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{{for|the history of humans on Earth|History of the world}} {{Redirect|Anthropogeny|the study of humans|Anthropology}}
{{Short description|Evolutionary process leading to anatomically modern humans}}
{{redirect|Primitive man|the album by Icehouse|Primitive Man (album)}}
{{Use mdy dates|cs1-dates=ll|date=July 2024}}
{{redirect|Human origins|supernatural explanations|Origin belief}}
]s are descendants of a ].]]
'''Human evolution''' is the ]ary process within the ] of ]s that led to the emergence of '']'' as a distinct species of the ] family that includes all the ]s.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=June 8, 2024 |title=Human evolution |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/human-evolution |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> This process involved the gradual development of traits such as ], ], and ],<ref name="HallHallgrímsson2011c">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Brian K. |author1-link=Brian K. Hall |last2=Hallgrímsson |first2=Benedikt |title=Strickberger's Evolution |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CrJsNQ5wX8oC&pg=PA488 |date=2011 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett |isbn=978-1-4496-6390-2 |page=488}}</ref> as well as interbreeding with other ] (a tribe of the ] subfamily),<ref name=":3" /> indicating that human evolution was not linear but weblike.<ref name="Ackermann 2015" /><ref name="Denisovans & Neandertals">{{cite web |url= https://www.livinganthropologically.com/biological-anthropology/denisovans-neandertals-human-races/ |title=Denisovans and Neandertals: Rethinking Species Boundaries |website=Living Anthropologically |last=Antrosio |first=Jason |date=August 23, 2018 |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801180554/https://www.livinganthropologically.com/biological-anthropology/denisovans-neandertals-human-races/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Human Hybrids">{{cite magazine |last=Hammer |first=Michael F. |title=Human Hybrids |magazine=] |date=May 2013 |url= http://www.grochbiology.org/EarlyHominidInterbreeding.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180824034550/http://www.grochbiology.org/EarlyHominidInterbreeding.pdf |archive-date=August 24, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Mosaic humans, the hybrid species">{{cite magazine |last=Yong |first=Ed |title=Mosaic humans, the hybrid species |magazine=] |date=July 2011 |volume=211 |issue=2823 |pages=34–38 |doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(11)61839-3 |bibcode=2011NewSc.211...34Y |doi-access=free|issn = 0262-4079 }}</ref> The study of the origins of humans involves ] scientific disciplines, including ] and ], ], and ]; the field is also known by the terms '''anthropogeny''', '''anthropogenesis''', and '''anthropogony'''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Heng |first=Henry H. Q. |date=May 2009 |title=The genome-centric concept: Resynthesis of evolutionary theory |journal=] |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=512–525 |doi=10.1002/bies.200800182 |issn=0265-9247 |pmid=19334004 |s2cid=1336952}}</ref><ref name="Marlowe 54–67">{{Cite journal |last=Marlowe |first=Frank W. |date=April 13, 2005 |title=Hunter-gatherers and human evolution |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=54–67 |doi=10.1002/evan.20046 |s2cid=53489209}}</ref> (The latter two terms are sometimes used to refer to the related subject of ].)


Primates diverged from other ]s about {{Mya|85}} (]), in the ] period, with their earliest fossils appearing over 55&nbsp;mya, during the ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Tyson |first=Peter |date=July 1, 2008 |title=Meet Your Ancestors |work=] |publisher=] |url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/meet-your-ancestors.html |access-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210308195934/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/meet-your-ancestors.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Primates produced successive clades leading to the ] superfamily, which gave rise to the hominid and the ] families; these diverged some 15–20&nbsp;mya. African and ] (including ]s) diverged about 14&nbsp;mya. ] (including the ] and ] subtribes) parted from the ] tribe between 8 and 9&nbsp;mya; Australopithecine (including the extinct biped ancestors of humans) separated from the ''Pan'' genus (containing ]s and ]s) 4–7&nbsp;mya.<ref name=":4">{{cite web |url= https://www.science.org/content/article/bonobos-join-chimps-closest-human-relatives-rev2 |title=Bonobos Join Chimps as Closest Human Relatives |website=] |access-date=May 19, 2018 |date=June 13, 2012 |last=Gibbons |first=Ann |archive-date=September 13, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210913223232/https://www.science.org/content/article/bonobos-join-chimps-closest-human-relatives-rev2 |url-status=live}}</ref> The '']'' genus is evidenced by the appearance of '']'' over 2&nbsp;mya,{{efn|name=habilis}} while ]s emerged in Africa approximately 300,000 years ago.
].]]
{{toclimit|3}}


== Before ''Homo'' ==
'''Human evolution''' is the part of biological ] concerning the emergence of ] as a distinct ] from other ]. It is the subject of a broad ] that seeks to understand and describe how this change and development occurred. The study of human evolution encompasses many scientific disciplines, most notably ], ] and ]. The term "human", in the context of human evolution, refers to the genus '']'', but studies of human evolution usually include other ]s, such as the ].
{{For| evolutionary history before primates|Evolution of mammals|History of life|Timeline of human evolution}}


=== Early evolution of primates ===
==History of paleoanthropology==
{{See also|Evolution of primates}}
'''Paleoanthropology''' is the study of ancient humans based on fossil evidence, tools, and other signs of human habitation. The modern field of ] began in the ] with the discovery of "] man". The eponymous skeleton was found in 1856, but there had been finds elsewhere since 1830.
The evolutionary history of primates can be traced back 65&nbsp;million years.{{sfn|Maxwell|1984|p=296}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Rui |last2=Wang |first2=Yin-Qiu |last3=Su |first3=Bing |date=July 2008 |title=Molecular Evolution of a Primate-Specific microRNA Family |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=25 |issue=7 |pages=1493–1502 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msn094 |issn=0737-4038 |pmid=18417486 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Willoughby |first=Pamela R. |date=2005 |title=Palaeoanthropology and the Evolutionary Place of Humans in Nature |url= http://escholarship.org/uc/item/92w669xb |journal=International Journal of Comparative Psychology |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=60–91 |doi=10.46867/IJCP.2005.18.01.02 |issn=0889-3667 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=January 17, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120117154844/http://escholarship.org/uc/item/92w669xb |url-status=live |doi-access=free}}</ref>{{sfn|Martin|2001|pp=12032–12038}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tavaré |first1=Simon |author1-link=Simon Tavaré |last2=Marshall |first2=Charles R. |last3=Will |first3=Oliver |last4=Soligo |first4=Christophe |last5=Martin |first5=Robert D. |author4-link=Robert D. Martin |display-authors=3 |date=April 18, 2002 |title=Using the fossil record to estimate the age of the last common ancestor of extant primates |journal=] |volume=416 |issue=6882 |pages=726–729 |doi=10.1038/416726a |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=11961552 |bibcode=2002Natur.416..726T |s2cid=4368374}}</ref> One of the oldest known primate-like mammal species, the '']'', came from North America;<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rose |first=Kenneth D. |date=1994 |title=The earliest primates |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=159–173 |doi=10.1002/evan.1360030505 |s2cid=85035753 |issn=1060-1538}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://alltheworldsprimates.org/John_Fleagle_Public.aspx |title=Primate Evolution |last1=Fleagle |first1=John |author1-link=John G. Fleagle |last2=Gilbert |first2=Chris |date=2011 |editor1-last=Rowe |editor1-first=Noel |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Marc |website=All The World's Primates |publisher=Primate Conservation |location=Charlestown, Rhode Island |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150512013618/http://www.alltheworldsprimates.org/john_fleagle_public.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Roach |first=John |date=March 3, 2008 |title=Oldest Primate Fossil in North America Discovered |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080303-american-primate.html |work=National Geographic News |location=Washington, DC |publisher=] |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121016193314/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080303-american-primate.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McMains |first=Vanessa |date=December 5, 2011 |title=Found in Wyoming: New fossils of oldest American primate |url= http://gazette.jhu.edu/2011/12/05/found-in-wyoming-new-fossils-of-oldest-american-primate/ |newspaper=The Gazette |location=Baltimore |publisher=] |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=January 16, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190116200750/https://gazette.jhu.edu/2011/12/05/found-in-wyoming-new-fossils-of-oldest-american-primate/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Caldwell |first=Sara B. |date=May 19, 2009 |title=Missing link found, early primate fossil 47 million years old |location=Toronto |work=Digital Journal |url= http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/272808 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=July 22, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150722061001/http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/272808 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Watts |first=Alex |date=May 20, 2009 |title=Scientists Unveil Missing Link In Evolution |url= http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15284582 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |work=] Online |location=London |publisher=] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110728005247/http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/15284582 |archive-date=July 28, 2011}}</ref> another, '']'', came from ].<ref name="NYT-20130605">{{cite news |last=Wilford |first=J. N. |title=Palm-size fossil resets primates' clock, scientists say |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/science/palm-size-fossil-resets-primates-clock-scientists-say.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/science/palm-size-fossil-resets-primates-clock-scientists-say.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |date=June 5, 2013 |work=] |access-date=June 5, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Other similar basal primates were widespread in Eurasia and Africa during the tropical conditions of the Paleocene and ].


]'', ], New York]]
By ], the ] similarity of humans to certain ]s had been discussed and argued for some time, but the idea of the biological evolution of species in general was not legitimized until ] published '']'' in November of that year. Darwin's first book on evolution did not address the specific question of human evolution: "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history," was all Darwin wrote on the subject. Nevertheless, the implications of evolutionary theory were clear to contemporary readers.<ref name=Darwin>{{cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles |authorlink = Charles Darwin |year=1861 |title=On the Origin of Species |place=London |publisher=John Murray |edition=3rd |pages=488 |url=http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F373&viewtype=side&pageseq=506}}</ref>
Debates between ] and ] focused on human evolution. Huxley convincingly illustrated many of the similarities and differences between humans and apes in his 1863 book '']''. By the time Darwin published his own book on the subject, '']'', it was already a well-known interpretation of his theory, and the interpretation which made the theory highly controversial. Even many of Darwin's original supporters (such as ] and ]) balked at the idea that human beings could have evolved their impressive mental capacities and moral sensibilities through ].


David R. Begun<ref name="Kordos-p17">{{cite journal |last1=Kordos |first1=László |last2=Begun |first2=David R. |date=January 2001 |title=Primates from Rudabánya: Allocation of specimens to individuals, sex and age categories |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=17–39 |doi=10.1006/jhev.2000.0437 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=11139358 |bibcode=2001JHumE..40...17K}}</ref> concluded that early primates flourished in Eurasia and that a lineage leading to the African apes and humans, including to '']'', migrated south from Europe or Western Asia into Africa. The surviving tropical population of primates—which is seen most completely in the Upper Eocene and lowermost ] fossil beds of the ] depression southwest of ]—gave rise to all extant primate species, including the ]s of ], ]es of Southeast Asia, ]s or "bush babies" of Africa, and to the ], which are the ] or New World monkeys, the ] or Old World monkeys, and the great apes, including humans and other hominids.
Since the time of ], scientists have considered the great apes to be the closest relatives of human beings, based on morphological similarity. In the 19th century, they speculated that the closest living relatives of humans are ]s and ]s. Based on the natural range of these creatures, they surmised that humans share a ] with other ]n apes and that ]s of these ancestors would ultimately be found in Africa.


The earliest known catarrhine is '']'' from the uppermost Oligocene at Eragaleit in the northern ] in Kenya, dated to 24&nbsp;million years ago.{{sfn|Cameron|2004|p=}} Its ancestry is thought to be species related to '']'', '']'', and '']'' from the Faiyum, at around 35&nbsp;mya.{{sfn|Wallace|2004|p=}} In 2010, '']'' was described as a close relative of the last common ancestor of the ] catarrhines, and tentatively dated to 29–28&nbsp;mya, helping to fill an 11-million-year gap in the fossil record.<ref name="2010Zalmout">{{cite journal |last1=Zalmout |first1=Iyad S. |last2=Sanders |first2=William J. |author2-link=William J. Sanders |last3=MacLatchy |first3=Laura M. |last4=Gunnell |first4=Gregg F. |last5=Al-Mufarreh |first5=Yahya A. |last6=Ali |first6=Mohammad A. |last7=Nasser |first7=Abdul-Azziz H. |last8=Al-Masari |first8=Abdu M. |last9=Al-Sobhi |first9=Salih A. |last10=Nadhra |first10=Ayman O. |last11=Matari |first11=Adel H. |last12=Wilson |first12=Jeffrey A. |last13=Gingerich |first13=Philip D. |date=July 15, 2010 |title=New Oligocene primate from Saudi Arabia and the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys |journal=] |volume=466 |issue=7304 |pages=360–364 |bibcode=2010Natur.466..360Z |doi=10.1038/nature09094 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=20631798 |s2cid=205220837 |display-authors=3}}</ref>
It was not until the ] that hominid fossils were discovered in ]. In ], ] described '']''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dart RA |title=The Man-Ape of South Africa |journal=Nature |volume=115 |pages=195-199 |year=1925}}</ref> The ] was the ], an ] infant discovered in a cave deposit being mined for concrete at ], ]. The remains were a remarkably well-preserved tiny skull and an ] of the individual's brain. Although the brain was small (410 cm³), its shape was rounded, unlike that of chimpanzees and gorillas, and more like a modern human brain. Also, the specimen exhibited short ], and the position of the ] was evidence of ] locomotion. All of these traits convinced Dart that the Taung baby was a bipedal human ancestor, a transitional form between apes and humans.


