group founder Robin Antin, Thornton would not be taking part due to her feeling like the time was not right. The group have stated that they are leaving the door open for Thornton and she would be welcome back if she decided to join them later down the line.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: On November 30, 2019, the Pussycat Dolls performed at "" finale with a medley of their previous hits "Buttons", "When I Grow Up", "Don't Cha", and a brand new song, "React". The group's performance at the show attracted over 400 complaints to British broadcasting regulator Ofcom for their "risque outfits" and being "too raunchy". Sutta confirmed that a new album was in the works. On January 31, 2020, singer Meghan Trainor released her third studio album, "Treat Myself", which features the Pussycat Dolls on the song "Genetics". In February 2020, the group performed on "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway" and at Nova FM 96.9's Red Room at Glass Island Sydney Harbour, Australia in March.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: In March 2021, it was announced that The Pussycat Dolls Tour was once again being delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the same month, Sutta and Robin Antin appeared on "Entertainment Tonight" to announce Sutta's pregnancy and confirm the group's plans for new music and to tour when it was safe to do so. The group is in discussions to collaborate with Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Karol G, while also expressing a desire to work with Snoop Dogg again. On new music, Sutta said: "I think you're going to hear a lot of us singing. All my bandmates are incredibly talented, they have beautiful voices and I think it's definitely time for them to shine."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: In January 2022, Scherzinger officially confirmed the tour's cancellation on an Instagram story post. The official reasons cited "evolving circumstances surrounding the pandemic". Not long after group members Sutta and Bachar confirmed that they had only learnt about the tour's cancellation from Scherzinger's Instagram post, writing their own statement saying "We want to say how incredibly disappointed we are to learn of an announcement made on Instagram that The Pussycat Dolls reunion tour is canceled. As of now, there has been no official notification of that." Antin also confirmed the tour's cancellation stating that "all of us have made personal & financial sacrifices"... and later confirming that there were "truths to this situation" which may see the light of day one day. Despite referring to the tour cancellation as "the end of a chapter", Sutta and Bachar remained optimistic about the future of the group stating that "[it] is not the end of the Dolls story, [we have] created a sisterhood that will live on." Wyatt has expressed she has "done all [she] can", as she was the motivator for the reunion for years. She confirmed that both she and Roberts still want the tour to happen. Although the last known tour dates were confirmed cancelled by Antin and Scherzinger, Live Nation's website lists 9 new UK and Ireland tour listings for the group under the date "rescheduled".


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: On May 28, 2022, Universal Music Group released "Celebrating Pride: The Pussycat Dolls", a compilation EP featuring six previous singles including "Don't Cha", "Buttons", "Stickwitu", "When I Grow Up", "Beep" and "I Don't Need a Man".


