Homo erectus were too short-sighted and lazy to survive, research finds

It may have been a lazy, 'why bother?' attitude that led to the downfall of an early species of human, according to new research. Findings from the Australian National University after an archaeological excavation in Saudi Arabia found Homo erectus tended to do the bare minimum to get by, while other species of human were inclined to put in the effort. They used "least-effort strategies" for tool making and collection of resources, as opposed to Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, who would climb mountains and haul materials over dozens of kilometres to ensure they had quality goods, the research showed.

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