]'' skeleton]]
Another 20 years would pass before Dart's claims were taken seriously, following the discovery of more fossils that resembled his find. The prevailing view of the time was that a large brain evolved before bipedality. It was thought that intelligence on par with modern humans was a prerequisite to bipedalism.


In the ], about 22&nbsp;million years ago, the many kinds of ]-adapted (tree-dwelling) primitive catarrhines from East Africa suggest a long history of prior diversification. ] at 20&nbsp;million years ago include fragments attributed to '']'', the earliest Old World monkey. Among the genera thought to be in the ] lineage leading up to 13&nbsp;million years ago are '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', ''Heliopithecus'', and '']'', all from East Africa.
The australopithecines are now thought to be immediate ancestors of the genus ''Homo'', the group to which modern humans belong.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wood B |title=Human evolution |journal=Bioessays |volume=18 |issue=12 |pages=945-54 |year=1996 |pmid=8976151 |doi=10.1002/bies.950181204}}</ref> Both australopithecines and ''Homo sapiens'' are part of the tribe ], but recent data has brought into doubt the position of ''A. africanus'' as a direct ancestor of modern humans; it may well have been a dead-end cousin.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wood B |title=Origin and evolution of the genus Homo |journal=Nature |volume=355 |issue=6363 |pages=783-90 |year=1992 |pmid=1538759 |doi=10.1038/355783a0}}</ref> The australopithecines were originally classified as either ] or ]. The robust variety of ''Australopithecus'' has since been reclassified as '']'', although it is still regarded as a subgenus of ''Australopithecus'' by some authors.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cela-Conde CJ, Ayala FJ |title=Genera of the human lineage |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |volume=100 |issue=13 |pages=7684-9 |year=2003 |pmid=12794185 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0832372100}}</ref>


The presence of other generalized non-cercopithecids of ] from sites far distant, such as '']'' from cave deposits in Namibia, and '']'' and '']'' from France, Spain and Austria, is evidence of a wide diversity of forms across Africa and the Mediterranean basin during the relatively warm and equable climatic regimes of the Early and Middle Miocene. The youngest of the ] hominoids, '']'', is from coal beds in Italy that have been dated to 9&nbsp;million years ago.
In the ], when the robust specimens were first described, the ''Paranthropus'' genus was used. During the ], the robust variety was moved into ''Australopithecus''. The recent trend has been back to the original classification as a separate genus.


Molecular evidence indicates that the lineage of gibbons diverged from the line of great apes some 18–12&nbsp;mya, and that of orangutans (subfamily ]){{efn|Not to be confused with ], an obsolete family which grouped together ]s, ]s and ]s to separate them from humans}} diverged from the other great apes at about 12&nbsp;million years; there are no fossils that clearly document the ancestry of gibbons, which may have originated in a so-far-unknown Southeast Asian hominoid population, but fossil proto-orangutans may be represented by '']'' from India and '']'' from Turkey, dated to around 10&nbsp;mya.{{sfn|Srivastava|2009|p=}}
{{:Human evolution/Species chart}}


Hominidae subfamily ] (African hominids) diverged from Ponginae (orangutans) about 14&nbsp;mya. Hominins (including humans and the Australopithecine and ] subtribes) parted from the ] tribe (gorillas) between 8 and 9&nbsp;mya; Australopithecine (including the extinct biped ancestors of humans) separated from the ''Pan'' genus (containing chimpanzees and bonobos) 4–7&nbsp;mya.<ref name=":4" /> The ''Homo'' genus is evidenced by the appearance of ''H.&nbsp;habilis'' over 2&nbsp;mya,{{efn|name=habilis}} while anatomically modern humans emerged in Africa approximately 300,000 years ago.
==Before ''Homo''==


=== Divergence of the human clade from other great apes ===
The evolutionary history of the ]s can be traced back for some 85 million years, as one of the oldest of all surviving placental mammal groups. Most paleontologists consider that primates share a common ancestor with the ]s, another extremely ancient lineage, and that this ancestor probably lived during the late ], together with the last ]. The oldest known primates come from North America, but they were widespread in Eurasia and Africa as well, during the tropical conditions of the ] and ].
Species close to the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans may be represented by '']'' fossils found in Kenya and '']'' found in Greece. Molecular evidence suggests that between 8 and 4&nbsp;million years ago, first the gorillas, and then the chimpanzees (genus ''Pan'') split off from the line leading to the humans. Human DNA is approximately 98.4% identical to that of chimpanzees when comparing single nucleotide polymorphisms (see ]). The fossil record, however, of gorillas and chimpanzees is limited; both poor preservation – rain forest soils tend to be acidic and dissolve bone – and ] probably contribute to this problem.


Other hominins probably adapted to the drier environments outside the equatorial belt; and there they encountered antelope, hyenas, dogs, pigs, elephants, horses, and others. The equatorial belt contracted after about 8&nbsp;million years ago, and there is very little fossil evidence for the split—thought to have occurred around that time—of the hominin lineage from the lineages of gorillas and chimpanzees. The earliest fossils argued by some to belong to the human lineage are ''Sahelanthropus tchadensis'' (7 Ma) and ''Orrorin tugenensis'' (6 Ma), followed by ''Ardipithecus'' (5.5–4.4 Ma), with species ''Ar. kadabba'' and '']''.
With the beginning of modern climates, marked by the formation of the first Antarctic ice in the early ] around 40 million years ago, primates went extinct everywhere but Africa and southern Asia. One such primate from this time was ]. Fossil evidence found in Germany 20 years ago was determined to be about 16.5 million years old, some 1.5 million years older than similar species from East Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kordos L, Begun DR |title=Primates from Rudabánya: allocation of specimens to individuals, sex and age categories |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=17-39 |year=2001 |pmid=11139358 |doi=10.1006/jhev.2000.0437}}</ref> It suggests that the great ape and human lineage first appeared in Eurasia and not Africa.


It has been argued in a study of the life history of ''Ar. ramidus'' that the species provides evidence for a suite of anatomical and behavioral adaptations in very early hominins unlike any species of extant great ape.<ref name="aramidus">{{Cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=G. |last2=Henneberg |first2=M. |title=The life history of Ardipithecus ramidus: A heterochronic model of sexual and social maturation |journal=] |volume=78 |issue=2 |pages=109–132 |date=June 2015 |doi=10.1515/anre-2015-0009 |s2cid=54900467 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This study demonstrated affinities between the skull morphology of ''Ar. ramidus'' and that of infant and juvenile chimpanzees, suggesting the species evolved a juvenalised or ] craniofacial morphology via ] dissociation of growth trajectories. It was also argued that the species provides support for the notion that very early hominins, akin to bonobos (''Pan paniscus'') the less aggressive species of the genus ''Pan'', may have evolved via the process of ]. Consequently, arguing against the so-called "chimpanzee referential model"<ref name="sayers" /> the authors suggest it is no longer tenable to use chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes'') social and mating behaviors in models of early hominin social evolution. When commenting on the absence of aggressive canine morphology in ''Ar. ramidus'' and the implications this has for the evolution of hominin social psychology, they wrote:
The discoveries suggest that the early ancestors of the hominids (the family of great apes and humans) migrated to Eurasia from Africa about 17 million years ago, just before these two continents were cut off from each other by an expansion of the Mediterranean Sea. Begun<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kordos L, Begun DR |title=Primates from Rudabánya: allocation of specimens to individuals, sex and age categories |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=17-39 |year=2001 |pmid=11139358 |doi=10.1006/jhev.2000.0437}}</ref> says that the great apes flourished in Eurasia and that their lineage leading to the African apes and humans—]—migrated south from Europe or Western Asia into Africa. The surviving tropical population, which is seen most completely in the upper Eocene and lowermost Oligocene fossil beds of the ] depression southwest of Cairo, gave rise to all living primates—]s of Madagascar, ]es of Southeast Asia, ]s or "bush babies" of Africa, and the ]s; ]s or New World monkeys, and ]s or Old World monkeys and the great apes and humans.


{{blockquote|Of course ''Ar. ramidus'' differs significantly from bonobos, bonobos having retained a functional canine honing complex. However, the fact that ''Ar. ramidus'' shares with bonobos reduced sexual dimorphism, and a more paedomorphic form relative to chimpanzees, suggests that the developmental and social adaptations evident in bonobos may be of assistance in future reconstructions of early hominin social and sexual psychology. In fact the trend towards increased maternal care, female mate selection and self-domestication may have been stronger and more refined in ''Ar. ramidus'' than what we see in bonobos.{{r|aramidus|page1=128}}}}
The earliest known catarrhine is '']'' from uppermost Oligocene at Eragaleit in the northern Kenya rift valley, dated to 24 ] (millions of years before present). Its ancestry is generally thought to be close to such genera as '']'', '']'', and '']'' from the Fayum, at around 35 ]. There are no fossils from the intervening 11 million years. No near ancestor to South American platyrrhines, whose fossil record begins at around 30 mya, can be identified among the North African fossil species, and possibly lies in other forms that lived in West Africa that were caught up in the still-mysterious transatlantic sweepstakes that sent primates, rodents, boa constrictors, and cichlid fishes from Africa to South America sometime in the Oligocene.


The authors argue that many of the basic human adaptations evolved in the ancient forest and woodland ecosystems of late ] and early ] Africa. Consequently, they argue that humans may not represent evolution from a chimpanzee-like ancestor as has traditionally been supposed. This suggests many modern human adaptations represent ] deep traits and that the behavior and morphology of chimpanzees may have evolved subsequent to the split with the common ancestor they share with humans.
In the early ], after 22 mya, many kinds of arboreally adapted primitive catarrhines from East Africa suggest a long history of prior diversification. Because the fossils at 20 mya include fragments attributed to '']'', the earliest cercopithecoid, the other forms are (by default) grouped as hominoids, without clear evidence as to which are closest to living apes and humans. Among the presently recognized genera in this group, which ranges up to 13 mya, we find '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'', all from East Africa. The presence of other generalized non-cercopithecids of middle Miocene age from sites far distant—'']'' from cave deposits in Namibia, and '']'' and '']'' from France, Spain and Austria—is evidence of a wide diversity of forms across Africa and the Mediterranean basin during the relatively warm and equable climatic regimes of the early and middle Miocene.


=== Genus ''Australopithecus'' ===
The youngest of the Miocene hominoids, '']'', is from 9 mya coal beds in Italy.
{{Main|Australopithecus}}
]"]]
The genus '']'' evolved in eastern Africa around 4&nbsp;million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct 2&nbsp;million years ago. During this time period various forms of australopiths existed, including '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''. There is still some debate among academics whether certain African hominid species of this time, such as '']'' and '']'', constitute members of the same genus; if so, they would be considered to be "robust australopiths" while the others would be considered "gracile australopiths". However, if these species do indeed constitute their own genus, then they may be given their own name, ''Paranthropus''.
* '']'' (4–1.8 Ma), with species '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'';
* '']'' (3–2.7 Ma), with species '']'';
* '']'' (3–1.2 Ma), with species '']'', '']'', and '']''
A new proposed species '']'' is claimed to have been discovered living at the same time period of '']''. There is debate whether '']'' is a new species or is '']''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |date=May 27, 2015 |title=The Human Family Tree Bristles With New Branches |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/science/adding-branches-to-the-human-family-tree.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/science/adding-branches-to-the-human-family-tree.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 30, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''Australopithecus prometheus'', otherwise known as ] has recently been dated at 3.67&nbsp;million years old through a new dating technique, making the genus ''Australopithecus'' as old as ''afarensis''.<ref>Gardner., Elizabeth K.; Purdue University (April 1, 2015). "New instrument dates old skeleton before 'Lucy'; 'Little Foot' 3.67 million years old". Science Daily. Retrieved April 3, 2015.</ref> Given the opposable big toe found on Little Foot, it seems that the specimen was a good climber. It is thought given the night predators of the region that he built a nesting platform at night in the trees in a similar fashion to chimpanzees and gorillas.
]s may have developed ] shelter-building traditions from such earlier ].]]