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: The Pussycat Dolls had re-recorded "Don't Cha" in Simlish (as "Do Ba") for inclusion in the computer game "". They also appeared in character form in the video game "" released in November 2006. In a merchandising agreement with Interscope in 2006, toy manufacturer Hasbro planned a line of dolls modeled after the group, reportedly to be marketed to six to nine-year-olds. Two organizations ("Dads and Daughters" and "Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood") successfully lobbied Hasbro to scrap the plan, saying they felt the group would have been inappropriate for children due to the overtly sexual nature of the Pussycat Dolls' songs, videos and performances. Also in 2006, Interscope negotiated a deal with Estée Lauder for a Pussycat Dolls line of cosmetics under the Stila brand. In 2008, Robin Antin and the La Senza Corporation produced a line of Burlesque Pussycat Dolls-styled lingerie called "Shhh...by Robin Antin", and on December 15, Antin released "Robin Antin's Pussycat Dolls Workout", which is composed of dancers from the Pussycat Doll Lounge Review including Chrystina Sayers from Girlicious, and features Nicole Scherzinger.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Caesars Palace in Las Vegas operated a resident live show at its "Pussycat Dolls Lounge", until closing the venue in February 2015. The burlesque-style show had female dancers inside a rhinestone-encrusted bathtub and on raised platforms, with female dealers, also wearing Pussycat Dolls-inspired clothing, operating the blackjack and roulette tables in the venue.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Since the Pussycat Dolls were originally a burlesque dance troupe, Scherzinger and Thornton were the only members specifically hired for singing role when the group turned into a pop act in 2003. Ron Fair stated that even though "there were some adequate voices in the original group," Scherzinger and Thornton were needed "to bring the ability." Despite Thornton taking the sole lead vocals for their debut performance as a music group at the 2004 MTV Asia Awards, Scherzinger eventually assumed the majority of the vocals on the group's recordings. As part of a "Behind the Music" special on Scherzinger's career, she claimed that she was responsible for singing both lead and background vocals on both of the group's studio albums, with hardly anything sung by her fellow members. Scherzinger, who said that she did not want to get in trouble for her revelations, explained that the other members did not even hear the tracks until they were finished.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Critics have taken a major swipe at the group for their overemphasis of Scherzinger. Margeaux Watson of "Entertainment Weekly" said, "there are two kinds of girl groups: those anchored by a superstar (The Supremes, Destiny's Child), and those made up of charismatic personalities endowed with limited individual gifts (Spice Girls, TLC). The Pussycat Dolls are neither—they're a brand, not a band. This follow-up to 2005's multi-platinum "PCD" finds lead Doll Nicole Scherzinger in the spotlight, and she's no Beyoncé. As for the others, well... can you name them? Do you even know how many there are?" "The Telegraph"s Adam White described the Pussycat Dolls as "pop's most embittered group" where the other members played the role of "glorified back-up dancers", and said that their 2006 performance at the American Music Awards "appeared to prove all was not well within the group’s dynamic."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Kaya Jones, who initially auditioned as a vocalist for the group, said: "Nicole was always someone who wanted to be in the spotlight and would do pretty much anything to get it. [...] To call the other girls in the Pussycat Dolls 'window dressings' is a bit farfetched... every girl in the group was talented." In a 2014 interview with "The Independent", Ashley Roberts claimed that she and her bandmates "were always told it was very much Nicole's project [...] we were the football team, and [Scherzinger] was the quarterback. You know, we weren't allowed to talk in interviews. We weren't even allowed in the studio sometimes." Kimberly Wyatt said in 2009: "Every video and stage performance that we've done, Nicole has been our leader. I wasn't in videos like I wanted and wasn't seen in the way I was hoping, which has been the same for all the other girls too." In an interview with "Vibe", Thornton said: "For me, it's important for people to know that I do write... I got into the group to sing. That was made very clear to me. But it became more and more apparent what was going on. Roles were being minimised and minimised, and then by the time it got on the [road], it was very much like 'Y'all play your part and this is what it is.' It was tough because you don't want to s--- on your own opportunity."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Following the group's reformation in 2019, Bachar addressed their prior split, "It wasn't a bitter ending. It was just a time in our lives where we all wanted to go and do our own thing and flourish. I went and had a family. We all stayed in touch." Roberts added, "Nicole is our lead singer and that is the way the band is constructed. We all have our place in the band and we each give something special individually, which fits like a puzzle—that's what makes the Pussycat Dolls." Scherzinger confirmed that she would take centre stage but that this was by mutual agreement, "It feels better than ever now I have evolved as a woman. It is actually the time for me to carry it. It's not even me—we all carry each other. We make each other stronger". Wyatt also confirmed that the other girls do get chance to record vocal, "Ultimately, The Pussycat Dolls has a lead singer and that is Nicole. Whenever I get an opportunity to sing and get in the studio and throw down on some vocals, I'm so grateful." Speaking about the scrutiny that the group come under and the media attention Wyatt said "we want people to love it and focus on the amazing feat we have done together instead of trying to rip us apart."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Following their performance on "" in November 2019, the group were accused of over-sexualisation and being raunchy for wearing sheer PVC outfits. Over 400 viewers complained to British broadcast regulator Ofcom. Despite a more muted performance on "Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway" in February 2020 that poked fun at their "X Factor" performance and featured some censorship, the group garnered further complaints to Ofcom albeit a smaller amount. Scherzinger spoke out against the media and negative coverage, comparing the group's message to American singer-songwriter Lizzo who is an advocate for body awareness, saying "If you have people like Lizzo leading the movement of accepting yourself and they don't get any criticism, then why are we getting this criticism? When we perform, we perform from a place of passion and power. We're not floundering out there just trying to be cute. We come like warriors out there and people feel empowered by that." Barchar addressed criticism on their second performance by saying "being on Ant & Dec's show was hysterical; they are so good at what they do and the way they made light of the whole censorship thing was amazing. It's great that we got to be silly with it and we had a blast." She supported early comments by Scherzinger that the intention and aims of the group's performances was always about empowerment, saying "everyone has an opinion on what we do, and while I think the power of a woman can be intimidating, it's all about the intention of our performances".


