Homo erectus inhabited the region in the Arabian Peninsula. An archaeological excavation of their remains from the Early Stone Age at Saffaqah, near Dawadmi in central Saudi Arabia, suggests that they used 'least-effort strategies' for tool making and collecting resources.This 'laziness' paired with an inability to adapt to a changing climate likely played a role in the species going extinct, suggests the research.Results to this effect are published in the scientific journal, PLoS One.

The way the species made their stone tools and collected resourcesbore witness to the fact that they were not explorers. They failed to have a sense of wonder and did not have guts to push themselves forward. They made low quality stone tools with whatever stones lying around their camp, even as quality stones were available at the hills.

In contrast early Homo sapiens and Neanderthalswere making quality tools out of good quality stone and transporting it over long distances. Such an attitude of industry failed in the Homo Erectus, partially causing their extinction, concludes the research.

The excavations further suggest that Homo erectus were not only lazy but also very conservative. and were doing the exact same things with their tools, even as their environment were drastically changing.