== Evolution of genus ''Homo'' ==
Molecular evidence indicates that the lineage of ]s (family ]) became distinct between 18 and 12 Ma, and that of ]s (subfamily Ponginae) at about 12 Ma; we have no fossils that clearly document the ancestry of gibbons, which may have originated in a so far unknown South East Asian hominid population, but fossil proto-orangutans may be represented by '']'' from India and '']'' from Turkey, dated to around 10 Ma.
{{Main|Homo}}
{{Human timeline}}
The earliest documented representative of the genus ''Homo'' is '']'', which evolved around {{Mya|2.8}},<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Pallab |author-link=Pallab Ghosh |date=March 4, 2015 |title='First human' discovered in Ethiopia |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31718336 |work=BBC News |location=London |access-date=April 19, 2015 |archive-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150418032919/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31718336 |url-status=live}}</ref> and is arguably the earliest species for which there is positive evidence of the use of stone tools. The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee, although it has been suggested that this was the time in which the human ] ] doubled, producing a more rapid wiring of the frontal cortex. During the next million years a process of rapid ] occurred, and with the arrival of '']'' and '']'' in the ], cranial capacity had doubled to 850&nbsp;cm<sup>3</sup>.{{sfn|Swisher|Curtis|Lewin|2001}} (Such an increase in human brain size is equivalent to each generation having 125,000 more ]s than their parents.) It is believed that ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' and ''H.&nbsp;ergaster'' were the first to use fire and complex tools, and were the first of the hominin line to leave Africa, spreading throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe between {{Mya|1.3|1.8}}.
According to the recent African origin theory, modern humans evolved in Africa possibly from '']'', '']'' or '']'' and migrated out of the continent some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago, gradually replacing local populations of ''H.&nbsp;erectus'', ]s, '']'', '']'' and '']'', whose ancestors had left Africa in earlier migrations.{{sfn|Stringer|1994|p=242}}{{sfn|McHenry|2009|p=265}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=Out of Africa Revisited |date=May 13, 2005 |journal=] |type=This Week in ''Science'' |volume=308 |issue=5724 |page=921 |doi=10.1126/science.2005.308.5724.twis |doi-access=free |s2cid=220100436 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Stringer |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Stringer |date=June 12, 2003 |title=Human evolution: Out of Ethiopia |journal=] |volume=423 |issue=6941 |pages=692–695 |doi=10.1038/423692a |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=12802315 |bibcode=2003Natur.423..692S |s2cid=26693109}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/johanson.html |title=Origins of Modern Humans: Multiregional or Out of Africa? |last=Johanson |first=Donald |author-link=Donald Johanson |date=May 2001 |website=] |publisher=] |location=Washington, DC |access-date=November 23, 2009 |archive-date=November 14, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101114081543/http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/johanson.html}}</ref> ], the forerunner of ], evolved in the ] between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite press release |last1=Mixon |first1=Bobbie |last2=Ehardt |first2=Carolyn |last3=Hammer |first3=Michael |date=September 6, 2011 |title=Evolution's Past Is Modern Human's Present |url= https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?org=NSF&cntn_id=121603&preview=false |publisher=] |id=Press Release 11-181 |access-date=April 20, 2015 |archive-date=December 17, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141217084326/http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?org=NSF&cntn_id=121603&preview=false |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm |title=Early Modern ''Homo sapiens'' |last=O'Neil |first=Dennis |website=Evolution of Modern Humans: A Survey of the Biological and Cultural Evolution of Archaic and Modern Homo sapiens |publisher=] |location=San Marcos, California |type=Tutorial |access-date=April 20, 2015 |archive-date=April 30, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150430142627/http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Fossil Reanalysis Pushes Back Origin of ''Homo sapiens'' |url= http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossil-reanalysis-pushes/ |date=February 17, 2005 |journal=] |issn=0036-8733 |access-date=April 20, 2015 |archive-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160115000603/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossil-reanalysis-pushes/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Recent ] evidence suggests that several ]s of ] origin are present among all non-African populations, and Neanderthals and other hominins, such as Denisovans, may have contributed up to 6% of their ] to present-day humans, suggestive of a ].<ref name="pmid21179161">{{cite journal |last1=Reich |first1=David |author1-link=David Reich (geneticist) |last2=Green |first2=Richard E. |last3=Kircher |first3=Martin |last4=Krause |first4=Johannes |last5=Patterson |first5=Nick |last6=Durand |first6=Eric Y. |last7=Viola |first7=Bence |last8=Briggs |first8=Adrian W. |last9=Stenzel |first9=Udo |last10=Johnson |first10=Philip L. F. |last11=Maricic |first11=Tomislav |last12=Good |first12=Jeffrey M. |last13=Marques-Bonet |first13=Tomas |last14=Alkan |first14=Can |last15=Fu |first15=Qiaomei |last16=Mallick |first16=Swapan |last17=Li |first17=Heng |last18=Meyer |first18=Matthias |last19=Eichler |first19=Evan E. |last20=Stoneking |first20=Mark |last21=Richards |first21=Michael |last22=Talamo |first22=Sahra |last23=Shunkov |first23=Michael V. |last24=Derevianko |first24=Anatoli P. |last25=Hublin |first25=Jean-Jacques |last26=Kelso |first26=Janet |last27=Slatkin |first27=Montgomery |last28=Pääbo |first28=Svante |author28-link=Svante Pääbo |display-authors=3 |date=December 23, 2010 |title=Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia |journal=] |volume=468 |issue=7327 |pages=1053–1060 |bibcode=2010Natur.468.1053R |doi=10.1038/nature09710 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=21179161 |pmc=4306417 |hdl=10230/25596}}</ref><ref name="pmid20439435">{{cite journal |last=Noonan |first=James P. |date=May 2010 |title=Neanderthal genomics and the evolution of modern humans |journal=] |volume=20 |issue=5 |pages=547–553 |doi=10.1101/gr.076000.108 |issn=1088-9051 |pmc=2860157 |pmid=20439435}}</ref><ref name="10.1126/science.1209202">{{cite journal |last1=Abi-Rached |first1=Laurent |last2=Jobin |first2=Matthew J. |last3=Kulkarni |first3=Subhash |last4=McWhinnie |first4=A. |last5=Dalva |first5=K. |last6=Gragert |first6=L. |last7=Babrzadeh |first7=F. |last8=Gharizadeh |first8=B. |last9=Luo |first9=M. |last10=Plummer |first10=F. A. |last11=Kimani |first11=J. |last12=Carrington |first12=M. |last13=Middleton |first13=D. |last14=Rajalingam |first14=R. |last15=Beksac |first15=M. |last16=Marsh |first16=S. G. E. |last17=Maiers |first17=M. |last18=Guethlein |first18=L. A. |last19=Tavoularis |first19=S. |last20=Little |first20=A.-M. |last21=Green |first21=R. E. |last22=Norman |first22=P. J. |last23=Parham |first23=P. |display-authors=3 |date=October 7, 2011 |title=The Shaping of Modern Human Immune Systems by Multiregional Admixture with Archaic Humans |journal=] |volume=334 |issue=6052 |pages=89–94 |bibcode=2011Sci...334...89A |doi=10.1126/science.1209202 |issn=0036-8075 |pmc=3677943 |pmid=21868630}}</ref> According to some anthropologists, the transition to ] with the development of symbolic culture, language, and specialized ] happened around 50,000 years ago (beginning of the ]),<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mellars |author-link=Paul Mellars |first=Paul |date=June 20, 2006 |title=Why did modern human populations disperse from Africa ca. 60,000 years ago? A new model |journal=] |volume=103 |issue=25 |pages=9381–9386 |bibcode=2006PNAS..103.9381M |doi=10.1073/pnas.0510792103 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=1480416 |pmid=16772383 |doi-access=free}}</ref> although others point to evidence of a gradual change over a longer time span during the Middle Paleolithic.<ref name="Mcbrearty_Brooks">{{cite journal |last1=McBrearty |first1=Sally |last2=Brooks |first2=Alison S. |date=November 2000 |title=The revolution that wasn't: A new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior |journal=] |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=453–563 |doi=10.1006/jhev.2000.0435 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=11102266 |bibcode=2000JHumE..39..453M |s2cid=42968840}}</ref>]. The horizontal axis represents geographic location; the vertical axis represents time in ] (Mya).<ref>based on
{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.aao6266 |pmid=28971970 |volume=358 |title=Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 years ago |date=2017 |journal=] |pages=652–655 |last1=Schlebusch |first1=C. M. |last2=Malmström |first2=H. |last3=Günther |first3=T. |last4=Sjödin |first4=P. |last5=Coutinho |first5=A. |last6=Edlund |first6=H. |last7=Munters |first7=A. R. |last8=Vicente |first8=M. |last9=Steyn |first9=M. |last10=Soodyall |first10=H. |last11=Lombard |first11=M. |last12=Jakobsson |first12=M. |issue=6363 |bibcode=2017Sci...358..652S |s2cid=206663925 |doi-access=free}}, {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180114130711/https://d2ufo47lrtsv5s.cloudfront.net/content/sci/early/2017/09/27/science.aao6266/F3.large.jpg |date=January 14, 2018}} (''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' divergence times) and
{{cite journal |last=Stringer |first=C. |title=What makes a modern human |journal=] |date=2012 |volume=485 |issue=7396 |pages=33–35 |doi=10.1038/485033a |pmid=22552077 |bibcode=2012Natur.485...33S |s2cid=4420496 |doi-access=free}} (archaic admixture).</ref>
''Homo Erectus'' is shown spreading across Eurasia starting around 1.8 Mya. ''Homo heidelbergensis'' is shown diverging into Neanderthals, Denisovans and ''H.&nbsp;sapiens''. With the expansion of ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' after 0.2 Mya, Neanderthals, Denisovans and unspecified archaic African hominins are shown as ] into the ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' lineage. Admixture events in modern African populations are also indicated.]]


''Homo sapiens'' is the only ] of its genus, ''Homo''. While some (extinct) ''Homo'' species might have been ancestors of ''Homo sapiens'', many, perhaps most, were likely "cousins", having ]d away from the ancestral hominin line.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Strait |first1=David S. |last2=Grine |first2=Frederick E. |author2-link=Frederick E. Grine |last3=Moniz |first3=Marc A. |date=January 1997 |title=A reappraisal of early hominid phylogeny |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=17–82 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1996.0097 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=9034954 |bibcode=1997JHumE..32...17S |s2cid=37754799}}</ref>{{sfn|Bryson|2004|pp=522–543}} There is yet no consensus as to which of these groups should be considered a separate species and which should be subspecies; this may be due to the dearth of fossils or to the slight differences used to classify species in the genus ''Homo''.{{sfn|Bryson|2004|pp=522–543}} The ] (describing an occasionally passable ] desert) provides one possible explanation of the intermittent migration and speciation in the genus ''Homo''.
It has been suggested that species close to last common ancestors of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans may be represented by '']'' fossils found in Kenya and '']'' found in Greece. Molecular evidence suggests that between 8 and 4 mya, first the ]s, and then the ] (genus ''Pan'') split off from the line leading to the humans; human DNA is 98.4 percent identical to the DNA of chimpanzees. We have no fossil record, however, of either group of African great apes, possibly because bones do not fossilize in ] environments.


Based on archaeological and paleontological evidence, it has been possible to infer, to some extent, the ancient dietary practices<ref name="NYT-20150813" /> of various ''Homo'' species and to study the role of diet in physical and behavioral evolution within ''Homo''.<ref name="Leonard_2007" />{{sfn|Walker|2007|pp=}}{{sfn|Ungar|Teaford|2002}}{{sfn|Bogin|1997|pp=}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Barnicot |first=Nigel A. |date=April–June 2005 |title=Human nutrition: Evolutionary perspectives |journal=Integrative Physiological & Behavioral Science |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=114–117 |doi=10.1007/BF02734246 |issn=1932-4502 |pmid=17393680 |s2cid=39549910}}</ref>
Hominines, however, seem to have been one of the mammal groups (as well as antelopes, hyenas, dogs, pigs, elephants, and horses) that adapted to the open grasslands as soon as this biome appeared, due to increasingly seasonal climates, about 8 mya, and their fossils are relatively well known. The earliest are '']'' (7–6 mya) and '']'' (6 mya), followed by:
*'']'' (5.5–4.4 mya), with species '']'' and '']'';
*'']'' (4–2 mya), with species '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'';
*'']'' (3-2.7 mya), with species '']''
*'']'' (3–1.2 mya), with species '']'', '']'', and '']'';
*'']'' (2 mya–present), with species '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']''


Some anthropologists and archaeologists subscribe to the ], which posits that the ] of ] on Sumatra in Indonesia some 70,000 years ago caused global starvation,<ref>{{cite news |title=The new batch – 150,000 years ago |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human/human_evolution/new_batch1.shtml |work=The evolution of man |location=London |publisher=BBC Science & Nature |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060118155703/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human/human_evolution/new_batch1.shtml |archive-date=January 18, 2006 |access-date=April 28, 2015}}</ref> killing the majority of humans and creating a ] that affected the genetic inheritance of all humans today.<ref>{{cite news |last=Whitehouse |first=David |date=June 9, 2003 |title=When humans faced extinction |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2975862.stm |work=BBC News |location=London |publisher=BBC |access-date=January 5, 2007 |archive-date=September 4, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100904071921/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2975862.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> The genetic and archaeological evidence for this remains in question however.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312132956.htm |title=Modern humans flourished through ancient supervolcano eruption 74,000 years ago: Modern humans flourished through ancient supervolcano eruption |website=ScienceDaily |access-date=January 24, 2019 |archive-date=January 24, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190124152235/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180312132956.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> A 2023 genetic study suggests that a similar human ] of between 1,000 and 100,000 survivors occurred "around 930,000 and 813,000 years ago ... lasted for about 117,000 years and brought human ancestors close to extinction."<ref name="NYT-20230831">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=Humanity's Ancestors Nearly Died Out, Genetic Study Suggests - The population crashed following climate change about 930,000 years ago, scientists concluded. Other experts aren't convinced by the analysis. |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/science/human-survival-bottleneck.html |date=August 31, 2023 |work=] |archive-url= https://archive.today/20230831182259/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/science/human-survival-bottleneck.html |archive-date=August 31, 2023 |access-date=September 2, 2023}}</ref><ref name="SCI-20230831">{{cite journal |last=Hu |first=Wangjie |display-authors=etal |title=Genomic inference of a severe human bottleneck during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition |url= http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7487 |date=August 31, 2023 |journal=] |volume=381 |issue=6661 |pages=979–984 |doi=10.1126/science.abq7487 |pmid=37651513 |bibcode=2023Sci...381..979H |s2cid=261396309 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20230901024052/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7487 |archive-date=September 1, 2023 |access-date=September 2, 2023}}</ref>
==The genus ''Homo''==
The word ''homo'' is ] for "human", chosen originally by ] in his classification system. It is often translated as "man", although this can lead to confusion, given that the English word "man" can be generic like ''homo'', but can also specifically refer to males. Latin for "man" in the gender-specific sense is ''vir'', ] with "]" and "]". The word "human" is from ''humanus'', the adjectival form of ''homo''.


