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Did Homo erectus walk upright like modern humans?

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Side-view illustration of a Homo erectus individual, depicted with a robust, upright body covered in hair, walking with one arm bent. A scale bar beside the figure shows measurements in inches and centimeters. — Homo erectus Artist's rendering of *Homo erectus*, which lived from approximately 1,700,000 to 200,000 years ago.

Yes, Homo erectus was a species of human that walked upright. Early evidence for this includes the discovery of a femur by Eugène Dubois in the 1890s, which was remarkably similar to that of a modern human, leading him to conclude that the individual walked erect.12

By approximately 1.53 million years ago, it is considered established that H. erectus (or the closely related H. ergaster) possessed a uniquely human locomotor system. This is supported by fossilized footprints found in Ileret, Kenya, which indicate a walking pattern and foot function comparable to those of modern humans. Furthermore, H. erectus and its related species possessed long femurs of modern configuration and internal knee structures that differ significantly from those of great apes, facilitating efficient, upright, striding bipedalism.34