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Wyatt has also defended the group's image saying that it is an important message around female empowerment, during an appearance on "The Morning Show", Wyatt talked about bring her kids to rehearsals, "[I love] teaching them what it means to be a Pussycat Doll and own your space as a female. I think it's a really positive and important message for my girls to see and understand what that means." Wyatt also stated during an interview with News.com.au that the reunion feels like unfinished business due to the Pussycat Dolls being misunderstood. "Luckily we have a presence online now and we can help people understand us, understand dance, understand what intention means as a performer ... there is still a conversation to be had, and the Pussycat Dolls are a little bit misunderstood by those who don’t seek to know who we are." This has also been echoed by Scherzinger who has since said, "we just want to say everything we do we do it from a place of confidence ... only with the intention of inspiring and empowering each and every one of you ... And we just want to help some of you who are maybe struggling with stepping into your own power."


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Referring to their provocative image, Sutta told "The Daily Telegraph Australia" that she felt that ageism is rife within the music industry but that times were changing, "You've got J-Lo at 50 who's looking as fabulous as ever, and Lizzo who is all about self-love and owning it. It's a new era, and there's no rules anymore." Scherzinger also noted that the group had matured and felt more confident than ever, "I mean if there is a time to be more provocative, it's when you're grown up, when you're comfortable in your skin and you fully accept yourself, right?" In a piece titled "if you don't like the Pussycat Dolls or Lizzo, you can always look away" for "The Guardian", Barbara Ellen discussed the interplay of ageism, sexism and sizeism that female musicians face in the industry, comparing the negative media attention that the Pussycat Dolls received to that Lizzo received for appearing in underwear on TikTok and Jennifer Lopez's performance at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. Ellen wrote, "What is it about successful female artists doing their thing, on stage or on social media, that drives certain sectors of society crazy? And why is the sexism so often merged with ageism or sizeism, as if that makes the abuse they're meting out extra special and justified?"


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Later in March 2020, during an interview with Network Ten's "The Project", Scherzinger acknowledged that the costumes for the performance were provocative but said "but we are women now and like literally as we say, (our bums) were hanging out and it takes courage to be that, you know it is vulnerable wearing as much as that, it takes a lot of courage to do it and we always do everything with confidence with the intent of empowering others and all of our women out there and anyone who feels they relate to us". "News AU" and "Junkee" both criticised hosts of "The Project" for focusing on a perceived sexual nature of their dance moves and for making the interview with Scherzinger awkward. One of "The Project's" hosts Waleed Aly asked sexist questions such as whether the girls "fight over who wore the best tube tops and low rise jeans?". Jared Richards ("Junkee") said "it’s a mess, absolutely dismissive of Scherzinger as a person and The Pussycat Dolls as an act... While sex appeal is a big part of The Pussycat Dolls, a group which started as a burlesque performance, there’s a right and a wrong way to ask about it." During the closing segment of the interview, Scherzinger was cut off as she said "if you watch us, we dance with heart, we dance like warriors, we come from a real place of power..." As the music played, Scherzinger could be heard asking if the interview was about to cut to another segment." Viewers of the programme also slammed the hosts for the reductive nature of the interview. "Music News" reported that hundreds of viewers complained about the segment via Twitter.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: In September 2021, it was reported that Scherzinger was refusing to take part in the tour and had been subsequently sued by Robin Antin, founder of the Pussycat Dolls. The media reported that Scherzinger had originally agreed to 49% of the tour's earnings but was now refusing to take part unless this rose to 75% and included overall creative control. Documents filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court found that the basis of the agreement was a Memorandum of Understanding that Scherzinger had committed to 45 shows, under terms that she would receive 32.5% of earnings from the tour, with Sutta, Roberts, Wyatt and Antin also receiving 12.5% and Bachar receiving 5% reflecting that she left before the release of the group's second album, "Doll Domination" (2008). The legal dispute came from Scherzinger wanting to negotiate the terms of PCD Worldwide, a new business venture that would handle future earning from the group and brand from existing terms of 49% to an increased 75%, to reflect "opportunities she would have to forego to continue to engage in the partnership with Antin and the band as her reason for demanding a bigger share".