=== ''H. habilis'' and ''H. gautengensis'' ===
In modern taxonomy, ''Homo sapiens'' is the only extant ] of its genus, '']''. Likewise, the ongoing study of the origins of ''Homo sapiens'' often demonstrates that there were other ''Homo'' species, all of which are now extinct. While some of these other species might have been ancestors of ''H. sapiens'', many were likely our "cousins", having speciated away from our ancestral line.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Strait DS, Grine FE, Moniz MA |title=A reappraisal of early hominid phylogeny |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=17-82 |year=1997 |pmid=9034954 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1996.0097}}</ref> There is not yet a consensus as to which of these groups should count as separate species and which as subspecies of another species. In some cases this is due to the paucity of fossils, in other cases it is due to the slight differences used to classify species in the ''Homo'' genus. The ] provides an explanation of the early variation in the genus ''Homo''.
''Homo habilis'' lived from about 2.8<ref name="autogenerated1" /> to 1.4 Ma. The species evolved in South and East Africa in the ] or ], 2.5–2 Ma, when it diverged from the australopithecines with the development of smaller molars and larger brains. One of the first known hominins, it made ] and perhaps animal bones, leading to its name ''homo'' ''habilis'' (Latin 'handy man') bestowed by discoverer ]. Some scientists have proposed moving this species from ''Homo'' into ''Australopithecus'' due to the morphology of its skeleton being more adapted to ] rather than ] like later hominins.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Bernard |last2=Collard |first2=Mark |date=1999 |title=The changing face of Genus ''Homo'' |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=195–207 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1520-6505(1999)8:6<195::AID-EVAN1>3.0.CO;2-2 |s2cid=86768101 |issn=1060-1538}}</ref>


In May 2010, a new species, '']'', was discovered in South Africa.<ref name="toothy">{{cite news |last=Viegas |first=Jennifer |date=May 21, 2010 |title=Toothy Tree-Swinger May Be Earliest Human |url= http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/human-ancestor-tree-swinger.htm |work=] |location=Silver Spring, Maryland |publisher=] |access-date=April 28, 2015 |archive-date=May 9, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150509101320/http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/human-ancestor-tree-swinger.htm}}</ref>
===''Homo habilis''===


=== ''H. rudolfensis'' and ''H. georgicus'' ===
'']'' lived from about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago (mya). ''H. habilis'', the first species of the genus ''Homo'', evolved in South and East Africa in the late ] or early ], 2.5&ndash;2 mya, when it diverged from the Australopithecines. ''H. habilis'' had smaller ] and larger ]s than the Australopithecines, and made ]s from ] and perhaps animal ]s. One of the first known hominids, it was nicknamed 'handy man' by its discoverer, ]. Some scientists have proposed moving this species out of ''Homo'' and into '']''.<nowiki><nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki>{| class="wikitable"
These are proposed species names for fossils from about 1.9–1.6 Ma, whose relation to ''Homo habilis'' is not yet clear.
|-
* ''Homo rudolfensis'' refers to a single, incomplete skull from Kenya. Scientists have suggested that this was a specimen of ''Homo habilis'', but this has not been confirmed.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wood |first=Bernard A. |date=January 1999 |title=''Homo rudolfensis'' Alexeev, 1986 – fact or phantom? |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=115–118 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1998.0246 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=9924136 |bibcode=1999JHumE..36..115W}}</ref>
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* '']'', from ], may be an intermediate form between ''Homo habilis'' and ''Homo erectus'',<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gabounia |first1=Léo |last2=de Lumley |first2=Marie-Antoinette |last3=Vekua |first3=Abesalom |last4=Lordkipanidze |first4=David |last5=de Lumley |first5=Henry |date=September 2002 |title=Découverte d'un nouvel hominidé à Dmanissi (Transcaucasie, Géorgie) |trans-title=Discovery of a new hominid at Dmanisi (Transcaucasia, Georgia) |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |language=fr |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=243–253 |doi=10.1016/S1631-0683(02)00032-5 |bibcode=2002CRPal...1..243G |issn=1631-0683 |display-authors=3}}</ref> or a subspecies of ''Homo erectus''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lordkipanidze |first1=David |author1-link=David Lordkipanidze |last2=Vekua |first2=Abesalom |last3=Ferring |first3=Reid |last4=Rightmire |first4=G. Philip |last5=Zollikofer |first5=Christoph P. E. |last6=Ponce de León |first6=Marcia S. |last7=Agusti |first7=Jordi |last8=Kiladze |first8=Gocha |last9=Mouskhelishvili |first9=Alexander |last10=Nioradze |first10=Medea |last11=Tappen |first11=Martha |date=November 2006 |title=A fourth hominin skull from Dmanisi, Georgia |journal=The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology |volume=288A |issue=11 |pages=1146–1157 |doi=10.1002/ar.a.20379 |issn=1552-4884 |pmid=17031841 |display-authors=3 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
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===''Homo rudolfensis'' and ''Homo georgicus''=== === ''H. ergaster'' and ''H. erectus'' ===
] who lived 1.5 to 1.6 million years ago]]
The first fossils of ''Homo erectus'' were discovered by Dutch physician ] in 1891 on the Indonesian island of Java. He originally named the material ''] erectus'' (1892–1893, considered at this point as a chimpanzee-like fossil primate) and ''] erectus'' (1893–1894, changing his mind as of based on its morphology, which he considered to be intermediate between that of humans and apes).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Turner |first=William |author-link=William Turner Thiselton-Dyer |date=April 1895 |title=On M. Dubois' Description of Remains recently found in Java, named by him ''Pithecanthropus erectus''. With Remarks on so-called Transitional Forms between Apes and Man |journal=Journal of Anatomy and Physiology |volume=29 |issue=Pt 3 |pages=424–445 |pmc=1328414 |pmid=17232143}}</ref> Years later, in the 20th century, the German physician and ] ] (1873–1948) compared in detail the characters of Dubois' ], then named ''Pithecanthropus erectus'', with the characters of the ], then named ''Sinanthropus pekinensis''. Weidenreich concluded in 1940 that because of their anatomical similarity with modern humans it was necessary to gather all these specimens of Java and China in a single species of the genus ''Homo'', the species ''H.&nbsp;erectus''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Weidenreich |first=Franz |date=July 1940 |title=Some Problems Dealing with Ancient Man |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=375–383 |doi=10.1525/aa.1940.42.3.02a00010 |issn=0002-7294 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Grine |first1=Frederick E. |date=2009 |pages=197–207 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-1-4020-9979-3 |last2=Fleagle |first2=John G. |title=The First Humans – Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus ''Homo'' |chapter=The First Humans: A Summary Perspective on the Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus ''Homo'' |series="Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology" series |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-9980-9_17}}</ref>


''Homo erectus'' lived from about 1.8 Ma to about 70,000 years ago – which would indicate that they were probably wiped out by the Toba catastrophe; however, nearby '']'' survived it. The early phase of ''H.&nbsp;erectus'', from 1.8 to 1.25 Ma, is considered by some to be a separate species, ''H.&nbsp;ergaster'', or as ''H.&nbsp;erectus ergaster'', a subspecies of ''H.&nbsp;erectus''. Many paleoanthropologists now use the term ''Homo ergaster'' for the non-Asian forms of this group, and reserve ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' only for those fossils that are found in Asia and meet certain skeletal and dental requirements which differ slightly from ''H.&nbsp;ergaster''.
These are proposed species names for fossils from about 1.9–1.6 ], the relation of which with ''H. habilis'' is not yet clear.
*'']'' refers to a single, incomplete skull from Kenya. Scientists have suggested that this was just another habilis, but this has not been confirmed. <ref>{{cite journal |author=Wood B |title='Homo rudolfensis' Alexeev, 1986-fact or phantom? |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=115-8 |year=1999 |pmid=9924136 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1998.0246}}</ref>
* '']'', from ], may be an intermediate form between ''H. habilis'' and ''H. erectus'',<ref>{{cite journal |author=Gabounia L. de Lumley M. Vekua A. Lordkipanidze D. de Lumley H. |title= Discovery of a new hominid at Dmanisi (Transcaucasia, Georgia) |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol, |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=243-53 |year=2002|doi=10.1016/S1631-0683(02)00032-5}}</ref> or a sub-species of ''H. erectus''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Lordkipanidze D, Vekua A, Ferring R, ''et al'' |title=A fourth hominin skull from Dmanisi, Georgia |journal=The anatomical record. Part A, Discoveries in molecular, cellular, and evolutionary biology |volume=288 |issue=11 |pages=1146-57 |year=2006 |pmid=17031841 |doi=10.1002/ar.a.20379}}</ref>


In Africa in the Early Pleistocene, 1.5–1 Ma, some populations of ''Homo habilis'' are thought to have evolved larger brains and to have made more elaborate stone tools; these differences and others are sufficient for anthropologists to classify them as a new species, ''Homo erectus''—in Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spoor |first1=Fred |last2=Wood |first2=Bernard A. |last3=Zonneveld |first3=Frans |date=June 23, 1994 |title=Implications of early hominid labyrinthine morphology for evolution of human bipedal locomotion |journal=] |volume=369 |issue=6482 |pages=645–648 |bibcode=1994Natur.369..645S |doi=10.1038/369645a0 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=8208290 |s2cid=4344784}}</ref> The evolution of locking knees and the movement of the foramen magnum are thought to be likely drivers of the larger population changes. This species also may have used fire to cook meat. ] notes that ''Homo'' seems to have been ground dwelling, with reduced intestinal length, smaller dentition, and "brains to their current, horrendously fuel-inefficient size",<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ings |first=Simon |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6250132/Catching-Fire-How-Cooking-Made-Us-Human-by-Richard-Wrangham-review.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6250132/Catching-Fire-How-Cooking-Made-Us-Human-by-Richard-Wrangham-review.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=''Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human'' by Richard Wrangham: Review |access-date=February 23, 2016 |date=October 4, 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and hypothesizes that control of fire and cooking, which released increased nutritional value, was the key adaptation that separated ''Homo'' from tree-sleeping Australopithecines.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wrangham |first=Richard |date=2011 |title=Catching Fire: How cooking made us human}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}</ref>
===''Homo ergaster'' and ''Homo erectus''===
{{See also|Control of fire by early humans}}


=== ''H. cepranensis'' and ''H. antecessor'' ===
]
These are proposed as species intermediate between ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' and ''H.&nbsp;heidelbergensis''.
* ''H. antecessor'' is known from fossils from Spain and England that are dated 1.2 Ma–500 ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bermúdez de Castro |first1=José María |last2=Arsuaga |first2=Juan Luis |author2-link=Juan Luis Arsuaga |last3=Carbonell |first3=Eudald |author3-link=Eudald Carbonell |last4=Rosas |first4=Antonio |last5=Martínez |first5=I. |last6=Mosquera |first6=Marina |date=May 30, 1997 |title=A Hominid from the Lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca, Spain: Possible Ancestor to Neandertals and Modern Humans |journal=] |volume=276 |issue=5317 |pages=1392–1395 |doi=10.1126/science.276.5317.1392 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=9162001 |display-authors=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carbonell |first1=Eudald |last2=Bermúdez de Castro |first2=José María |last3=Parés |first3=Josep M. |last4=Pérez-González |first4=A. |last5=Cuenca-Bescós |first5=G. |last6=Ollé |first6=A. |last7=Mosquera |first7=M. |last8=Huguet |first8=R. |last9=Van Der Made |first9=J. |last10=Rosas |first10=A. |last11=Sala |first11=R. |last12=Vallverdú |first12=J. |last13=García |first13=N. |last14=Granger |first14=D. E. |last15=Martinón-Torres |first15=M. |last16=Rodríguez |first16=X. P. |last17=Stock |first17=G. M. |last18=Vergès |first18=J. M. |last19=Allué |first19=E. |last20=Burjachs |first20=F. |last21=Cáceres |first21=I. |last22=Canals |first22=A. |last23=Benito |first23=A. |last24=Díez |first24=C. |last25=Lozano |first25=M. |last26=Mateos |first26=A. |last27=Navazo |first27=M. |last28=Rodríguez |first28=J. |last29=Rosell |first29=J. |last30=Arsuaga |first30=J. L. |date=March 27, 2008 |title=The first hominin of Europe |journal=] |volume=452 |issue=7186 |pages=465–469 |bibcode=2008Natur.452..465C |doi=10.1038/nature06815 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=18368116 |display-authors=3 |hdl=2027.42/62855 |s2cid=4401629 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>
* '']'' refers to a single skull cap from Italy, estimated to be about 800,000 years old.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Manzi |first1=Giorgio |last2=Mallegni |first2=Francesco |author2-link=Francesco Mallegni |last3=Ascenzi |first3=Antonio |date=August 14, 2001 |title=A cranium for the earliest Europeans: Phylogenetic position of the hominid from Ceprano, Italy |journal=] |volume=98 |issue=17 |pages=10011–10016 |bibcode=2001PNAS...9810011M |doi=10.1073/pnas.151259998 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=55569 |pmid=11504953 |doi-access=free}}</ref>


