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Glite Dictionary
Java man

Java man

9.9
An early human whose bones were found on the island of Java in Indonesia
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɑːvə mæn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hombre de Java
  • Researchers found fossil remains of Java man in Indonesia, dating back over a million years.

Examples

  • Many scientists consider Java man a crucial link in the study of human ancestry.

  • Homo sapiens originated in Africa at a time when Homo erectus was widespread throughout Europe and Asia (Peking man, Java man).

    Blog text (1)

  • The discovery of Java man has provided valuable insights into early human evolution.

Synonyms

Trinil man
vsJava man
  • Specialized
9.9

Fossil bones of an early human found in Java, Indonesia

is the broader early human type from Java rather than a single fossil
Pithecanthropus erectus
vsJava man
  • Archaic
9.9

An old name for early human fossils now called Homo erectus

is now classified under the modern scientific name rather than the old genus

Surface Forms

Java man singular
Java men plural

Morphology

Java + man

The phrase is a straightforward composition of the place name 'Java' + 'man', so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer 'a man (or human) associated with Java' and, from context, understand it refers to a human specimen discovered there. This place+person naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and does not require idiomatic knowledge, so the expression is transparent.

Etymology

Java man comes from the island of Java, where fossils of an early human were dug up by a scientist in the 1890s. Because Java names the place and man points to the human bones, the term now means 'an early human found on Java'.