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Scherzinger's lawyer released a counter-statement to Antin's claims. Amongst the response was details of $600,000 advance from Live Nation that Antin had received to support the tour and now "won't or can't repay", as well as accusing Antin of "trading on Nicole's name without her consent" and public release of the group's financial arrangements for the tour. Scherzinger concluded that the lawsuit was "ludicrous and false", and that under those circumstances, the tour cannot happen. Scherzinger further responded the Antin's lawsuit with a counter-claim in August 2022 that Antin has been trying to orchestrate a comeback for the band as far back as 2017. According to papers filed by Scherzinger, it was on the promise of a comeback that Antin obtained funds from Live Nation and tried to unsuccessfully revive the Pussycat Dolls for a reunion with American singer Pia Mia as the group's lead. Mia was allegedly paid $100,000 for the arrangement which never came to fruition. Scherzinger and Antin reached an agreement for the group's 2019 tour which was subsequently delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Scherzinger's position stated that the original 2019 agreement elapsed and a new venture agreement was needed to proceed with the tour. Along the requirements was compensation and appropriate shares and control over the group to recongise Scherzinger's personal and financial commitments to the reunion. According to Scherzinger, the Pussycat Doll's promotional appearances on "" and subsequent Australian performances were financed and sourced by Scherzinger. The case against Antin alleges the use of Scherzinger's likeness to promote a tour for which there was no agreement in place, and that Antin has appropriated funds from the Live Nation advance for activities that were not related to Pussycat Dolls business. These claims have been refuted by Antin's lawyers and will be subject to further litigation.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: After the group's initial disbandment in 2010, all members continued on their solo projects. Carmit Bachar would join musician Sammy Jay to become electronic music duo LadyStation, releasing the extended play "Voices" in 2015. She would later release her first solo single in 2017, "It's Time". In 2010, Kimberly Wyatt joined a musical duo called Her Majesty & the Wolves and released their debut album on July 11, 2011. That same year, she was featured on the Aggro Santos song "Candy" which became a UK top five hit. In June 2011, Melody Thornton announced plans to have her debut studio album released sometime in 2012. On March 15, 2012, she released her first mixtape, "P.O.Y.B.L", and contains ten tracks of five remakes and four originals all written by Thornton. On June 3, 2011, Jessica Sutta announced that she had signed to Hollywood Records and her first single, "Show Me", peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs in the United States. However, her planned debut studio album "Sutta Pop" was shelved and she later left the label. Using the name J Sutta, she released the mixtape "Feline Resurrection" in 2016. Later, she released her debut studio album "I Say Yes" on March 3, 2017. On November 7, 2012, it was confirmed that Ashley Roberts would compete in the twelfth series of the British reality show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" airing on ITV. In January 2013, Roberts became a member of the ice panel for the final two series of British skating show, "Dancing on Ice" on ITV. In June 2014, Roberts announced her debut album, titled "Butterfly Effect", would be released on September 1, 2014.


title: The Pussycat Dolls

text: Lead member Nicole Scherzinger continued her solo career after a halt to release the group's second and final studio album. In March 2010, it was announced that Scherzinger would be a celebrity contestant on the tenth season of "Dancing with the Stars", partnering with Derek Hough, which she won. In March 2011, Scherzinger released her debut studio album, "Killer Love", and experienced moderate success in certain territories. The album included second single, "Don't Hold Your Breath" which debuted atop the UK Singles Chart. The album's third single, "Right There", was remixed featuring 50 Cent and released as the lead single for the US version of "Killer Love". It peaked at number thirty-nine on the "Billboard" Hot 100, and reached the top ten in countries such as Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Romania, Scotland and the United Kingdom. In May 2011, Scherzinger was hired as a judge on the first season of the American version of "The X Factor", alongside Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and L.A. Reid. After her stint in the United States, Scherzinger joined "The X Factor" UK for its ninth series as the fourth permanent judge. In May 2013, Scherzinger was confirmed as a returning judge for the tenth series of "The X Factor" UK. In January 2014, it was reported that Scherzinger left Interscope Records and signed a multimillion-dollar recording deal with Sony Records. Scherzinger's album, titled "Big Fat Lie", was released in October 2014.