=== ''H. heidelbergensis'' ===
The first fossils of ''Homo erectus'' were discovered by Dutch physician ] in
{{Main|Homo heidelbergensis}}
1891 on the ]n island of Java. He originally gave the material the name ''Pithecanthropus erectus'' based on its morphology that he considered to be intermediate between that of humans and apes.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Turner W |title=On M. Dubois' Description of Remains recently found in Java, named by him Pithecanthropus erectus: With Remarks on so-called Transitional Forms between Apes and Man |journal=Journal of anatomy and physiology |volume=29 |issue=Pt 3 |pages=424-45 |year=1895 |pmid=17232143 |doi=}}</ref> '']'' lived from about 1.8 mya to 70,000 years ago. Often the early phase, from 1.8 to 1.25 mya, is considered to be a separate species, '']'', or it is seen as a subspecies of erectus, '']''.
''H. heidelbergensis'' ("Heidelberg Man") lived from about 800,000 to about 300,000 years ago. Also proposed as ''Homo sapiens heidelbergensis'' or ''Homo sapiens paleohungaricus''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Czarnetzki |first1=Alfred |last2=Jakob |first2=Tina |last3=Pusch |first3=Carsten M. |date=April 2003 |title=Palaeopathological and variant conditions of the ''Homo heidelbergensis'' type specimen (Mauer, Germany) |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=479–495 |doi=10.1016/S0047-2484(03)00029-0 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=12727464 |bibcode=2003JHumE..44..479C}}</ref>


=== ''H. rhodesiensis'', and the Gawis cranium ===
In the Early Pleistocene, 1.5&ndash;1 mya, in Africa, ], and ], presumably, '']'' evolved larger brains and made more elaborate stone tools; these differences and others are sufficient for anthropologists to classify them as a new species, '']''. In addition ''H. erectus'' was the first human ancestor to walk truly upright.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Spoor F, Wood B, Zonneveld F |title=Implications of early hominid labyrinthine morphology for evolution of human bipedal locomotion |journal=Nature |volume=369 |issue=6482 |pages=645-8 |year=1994 |pmid=8208290 |doi=10.1038/369645a0}}</ref> This was made possible by the evolution of locking knees and a different location of the ] (the hole in the skull where the spine enters). They may have used ] to ] their ].
* ''H. rhodesiensis'', estimated to be 300,000–125,000 years old. Most current researchers place Rhodesian Man within the group of ''Homo heidelbergensis'', though other designations such as archaic ''Homo sapiens'' and ''Homo sapiens rhodesiensis'' have been proposed.
* In February 2006 a fossil, the ], was found which might possibly be a species intermediate between ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' and ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' or one of many evolutionary dead ends. The skull from Gawis, Ethiopia, is believed to be 500,000–250,000 years old. Only summary details are known, and the finders have not yet released a peer-reviewed study. Gawis man's facial features suggest that it is either an intermediate species or an example of a "Bodo man" female.<ref>{{cite press release |last1=Semaw |first1=Sileshi |last2=Toth |first2=Nicholas |last3=Schick |first3=Kathy |last4=Simpson |first4=Scott |last5=Quade |first5=Jay |last6=Rogers |first6=Michael J. |date=March 27, 2006 |title=Scientists discover hominid cranium in Ethiopia |url= http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/3142.html |location=Bloomington |publisher=] |access-date=November 26, 2006 |display-authors=3 |archive-date=November 15, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061115161617/http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/3142.html |url-status=live}}</ref>


=== Neanderthal and Denisovan ===
{{seealso|Control of fire by early humans}}
{{Main|Neanderthal|Denisovan}}
]
''Homo neanderthalensis'', alternatively designated as ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis'',<ref>{{cite journal |last=Harvati |first=Katerina |date=January 2003 |title=The Neanderthal taxonomic position: Models of intra- and inter-specific craniofacial variation |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=107–132 |doi=10.1016/S0047-2484(02)00208-7 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=12604307 |bibcode=2003JHumE..44..107H}}</ref> lived in Europe and Asia from 400,000<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Herrera |first1=K. J. |last2=Somarelli |first2=J. A. |last3=Lowery |first3=R. K. |last4=Herrera |first4=R. J. |title=To what extent did Neanderthals and modern humans interact? |date=2009 |journal=Biological Reviews |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=245–257 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-185X.2008.00071.x |pmid=19391204 |s2cid=25787484}}</ref> to about 28,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/nature05195 |pmid=16971951 |title=Late survival of Neanderthals at the southernmost extreme of Europe |journal=] |volume=443 |issue=7113 |pages=850–853 |date=2006 |last1=Finlayson |first1=C. |last2=Giles Pacheco |first2=F. |last3=Rodríguez-Vidal |first3=J. |last4=Fa |first4=D. A. |last5=Gutiérrez López |first5=J. M. |last6=Santiago Pérez |first6=A. |last7=Finlayson |first7=G. |last8=Allué |first8=E. |last9=Baena Preysler |first9=J. |last10=Cáceres |first10=I. |last11=Carrión |first11=J. S. |last12=Fernández-Jalvo |first12=Y. |last13=Gleed-Owen |first13=C. P. |last14=Jiménez-Espejo |first14=F. J. |last15=López Martínez |first15=P. |last16=López Sáez |first16=J. A. |last17=Riquelme Cantal |first17=J. A. |last18=Sánchez Marco |first18=A. |last19=Giles Guzmán |first19=F. |last20=Brown |first20=K. |last21=Fuentes |first21=N. |last22=Valarino |first22=C. A. |last23=Villalpando |first23=A. |last24=Stringer |first24=C. B. |last25=Martínez Ruíz |first25=F. C. |last26=Sakamoto |first26=T. |display-authors=3 |bibcode=2006Natur.443..850F |hdl=10261/18685 |s2cid=4411186}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Clive Finlayson |Francisco Giles Pacheco |Joaquín Rodríguez-Vidal |Darren A. Fa |José María Gutierrez López |Antonio Santiago Pérez |Geraldine Finlayson |Ethel Allue |Javier Baena Preysler |Isabel Cáceres |José S. Carrión |Yolanda Fernández-Jalvo |Christopher P. Gleed-Owen |Francisco J. Jimenez-Espejo |Pilar López Martínez |José Antonio López Sáez |José Antonio Riquelme Cantal |Antonio Sánchez Marco |Francisco Giles Guzman |Kimberly Brown |Noemí Fuentes |Claire A. Valarino |Antonio Villalpando |Christopher B. Stringer |Francisca Martinez Ruiz |Tatsuhiko Sakamoto}}</ref>
There are a number of clear anatomical differences between ] (AMH) and Neanderthal specimens, many relating to the superior Neanderthal adaptation to cold environments. Neanderthal ] was even lower than that among modern ] populations, indicating superior retention of body heat.


Neanderthals also had significantly larger brains, as shown from brain endocasts, casting doubt on their intellectual inferiority to modern humans. However, the higher body mass of Neanderthals may have required larger brain mass for body control.<ref name="dunbar">{{Cite journal |last1=Pearce |first1=Eiluned |last2=Stringer |first2=Chris |last3=Dunbar |first3=R. I. M. |date=2013 |title=New insights into differences in brain organization between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences |volume=280 |issue=1758 |page=20130168 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.0168 |pmc=3619466 |pmid=23486442}}</ref> Also, recent research by Pearce, ], and Dunbar has shown important differences in brain architecture. The larger size of the Neanderthal orbital chamber and ] suggests that they had a better visual acuity than modern humans, useful in the dimmer light of glacial Europe.
A famous example of ''Homo erectus'' is ]; others were found in Asia (notably in Indonesia), Africa, and Europe. Many paleoanthropologists are now using the term ''Homo ergaster'' for the non-Asian forms of this group, and reserving ''H. erectus'' only for those fossils found in the Asian region and meeting certain skeletal and dental requirements which differ slightly from ergaster.


Neanderthals may have had less ]. Inferring social group size from endocranial volume (minus occipital lobe size) suggests that Neanderthal groups may have been limited to 120 individuals, compared to 144{{cn|date=January 2024}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bocquet-Appel |first1=Jean-Pierre |last2=Degioanni |first2=Anna |date=December 2013 |title=Neanderthal Demographic Estimates |url= https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/673725# |journal=The University of Chicago Press Journals |volume=54 |issue=S8 |pages=S202–S213 |doi=10.1086/673725}}</ref> possible relationships for modern humans. Larger social groups could imply that modern humans had less risk of inbreeding within their clan, trade over larger areas (confirmed in the distribution of stone tools), and faster spread of social and technological innovations. All these may have all contributed to modern ''Homo sapiens'' replacing Neanderthal populations by 28,000 BP.<ref name="dunbar" />
===''Homo cepranensis'' and ''Homo antecessor''===


Earlier evidence from sequencing mitochondrial DNA suggested that no significant gene flow occurred between ''H. neanderthalensis'' and ''H. sapiens'', and that the two were separate species that shared a common ancestor about 660,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Krings |first1=Matthias |last2=Stone |first2=Anne |last3=Schmitz |first3=Ralf W. |last4=Krainitzki |first4=Heike |last5=Stoneking |first5=Mark |last6=Pääbo |first6=Svante |date=July 11, 1997 |title=Neandertal DNA sequences and the origin of modern humans |journal=] |volume=90 |issue=1 |pages=19–30 |doi=10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80310-4 |issn=0092-8674 |pmid=9230299 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0025-0960-8 |s2cid=13581775 |display-authors=3 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=Richard E. |last2=Malaspinas |first2=Anna-Sapfo |last3=Krause |first3=Johannes |last4=Briggs |first4=Adrian W. |last5=Johnson |first5=Philip L.F. |last6=Uhler |first6=Caroline |last7=Meyer |first7=Matthias |last8=Good |first8=Jeffrey M. |last9=Maricic |first9=Tomislav |last10=Stenzel |first10=Udo |last11=Prüfer |first11=Kay |last12=Siebauer |first12=Michael |last13=Burbano |first13=Hernán A. |last14=Ronan |first14=Michael |last15=Rothberg |first15=Jonathan M. |last16=Egholm |first16=Michael |last17=Rudan |first17=Pavao |last18=Brajković |first18=Dejana |last19=Kućan |first19=Željko |last20=Gušić |first20=Ivan |last21=Wikström |first21=Mårten |last22=Laakkonen |first22=Liisa |last23=Kelso |first23=Janet |last24=Slatkin |first24=Montgomery |last25=Pääbo |first25=Svante |date=August 8, 2008 |title=A Complete Neandertal Mitochondrial Genome Sequence Determined by High-Throughput Sequencing |journal=Cell |volume=134 |issue=3 |pages=416–426 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2008.06.021 |issn=0092-8674 |pmc=2602844 |pmid=18692465 |display-authors=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Serre |first1=David |last2=Langaney |first2=André |last3=Chech |first3=Mario |last4=Teschler-Nicola |last5=Paunovic |last6=Mennecier |last7=Hofreiter |last8=Possnert |last9=Pääbo |date=March 2004 |title=No Evidence of Neandertal mtDNA Contribution to Early Modern Humans |journal=PLOS Biology |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=e57 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020057 |issn=1545-7885 |pmc=368159 |pmid=15024415 |display-authors=3 |doi-access=free}}</ref> However, a sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2010 indicated that Neanderthals did indeed interbreed with anatomically modern humans c. 45,000-80,000 years ago, around the time modern humans migrated out from Africa, but before they dispersed throughout Europe, Asia and elsewhere.<ref name="neandersequence">{{cite news |last=Viegas |first=Jennifer |date=May 6, 2010 |title=Neanderthals, Humans Interbred, DNA Proves |url= http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/neanderthal-human-interbreed-dna.htm |work=Discovery News |location=Silver Spring, Maryland |publisher=] |access-date=April 30, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150508221757/http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/neanderthal-human-interbreed-dna.htm |archive-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref> The genetic sequencing of a 40,000-year-old ] showed that 11% of its genome was Neanderthal, implying the individual had a Neanderthal ancestor 4–6 generations previously,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Calloway |first=Ewan |title=Early European may have had Neanderthal great-great-grandparent |journal=] |date=May 13, 2015 |url= https://www.nature.com/news/early-european-may-have-had-neanderthal-great-great-grandparent-1.17534 |doi=10.1038/nature.2015.17534 |s2cid=181973496 |access-date=January 23, 2019 |archive-date=January 15, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190115110342/http://www.nature.com/news/early-european-may-have-had-neanderthal-great-great-grandparent-1.17534 |url-status=live}}</ref> in addition to a contribution from earlier interbreeding in the Middle East. Though this interbred Romanian population seems not to have been ancestral to modern humans, the finding indicates that interbreeding happened repeatedly.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sample |first=Ian |title=My Neanderthal sex secret: Modern European's great-great grandparent link |newspaper=] |date=June 22, 2015 |access-date=July 27, 2018 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/22/my-neanderthal-sex-secret-modern-europeans-great-great-grandparent-link |archive-date=September 23, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160923235758/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/22/my-neanderthal-sex-secret-modern-europeans-great-great-grandparent-link |url-status=live}}</ref>
These are proposed as species that may be intermediate between ''H. erectus'' and ''H. heidelbergensis''.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
*'']'' refers to a single skull cap from Italy, estimated to be about 800,000 years old.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Manzi G, Mallegni F, Ascenzi A |title=A cranium for the earliest Europeans: phylogenetic position of the hominid from Ceprano, Italy |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |volume=98 |issue=17 |pages=10011-6 |year=2001 |pmid=11504953 |doi=10.1073/pnas.151259998}}</ref>
* '']'' is known from fossils from Spain and England that are 800,000–500,000 years old.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Bermúdez de Castro JM, Arsuaga JL, Carbonell E, Rosas A, Martínez I, Mosquera M |title=A hominid from the lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca, Spain: possible ancestor to Neandertals and modern humans |journal=Science |volume=276 |issue=5317 |pages=1392-5 |year=1997 |pmid=9162001 |doi=}}</ref>


