Final answer:
The first Homo erectus was mistakenly attributed to W.E.B. Du Bois in the question, when in reality it was discovered by Eugène Dubois. Homo erectus appeared around 1.9 million years ago and was not associated with the historical work of W.E.B. Du Bois, who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and focused on African American history and sociology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first Homo erectus was not recognized by DuBois, but rather by a Dutch anatomist named Eugène Dubois. The question seems to be a mix-up between Eugène Dubois, who discovered Homo erectus, and W.E.B. Du Bois, the notable African American sociologist and historian. Eugène Dubois discovered the first Homo erectus fossil, known as Java Man, on the island of Java in Indonesia in the late 19th century.
Homo erectus is an early species in the genus Homo that first evolved about 1.9 million years ago in East Africa and was probably ancestral to Homo heidelbergensis. Prior to the appearance of Homo erectus, Homo habilis is the first known species in the genus Homo, living from about 2.5 to 1.4 million years ago, and was also likely ancestral to Homo erectus.
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, commonly referred to as W.E.B. Du Bois, was a prominent African American activist, sociologist, and the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard. His work spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on race relations and African American history, long after the time of Homo erectus. He was known for his sociological studies and for being part of the NAACP's foundation.