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Human history is the development of humankind from prehistory to the present. Modern humans evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and initially lived as hunter-gatherers. They migrated out of Africa during the Last Ice Age and had populated most of the Earth by the end of the Ice Age 12,000 years ago.
Jun 8, 2024 · Learn about the process by which human beings developed from now-extinct primates, and the fossil evidence and scientific models for this history. Explore the human lineage, the human family bush, and the human family tree.
- The First Humans
- Early Humans, Neanderthals, Denisovans Mixed It Up
- Human Evolution Was Messy
- Early Human Ancestors Shared Skills
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First things first: A “human” is anyone who belongs to the genus Homo(Latin for “man”). Scientists still don’t know exactly when or how the first humans evolved, but they’ve identified a few of the oldest ones. One of the earliest known humans is Homo habilis, or “handy man,” who lived about 2.4 million to 1.4 million years ago in Eastern and South...
After the superarchaic humans came the archaic ones: Neanderthals, Denisovans and other human groups that no longer exist. Archaeologists have known about Neanderthals, or Homo neanderthalensis, since the 19th century, but only discovered Denisovans in 2008 (the group is so new it doesn’t have a scientific name yet). Since then, researchers have di...
Scientists are still figuring out when all this inter-group mating took place. Modern humans may have mated with Neanderthals after migrating out of Africa and into Europe and Asia around 70,000 years ago. Apparently, this was no one-night stand—research suggeststhere were multiple encounters between Neanderthals and modern humans. Less is known ab...
Human groups that encountered each other probably swapped more than just genes, too. Neanderthals living in modern-day France roughly 50,000 years ago knew how to start a fire, according to a 2018 Nature paperon which Sorensen was the lead author. Fire-starting is a key skill that different human groups could have passed along to each other—possibl...
Learn about the origins and diversity of human groups, from Homo habilis to modern humans, and how they mated and shared skills across time and space. Discover the latest research on Neanderthals, Denisovans and their interactions with other humans.
- Becky Little
Explore the history of human civilization from 200,000 B.C. to 339 B.C. with this interactive timeline. Learn about the origins of modern humans, the Neolithic Revolution, the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and more.
- Brian Handwerk
- 550,000 to 750,000 Years Ago: The Beginning of the Homo sapiens Lineage. Genes, rather than fossils, can help us chart the migrations, movements and evolution of our own species—and those we descended from or interbred with over the ages.
- 300,000 Years Ago: Fossils Found of Oldest Homo sapiens. As the physical remains of actual ancient people, fossils tell us most about what they were like in life.
- 300,000 Years Ago: Artifacts Show a Revolution in Tools. Our ancestors used stone tools as long as 3.3 million years ago and by 1.75 million years ago they’d adopted the Acheulean culture, a suite of chunky handaxes and other cutting implements that remained in vogue for nearly 1.5 million years.
- 100,000 to 210,000 Years Ago: Fossils Show Homo sapiens Lived Outside of Africa. Many genetic analyses tracing our roots back to Africa make it clear that Homo sapiens originated on that continent.
May 26, 2024 · human being ( Homo sapiens) Latin: “wise man” Key People: Tim D. White. Related Topics: Neanderthal. Cro-Magnon. Maba cranium. Homo sapiens idàltu. Jebel Irhoud remains. Summarize this Article. Homo sapiens, the species to which all modern human beings belong.
Sep 14, 2018 · The story of human evolution began about 7 million years ago, when the lineages that lead to Homo sapiens and chimpanzees separated. Learn about the over 20 early human species that...
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- National Geographic