All modern non-African humans have about 1% to 4% (or 1.5% to 2.6% by more recent data) of their DNA derived from Neanderthals.<ref name="greenetal" /><ref name="neandersequence" /><ref name="A high-coverage Neandertal genome f" /> This finding is consistent with recent studies indicating that the divergence of some human alleles dates to one Ma, although this interpretation has been questioned.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gutiérrez |first1=Gabriel |last2=Sánchez |first2=Diego |last3=Marín |first3=Antonio |date=August 2002 |title=A Reanalysis of the Ancient Mitochondrial DNA Sequences Recovered from Neandertal Bones |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=19 |issue=8 |pages=1359–1366 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004197 |issn=0737-4038 |pmid=12140248 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hebsgaard |first1=M. B. |last2=Wiuf |first2=C. |last3=Gilbert |first3=M. T. |last4=Glenner |first4=H. |last5=Willerslev |first5=E. |date=January 2007 |title=Evaluating Neanderthal Genetics and Phylogeny |journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=50–60 |doi=10.1007/s00239-006-0017-y |issn=0022-2844 |pmid=17146600 |s2cid=2746487 |url= http://www.birc.au.dk/%7Ewiuf/journalWiuf/jMolEvol64.pdf |archive-url= https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110401041826/http://www.birc.au.dk/~wiuf/journalWiuf/jMolEvol64.pdf |archive-date=April 1, 2011 |access-date=October 24, 2017 |citeseerx=10.1.1.174.8969 |bibcode=2007JMolE..64...50H}}</ref> Neanderthals and AMH ''Homo sapiens'' could have co-existed in Europe for as long as 10,000 years, during which AMH populations exploded, vastly outnumbering Neanderthals, possibly outcompeting them by sheer numbers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mellars |first1=Paul |last2=French |first2=Jennifer C. |date=July 29, 2011 |title=Tenfold Population Increase in Western Europe at the Neandertal–to–Modern Human Transition Paul |journal=] |volume=333 |issue=6042 |pages=623–627 |bibcode=2011Sci...333..623M |doi=10.1126/science.1206930 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=21798948 |s2cid=28256970}}</ref>
===''Homo heidelbergensis''===


In 2008, archaeologists working at the site of ] in the ] of ] uncovered a small bone fragment from the fifth finger of a juvenile member of another human species, the Denisovans.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Terence A. |date=April 8, 2010 |title=Human evolution: Stranger from Siberia |journal=] |volume=464 |issue=7290 |pages=838–839 |bibcode=2010Natur.464..838B |doi=10.1038/464838a |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=20376137 |s2cid=4320406 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Artifacts, including a bracelet, excavated in the cave at the same level were ] to around 40,000 BP. As DNA had survived in the fossil fragment due to the cool climate of the Denisova Cave, both mtDNA and nuclear DNA were sequenced.<ref name="pmid21179161" /><ref name="Pääbo et al.">{{cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=Johannes |author1-link=Johannes Krause |last2=Fu |first2=Qiaomei |last3=Good |first3=Jeffrey M. |last4=Viola |first4=Bence |last5=Shunkov |first5=Michael V. |last6=Derevianko |first6=Anatoli P. |last7=Pääbo |first7=Svante |author7-link=Svante Pääbo |display-authors=3 |date=April 8, 2010 |title=The complete mitochondrial DNA genome of an unknown hominin from southern Siberia |journal=] |volume=464 |issue=7290 |pages=894–897 |bibcode=2010Natur.464..894K |doi=10.1038/nature08976 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=20336068 |pmc=10152974 |s2cid=4415601 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
'']'' (] Man) lived from about 800,000 to about 300,000 years ago. Also proposed as ''Homo sapiens heidelbergensis'' or ''Homo sapiens paleohungaricus''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Czarnetzki A, Jakob T, Pusch CM |title=Palaeopathological and variant conditions of the Homo heidelbergensis type specimen (Mauer, Germany) |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=479-95 |year=2003 |pmid=12727464 |doi=}}</ref>


While the divergence point of the mtDNA was unexpectedly deep in time,<ref name="The Scientist">{{cite news |last=Katsnelson |first=Alla |date=March 24, 2010 |title=New hominin found via mtDNA |url= http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/28876/title/New-hominin-found-via-mtDNA/#ixzz0j820ioz1 |work=The Nutshell |type=Blog |location=Philadelphia |publisher=] |issn=0890-3670 |access-date=May 1, 2015 |archive-date=July 2, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150702154449/http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/28876/title/New-hominin-found-via-mtDNA/#ixzz0j820ioz1 |url-status=live}}</ref> the full genomic sequence suggested the Denisovans belonged to the same lineage as Neanderthals, with the two diverging shortly after their line split from the lineage that gave rise to modern humans.<ref name="pmid21179161" /> Modern humans are known to have overlapped with Neanderthals in Europe and the Near East for possibly more than 40,000 years,<ref>"Kaufman, Danial (2002), "Comparisons and the Case for Interaction among Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans in the Levant" (Oxford Journal of Anthropology)</ref> and the discovery raises the possibility that Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans may have co-existed and interbred. The existence of this distant branch creates a much more complex picture of humankind during the ] than previously thought.<ref name="Pääbo et al." /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bokma |first1=Folmer |last2=van den Brink |first2=Valentijn |last3=Stadler |first3=Tanja |date=September 2012 |title=Unexpectedly many extinct hominins |journal=] |volume=66 |issue=9 |pages=2969–2974 |doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01660.x |issn=0014-3820 |pmid=22946817 |s2cid=13145359 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Evidence has also been found that as much as 6% of the DNA of some modern ] derive from Denisovans, indicating limited interbreeding in Southeast Asia.<ref name="Reich_2011" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martinón-Torres |first1=María |last2=Dennell |first2=Robin |last3=Bermúdez de Castro |first3=José María |date=February 2011 |title=The Denisova hominin need not be an out of Africa story |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=251–255 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.10.005 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=21129766 |bibcode=2011JHumE..60..251M}}</ref>
===''Homo neanderthalensis''===


Alleles thought to have originated in Neanderthals and Denisovans have been identified at several genetic loci in the genomes of modern humans outside Africa. HLA haplotypes from Denisovans and Neanderthal represent more than half the HLA alleles of modern Eurasians,<ref name="10.1126/science.1209202" /> indicating strong positive selection for these ] alleles. Corinne Simoneti at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville and her team have found from medical records of 28,000 people of European descent that the presence of Neanderthal DNA segments may be associated with a higher rate of depression.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.aad2149 |pmid=26912863 |pmc=4849557 |title=The phenotypic legacy of admixture between modern humans and Neandertals |journal=] |volume=351 |issue=6274 |pages=737–741 |date=2016 |last1=Simonti |first1=C. N. |last2=Vernot |first2=B. |last3=Bastarache |first3=L. |last4=Bottinger |first4=E. |last5=Carrell |first5=D. S. |last6=Chisholm |first6=R. L. |last7=Crosslin |first7=D. R. |last8=Hebbring |first8=S. J. |last9=Jarvik |first9=G. P.| last10=Kullo| first10=I. J. |last11=Li |first11=R. |last12=Pathak |first12=J. |last13=Ritchie |first13=M. D. |last14=Roden |first14=D. M. |last15=Verma |first15=S. S. |last16=Tromp |first16=G. |last17=Prato |first17=J. D. |last18=Bush |first18=W. S. |last19=Akey |first19=J. M. |last20=Denny |first20=J. C. |last21=Capra |first21=J. A. |bibcode=2016Sci...351..737S}}</ref>
'']'' lived from about 250,000 to as recent as 30,000 years ago. Also proposed as ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis'': there is ongoing debate over whether the ']' was a separate species, ''Homo neanderthalensis'', or a subspecies of ''H. sapiens''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Harvati K |title=The Neanderthal taxonomic position: models of intra- and inter-specific craniofacial variation |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=107-32 |year=2003 |pmid=12604307}}</ref> While the debate remains unsettled, evidence from ] and ] ] sequencing indicates that little or no gene flow occurred between ''H. neanderthalensis'' and ''H. sapiens'', and, therefore, the two were separate species.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Krings M, Stone A, Schmitz RW, Krainitzki H, Stoneking M, Pääbo S |title=Neandertal DNA sequences and the origin of modern humans |journal=Cell |volume=90 |issue=1 |pages=19-30 |year=1997 |pmid=9230299}}</ref> In ], Dr. Mark Stoneking, then an associate professor of anthropology at ], stated: "These results ]l DNA extracted from Neanderthal bone] indicate that Neanderthals did not contribute mitochondrial DNA to modern humans… Neanderthals are not our ancestors." Subsequent investigation of a second source of Neanderthal DNA supported these findings.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Serre D, Langaney A, Chech M, ''et al'' |title=No evidence of Neandertal mtDNA contribution to early modern humans |journal=PLoS Biol. |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=E57 |year=2004 |pmid=15024415 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020057}}</ref> However, supporters of the ] point to recent studies indicating non-African nuclear DNA heritage dating to one mya,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Gutiérrez G, Sánchez D, Marín A |title=A reanalysis of the ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences recovered from Neandertal bones |journal=Mol. Biol. Evol. |volume=19 |issue=8 |pages=1359-66 |year=2002 |pmid=12140248 |doi=}}</ref> although the reliability of these studies have been questioned.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hebsgaard MB, Wiuf C, Gilbert MT, Glenner H, Willerslev E |title=Evaluating Neanderthal genetics and phylogeny |journal=J. Mol. Evol. |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=50-60 |year=2007 |pmid=17146600 |doi=10.1007/s00239-006-0017-y}}</ref>


The flow of genes from Neanderthal populations to modern humans was not all one way. Sergi Castellano of the Max Planck Institute for ] reported in 2016 that while Denisovan and Neanderthal genomes are more related to each other than they are to us, Siberian Neanderthal genomes show more similarity to modern human genes than do European Neanderthal populations. This suggests Neanderthal populations interbred with modern humans around 100,000 years ago, probably somewhere in the Near East.<ref>{{cite journal |volume=530 |issue=7591 |title=Ancient gene flow from early modern humans into Eastern Neanderthals |journal=] |pages=429–433 |pmid=26886800 |pmc=4933530 |last1=Kuhlwilm |first1=M. |last2=Gronau |first2=I. |last3=Hubisz |first3=M. J. |last4=de Filippo |first4=C. |last5=Prado-Martinez |first5=J. |last6=Kircher |first6=M. |last7=Fu |first7=Q. |last8=Burbano |first8=H. A. |last9=Lalueza-Fox |first9=C. |last10=de la Rasilla |first10=M. |last11=Rosas |first11=A. |last12=Rudan |first12=P. |last13=Brajkovic |first13=D. |last14=Kucan |first14=Ž. |last15=Gušic |first15=I. |last16=Marques-Bonet |first16=T. |last17=Andrés |first17=A. M. |last18=Viola |first18=B. |last19=Pääbo |first19=S. |author19-link=Svante Pääbo |last20=Meyer |first20=M. |last21=Siepel |first21=A. |last22=Castellano |first22=S. |doi=10.1038/nature16544 |bibcode=2016Natur.530..429K |date=2016}}</ref>
===''Homo rhodesiensis'', and the Gawis cranium===


Studies of a Neanderthal child at Gibraltar show from brain development and tooth eruption that Neanderthal children may have matured more rapidly than ''Homo sapiens''.<ref>Dean, MC, Stringer, CB et al, (1986) "Age at death of the Neanderthal child from Devil's Tower, Gibraltar and the implications for studies of general growth and development in Neanderthals" (American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Vol 70 Issue 3, July 1986)</ref>
*'']'', estimated to be 300,000–125,000 years old, most current experts believe Rhodesian Man to be within the group of ] though other designations such as ] and ] have also been proposed.
*In February 2006 a fossil, the ], was found which might possibly be a species intermediate between ''H. erectus'' and ''H. sapiens'' or one of many evolutionary dead ends. The skull from Gawis, Ethiopia, is believed to be 500,000–250,000 years old. Only summary details are known, and no peer reviewed studies have been released by the finding team. Gawis man's facial features suggest its being either an intermediate species and an example of a "Bodo man" female.<ref>{{Cite press release| url=http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/3142.html| title=Scientists discover hominid cranium in Ethiopia| publisher=Indiana University|date=], ]| accessdate=2006-11-26|}}</ref>


===''Homo sapiens''=== === ''H. floresiensis'' ===
{{Main|Homo floresiensis}}
]
''H. floresiensis'', which lived from approximately 190,000 to 50,000 years ] (BP), has been nicknamed the '']'' for its small size, possibly a result of ].<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=P. |last2=Sutikna |first2=T. |last3=Morwood |first3=M. J. |last4=Soejono |first4=R. P. |last5=Jatmiko |first5=A. |last6=Wayhu |first6=S. E. |last7=Awe Due |first7=R. |author3-link=Mike Morwood |author4-link=Raden Panji Soejono |date=October 28, 2004 |title=A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia |journal=] |volume=431 |issue=7012 |pages=1055–1061 |bibcode=2004Natur.431.1055B |doi=10.1038/nature02999 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=15514638 |s2cid=26441 |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/15287/files/PAL_E2586.pdf |access-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230103195019/http://doc.rero.ch/record/15287/files/PAL_E2586.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> ''H. floresiensis'' is intriguing both for its size and its age, being an example of a recent species of the genus ''Homo'' that exhibits derived traits not shared with modern humans. In other words, ''H. floresiensis'' shares a common ancestor with modern humans, but split from the modern human lineage and followed a distinct evolutionary path. The main find was a skeleton believed to be a woman of about 30 years of age. Found in 2003, it has been dated to approximately 18,000 years old. The living woman was estimated to be one meter in height, with a brain volume of just 380&nbsp;cm<sup>3</sup> (considered small for a chimpanzee and less than a third of the ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' average of 1400&nbsp;cm<sup>3</sup>).<ref name=":0" />


However, there is an ongoing debate over whether ''H.&nbsp;floresiensis'' is indeed a separate species.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Argue |first1=Debbie |last2=Donlon |first2=Denise |last3=Groves |first3=Colin |author3-link=Colin Groves |last4=Wright |first4=Richard |date=October 2006 |title=''Homo floresiensis'': Microcephalic, pygmoid, ''Australopithecus'', or ''Homo''? |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=360–374 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.04.013 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=16919706 |bibcode=2006JHumE..51..360A}}</ref> Some scientists hold that ''H. floresiensis'' was a modern ''H. sapiens'' with pathological dwarfism.<ref name="Martin">{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Robert D. |author1-link=Robert D. Martin |last2=Maclarnon |first2=Ann M. |last3=Phillips |first3=James L. |last4=Dobyns |first4=William B. |date=November 2006 |title=Flores hominid: New species or microcephalic dwarf? |journal=The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology |volume=288A |issue=11 |pages=1123–1145 |doi=10.1002/ar.a.20389 |issn=1552-4884 |pmid=17031806 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This hypothesis is supported in part, because some modern humans who live on ], the Indonesian island where the skeleton was found, are ]. This, coupled with pathological dwarfism, could have resulted in a significantly diminutive human. The other major attack on ''H. floresiensis'' as a separate species is that it was found with tools only associated with ''H. sapiens''.<ref name="Martin" />
'']'' ("sapiens" means wise or intelligent) has lived from about 250,000 years ago to the present. Between 400,000 years ago and the second interglacial period in the Middle ], around 250,000 years ago, the trend in ] and the elaboration of stone tool technologies developed, providing evidence for a transition from ''H. erectus'' to '']''. The direct evidence suggests there was a ] of ''H. erectus'' out of Africa, then a further ] of ''H. sapiens'' from ''H. erectus'' in Africa (there is little evidence that this speciation occurred elsewhere). Then a ] within and out of Africa eventually replaced the earlier dispersed ''H. erectus''. This migration and origin theory is usually referred to as the ]. However, the current evidence does not ''preclude'' multiregional speciation, either. This is a hotly debated area in ].


The hypothesis of pathological dwarfism, however, fails to explain additional ] that are unlike those of modern humans (diseased or not) but much like those of ancient members of our genus. Aside from cranial features, these features include the form of bones in the wrist, forearm, shoulder, knees, and feet. Additionally, this hypothesis fails to explain the find of multiple examples of individuals with these same characteristics, indicating they were common to a large population, and not limited to one individual.<ref name=":1" />
Current research has established that human beings are genetically highly homogenous, that is the DNA of individuals is more alike than usual for most species, which may have resulted from their relatively recent evolution or the ]. Distinctive genetic characteristics have arisen, however, primarily as the result of small groups of people moving into new environmental circumstances. Such small groups are initially highly inbred, allowing the relatively rapid transmission of traits favorable to the new environment. These adapted traits are a very small component of the ''Homo sapiens'' genome and include such outward "racial" characteristics as skin color and nose form in addition to internal characteristics such as the ability to breathe more efficiently in high altitudes.


In 2016, fossil teeth and a partial jaw from hominins assumed to be ancestral to ''H.&nbsp;floresiensis'' were discovered<ref name="Callaway2016b">{{cite journal |last=Callaway |first=E. |title='Hobbit' relatives found after ten-year hunt |journal=] |volume=534 |issue=7606 |date=June 8, 2016 |pages=164–165 |doi=10.1038/534164a |pmid=27279191 |bibcode=2016Natur.534Q.164C |doi-access=free}}</ref> at ], about {{cvt|74|km}} from Liang Bua. They date to about 700,000 years ago<ref name="Brumm2016">{{cite journal |last1=Brumm |first1=A. |last2=van den Bergh |first2=G. D. |last3=Storey |first3=M. |last4=Kurniawan |first4=I. |last5=Alloway |first5=B. V. |last6=Setiawan |first6=R. |last7=Setiyabudi |first7=E. |last8=Grün |first8=R. |last9=Moore |first9=M. W. |last10=Yurnaldi |first10=D. |last11=Puspaningrum |first11=M. R. |last12=Wibowo |first12=U. P. |last13=Insani |first13=H. |last14=Sutisna |first14=I. |last15=Westgate |first15=J. A. |last16=Pearce |first16=N. J. G. |last17=Duval |first17=M. |last18=Meijer |first18=H. J. M. |last19=Aziz |first19=F. |last20=Sutikna |first20=T. |last21=van der Kaars |first21=S. |last22=Flude |first22=S. |last23=Morwood |first23=M. J. |display-authors=4 |title=Age and context of the oldest known hominin fossils from Flores |journal=] |volume=534 |issue=7606 |date=June 8, 2016 |pages=249–253 |pmid=27279222 |doi=10.1038/nature17663 |bibcode=2016Natur.534..249B |s2cid=28608179 |url= http://pure.aber.ac.uk/ws/files/9400924/Brumm_et_al_2016_Age_stratigraphic_context_hominin_fossils_Flores_NAture_DRAFT_MS.pdf |access-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-date=March 6, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200306112537/http://pure.aber.ac.uk/ws/files/9400924/Brumm_et_al_2016_Age_stratigraphic_context_hominin_fossils_Flores_NAture_DRAFT_MS.pdf |url-status=live}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Adam Brumm |Gerrit D. van den Bergh |Michael Storey |Iwan Kurniawan |Brent V. Alloway |Ruly Setiawan |Erick Setiyabudi |Rainer Grün |Mark W. Moore |Dida Yurnaldi |Mika R. Puspaningrum |Unggul P. Wibowo |Halmi Insani |Indra Sutisna |John A. Westgate |Nick J. G. Pearce |Mathieu Duval |Hanneke J. M. Meijer |Fachroel Aziz |Thomas Sutikna |Sander van der Kaars |Stephanie Flude |Michael J. Morwood}}</ref> and are noted by Australian archaeologist Gerrit van den Bergh for being even smaller than the later fossils.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van den Bergh |first1=G. D. |last2=Kaifu |first2=Y. |last3=Kurniawan |first3=I. |last4=Kono |first4=R. T. |last5=Brumm |first5=A. |last6=Setiyabudi |first6=E. |last7=Aziz |first7=F. |last8=Morwood |first8=M. J. |title=''Homo floresiensis''-like fossils from the early Middle Pleistocene of Flores |journal=] |volume=534 |issue=7606 |date=June 8, 2016 |pages=245–248 |doi=10.1038/nature17999 |pmid=27279221 |bibcode=2016Natur.534..245V |s2cid=205249218}}</ref>
''''']''''', from Ethiopia, lived from about 160,000 years ago (proposed subspecies). It is the oldest known anatomically modern human.


===''Homo floresiensis''=== === ''H. luzonensis'' ===
{{Main|Homo luzonensis}}
A small number of specimens from the island of ], dated 50,000 to 67,000 years ago, have recently been assigned by their discoverers, based on dental characteristics, to a novel human species, ''H. luzonensis''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Détroit |first1=F. |last2=Mijares |first2=A. S. |last3=Corny |first3=J. |last4=Daver |first4=G. |last5=Zanolli |first5=C. |last6=Dizon |first6=E. |last7=Robles |first7=E. |last8=Grün |first8=R. |last9=Piper |first9=P. J. |name-list-style=amp |date=2019 |title=A new species of ''Homo'' from the Late Pleistocene of the Philippines |journal=] |volume=568 |issue=7751 |pages=181–186 |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1067-9 |pmid=30971845 |bibcode=2019Natur.568..181D |s2cid=106411053 |url= https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02296712/file/Detroit_%26_al_2019_Nature_postprint.pdf |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221013114830/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02296712/file/Detroit_%26_al_2019_Nature_postprint.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>


=== ''H. sapiens'' ===
'']'', which lived about 100,000–12,000 years ago has been nicknamed '']'' for its small size, possibly a result of ].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Brown P, Sutikna T, Morwood MJ, ''et al'' |title=A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia |journal=Nature |volume=431 |issue=7012 |pages=1055-61 |year=2004 |pmid=15514638 |doi=10.1038/nature02999}}</ref> ''H. floresiensis'' is intriguing both for its size and its age, being a concrete example of a recent species of the genus ''Homo'' that exhibits derived traits not shared with modern humans. In other words, ''H. floresiensis'' share a common ancestor with modern humans, but split from the modern human lineage and followed a distinct evolutionary path. The main find was a skeleton believed to be a woman of about 30 years of age. Found in 2003 it has been dated to approximately 18,000 years old. Her brain size was only 380 cm³ (which can be considered small even for a chimpanzee). She was only 1 meter in height.
{{Main|Archaic humans|Early modern human|Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans|Human#Evolution}}
], Morocco {{c.|315 000 years BP}}]]
''H. sapiens'' (the adjective '']'' is Latin for "wise" or "intelligent") emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago, likely derived from '']'' or a related lineage.<ref name="Schlebusch2017">{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.aao6266 |pmid=28971970 |title=Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 years ago |journal=] |volume=358 |issue=6363 |pages=652–655 |date=2017 |last1=Schlebusch |first1=Carina M. |last2=Malmström |first2=Helena |last3=Günther |first3=Torsten |last4=Sjödin |first4=Per |last5=Coutinho |first5=Alexandra |last6=Edlund |first6=Hanna |last7=Munters |first7=Arielle R. |last8=Vicente |first8=Mário |last9=Steyn |first9=Maryna |last10=Soodyall |first10=Himla |last11=Lombard |first11=Marlize |last12=Jakobsson |first12=Mattias |bibcode=2017Sci...358..652S |s2cid=206663925 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/07/oldest-homo-sapiens-bones-ever-found-shake-foundations-of-the-human-story |title=Oldest ''Homo sapiens'' bones ever found shake foundations of the human story |last=Sample |first=Ian |work=] |date=June 7, 2017 |access-date=June 7, 2017 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191031005024/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/07/oldest-homo-sapiens-bones-ever-found-shake-foundations-of-the-human-story |url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2019, scientists reported the computerized determination, based on 260 ]s, of a virtual ] of the last common human ancestor to ]s (''H. sapiens''), representative of the earliest modern humans, and suggested that modern humans arose between 260,000 and 350,000 years ago through a merging of populations in ] and South Africa.<ref name="NYT-20190910">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=Scientists Find the Skull of Humanity's Ancestor — on a Computer: By comparing fossils and CT scans, researchers say they have reconstructed the skull of the last common forebear of modern humans |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/science/human-ancestor-skull-computer.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/science/human-ancestor-skull-computer.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |date=September 10, 2019 |work=] |access-date=September 10, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="NAT-20190910">{{cite journal |last1=Mounier |first1=Aurélien |last2=Lahr |first2=Marta |title=Deciphering African late middle Pleistocene hominin diversity and the origin of our species |journal=] |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=3406 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-11213-w |pmid=31506422 |pmc=6736881 |date=2019 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.3406M}}</ref>


Between 400,000 years ago and the second interglacial period in the ], around 250,000 years ago, the trend in ] and the elaboration of stone tool technologies developed, providing evidence for a transition from ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' to ''H.&nbsp;sapiens''. The direct evidence suggests there was a migration of ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' ], then a further speciation of ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' from ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' in Africa. A subsequent migration (both within and out of Africa) eventually replaced the earlier dispersed ''H.&nbsp;erectus''. This migration and origin theory is usually referred to as the "recent single-origin hypothesis" or "out of Africa" theory. ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' ] both in Africa and in Eurasia, in Eurasia notably with Neanderthals and Denisovans.<ref name="pmid21179161" /><ref name="Reich_2011" />
However, there is an ongoing debate over whether ''H. floresiensis'' is indeed a separate species.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Argue D, Donlon D, Groves C, Wright R |title=Homo floresiensis: microcephalic, pygmoid, Australopithecus, or Homo? |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=360-74 |year=2006 |pmid=16919706 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.04.013}}</ref> Some scientists presently believe that ''H. floresiensis'' was a modern ''H. sapiens'' suffering from pathological dwarfism.<ref name=Martin>{{cite journal |author=Martin RD, Maclarnon AM, Phillips JL, Dobyns WB |title=Flores hominid: new species or microcephalic dwarf? |journal=The anatomical record. Part A, Discoveries in molecular, cellular, and evolutionary biology |volume=288 |issue=11 |pages=1123-45 |year=2006 |pmid=17031806 |doi=10.1002/ar.a.20389}}</ref> This hypothesis is supported in part, because the modern humans who live on Flores, the island where the skeleton was found, are ]. This coupled with pathological dwarfism could indeed create a hobbit-like human. The other major attack on ''H. floresiensis'' is that it was found with tools only associated with ''H. sapiens''.<ref name=Martin/>


The ], which postulates a ] for ''H. sapiens'' about 70,000 years ago,<ref name="ambrose1998">{{cite journal |last=Ambrose |first=Stanley H. |date=June 1998 |title=Late Pleistocene human population bottlenecks, volcanic winter, and differentiation of modern humans |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=623–651 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1998.0219 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=9650103 |bibcode=1998JHumE..34..623A |s2cid=33122717}}</ref> was controversial from its first proposal in the 1990s and by the 2010s had very little support.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1073/pnas.0909000107 |ref=CITEREFHuffothers2010 |first1=Chad D. |last1=Huff |first2=Jinchuan |last2=Xing |first3=Alan R. |last3=Rogers |first4=David |last4=Witherspoon |first5=Lynn B. |last5=Jorde |title=Mobile Elements Reveal Small Population Size in the Ancient Ancestors of ''Homo sapiens'' |journal=] |volume=107 |issue=5 |pages=2147–2152 |date=January 19, 2010 |pmc=2836654 |pmid=20133859 |url= http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/01/06/0909000107.full.pdf+html |bibcode=2010PNAS..107.2147H |doi-access=free}}</ref> Distinctive ] has arisen as the result of the ], by ] and by ].
===Comparative table of ''Homo'' species===


== Anatomical changes ==
:''Bolded species names indicate the existence of numerous fossil records.''
Since '']'' separated from its ] shared with ]s, human evolution is characterized by a number of ], ], ], ], and environmental changes.<ref name="Marlowe 54–67" /> Environmental (cultural) evolution discovered much later during the ] played a significant role in human evolution observed via human transitions between subsistence systems.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clark |first=Jamie L. |date=September 2011 |title=The evolution of human culture during the later Pleistocene: Using fauna to test models on the emergence and nature of "modern" human behavior |url= https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0278416511000225 |journal=Journal of Anthropological Archaeology |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=273–291 |doi=10.1016/j.jaa.2011.04.002 |access-date=October 27, 2021 |archive-date=May 25, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210525182055/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0278416511000225 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Marlowe 54–67" /> The most significant of these adaptations are bipedalism, increased brain size, lengthened ] (gestation and infancy), and decreased ]. The relationship between these changes is the subject of ongoing debate.{{sfn|Boyd|Silk|2003|p={{Page needed|date=February 2015}}}} Other significant morphological changes included the evolution of a ], a change first occurring in '']''.{{sfn|Brues|Snow|1965|pp=}}


=== Bipedalism ===
{| class="wikitable"
]
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Species
! Lived when (])
! Lived where
! Adult length (m)
! Adult weight (kg)
! Brain volume (cm³)
! Fossil record
! Discovery / <br />publication of name
|-
| ''''']'''''
| 2.5–1.4
| East Africa
| 1.0–1.5
| 30–55
| 600
| many
| 1960/1964
|-
| '']''
| 1.9
| Kenya
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| 1 skull
| 1972/1986
|-
| '']''
| 1.8–1.6
| Georgia
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| 600
| few
| 1999/2002
|-
| ''''']'''''
| 1.9–1.25
| East and Southern Africa
| 1.9
| &nbsp;
| 700–850
| many
| 1975
|-
| ''''']'''''
| 2–0.3
| Africa, Eurasia (Java, China, Vietnam, Caucasus)
| 1.8
| 60
| 900–1100
| many
| 1891/1892
|-
| '']''
| 0.8
| Italy
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| 1 skull cap
| 1994/2003
|-
| '']''
| 0.8–0.35
| Spain, England
| 1.75
| 90
| 1000
| 3 sites
| 1994/1997
|-
| ''''']'''''
| 0.6–0.25
| Europe, Africa
| 1.8
| 60
| 1100–1400
| many
| 1907/1908
|-
| '']''
| 0.3–0.12
| Zambia
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| 1300
| very few
| 1921
|-
| ''''']'''''
| 0.23–0.024
| Europe, West Asia
| 1.6
| 55–70 (heavily built)
| 1200–1700
| many
| 1829/1864
|-
| ''''']'''''
| 0.25–present
| worldwide
| 1.4–1.9
| 55–80
| 1000–1850
| still living
| —/1758
|-
| '']''
| 0.16
| Ethiopia
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| 1450
| 3 craniums
| 1997/2003
|-
| '']''
| 0.10–0.012
| Indonesia
| 1.0
| 25
| 400
| 7 individuals
| 2003/2004
|}


], (walking on two legs), is the basic adaptation of the hominid and is considered the main cause behind a suite of skeletal changes shared by all bipedal hominids. The earliest hominin, of presumably primitive bipedalism, is considered to be either '']''<ref name="Brunet2002">{{cite journal |last1=Brunet |first1=M. |last2=Guy |first2=F. |last3=Pilbeam |first3=D. |last4=Mackaye |first4=H. |last5=Likius |first5=A. |last6=Ahounta |first6=D. |last7=Beauvilain |first7=A. |last8=Blondel |first8=C. |last9=Bocherens |first9=H. |last10=Boisserie |first10=J. |last11=De Bonis |first11=L. |last12=Coppens |first12=Y. |last13=Dejax |first13=J. |last14=Denys |first14=C. |last15=Duringer |first15=P. |last16=Eisenmann |first16=V. |last17=Fanone |first17=G. |last18=Fronty |first18=P. |last19=Geraads |first19=D. |last20=Lehmann |first20=T. |last21=Lihoreau |first21=F. |last22=Louchart |first22=A. |last23=Mahamat |first23=A. |last24=Merceron |first24=G. |last25=Mouchelin |first25=G. |last26=Otero |first26=O. |last27=Pelaez Campomanes |first27=P. |last28=Ponce De Leon |first28=M. |last29=Rage |first29=J. |last30=Sapanet |first30=M. |last31=Schuster |first31=M. |last32=Sudre |first32=J. |last33=Tassy |first33=P. |last34=Valentin |first34=X. |last35=Vignaud |first35=P. |last36=Viriot |first36=L. |last37=Zazzo |first37=A. |last38=Zollikofer |first38=C. |display-authors=6 |author1-link=Michel Brunet (paleontologist) |author3-link=David Pilbeam |date=July 11, 2002 |title=A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa |journal=] |volume=418 |issue=6894 |pages=145–151 |doi=10.1038/nature00879 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=12110880 |bibcode=2002Natur.418..145B |s2cid=1316969 |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/13388/files/PAL_E190.pdf |access-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230225204437/https://doc.rero.ch/record/13388/files/PAL_E190.pdf |url-status=live}}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Michel Brunet |Franck Guy |David Pilbeam |Hassane Taisso Mackaye |Andossa Likius |Djimdoumalbaye Ahounta |Alain Beauvilain |Cécile Blondel |Hervé Bocherens |Jean-Renaud Boisserie |Louis De Bonis |Yves Coppens |Jean Dejax |Christiane Denys |Philippe Duringer |Véra Eisenmann |Gongdibé Fanone |Pierre Fronty |Denis Geraads |Thomas Lehmann |Fabrice Lihoreau |Antoine Louchart |Adoum Mahamat |Gildas Merceron |Guy Mouchelin |Olga Otero |Pablo Pelaez Campomanes |Marcia Ponce De Leon |Jean-Claude Rage |Michel Sapanet |Mathieu Schuster |Jean Sudre |Pascal Tassy |Xavier Valentin |Patrick Vignaud |Laurent Viriot |Antoine Zazzo |Christoph Zollikofer}}</ref> or '']'', both of which arose some 6 to 7&nbsp;million years ago. The non-bipedal knuckle-walkers, the ]s and chimpanzees, diverged from the hominin line over a period covering the same time, so either ''Sahelanthropus'' or ''Orrorin'' may be our last shared ancestor. '']'', a full biped, arose approximately 5.6&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Ardipithecus ramidus and the Paleobiology of Early Hominids |journal=] |volume=326 |issue=5949 |pages=75–86 |date=2009 |last1=White |first1=T. D. |last2=Asfaw |first2=B. |last3=Beyene |first3=Y. |last4=Haile-Selassie |first4=Y. |last5=Lovejoy |first5=C. O. |last6=Suwa |first6=G. |last7=Woldegabriel |first7=G. |pmid=19810190 |bibcode=2009Sci...326...75W |s2cid=20189444 |doi=10.1126/science.1175802}}</ref>
==Use of tools==


The early bipeds eventually evolved into the australopithecines and still later into the genus '']''. There are several theories of the adaptation value of bipedalism. It is possible that bipedalism was favored because it freed the hands for reaching and carrying food, saved energy during locomotion,<ref name="Kwang Hyun 2015 929–934">{{Cite journal |last=Kwang Hyun |first=Ko |date=2015 |title=Origins of Bipedalism |journal=Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology |doi=10.1590/S1516-89132015060399 |volume=58 |issue=6 |pages=929–934 |arxiv=1508.02739 |bibcode=2015arXiv150802739K |s2cid=761213}}</ref> enabled long-distance running and hunting, provided an enhanced field of vision, and helped avoid hyperthermia by reducing the surface area exposed to direct sun; features all advantageous for thriving in the new savanna and woodland environment created as a result of the East African Rift Valley uplift versus the previous closed forest habitat.<ref name="Kwang Hyun 2015 929–934" />{{sfn|DeSalle|Tattersall|2008|p=}}{{sfn|Curry|2008|pp=106–109}} A 2007 study provides support for the hypothesis that bipedalism evolved because it used less energy than quadrupedal knuckle-walking.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 17, 2007 |title=Study Identifies Energy Efficiency as Reason for Evolution of Upright Walking |work=] |url= https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070716191140.htm |access-date=April 9, 2015 |archive-date=May 4, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150504174649/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070716191140.htm |url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web |url= http://uanews.org/story/study-identifies-energy-efficiency-reason-evolution-upright-walking |title=Study identifies energy efficiency as reason for evolution of upright walking |date=July 16, 2007 |website=UANews |publisher=] |location=Tucson |access-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220703195556/http://uanews.org/story/study-identifies-energy-efficiency-reason-evolution-upright-walking |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sockol |first1=Michael D. |last2=Raichlen |first2=David A. |last3=Pontzer |first3=Herman |date=July 24, 2007 |title=Chimpanzee locomotor energetics and the origin of human bipedalism |journal=] |volume=104 |issue=30 |pages=12265–12269 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0703267104 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=1941460 |pmid=17636134 |bibcode=2007PNAS..10412265S |doi-access=free}}</ref> However, recent studies suggest that bipedality without the ] would not have allowed global dispersal.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=David-Barrett |first1=T. |last2=Dunbar |first2=R. I. M. |date=2016 |title=Bipedality and Hair-loss Revisited: The Impact of Altitude and Activity Scheduling |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=94 |pages=72–82 |pmid=27178459 |pmc=4874949 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.02.006}}</ref> This change in gait saw a lengthening of the legs proportionately when compared to the length of the arms, which were shortened through the removal of the need for ]. Another change is the shape of the big toe. Recent studies suggest that australopithecines still lived part of the time in trees as a result of maintaining a grasping big toe. This was progressively lost in habilines.
Precisely when early humans started to use tools is difficult to determine, because the more primitive these tools are (for example, sharp-edged stones) the more difficult it is to decide whether they are natural objects or human artifacts. There is some evidence that the australopithecines (4 mya) may have used broken bones as tools, but this is debated.


Anatomically, the evolution of bipedalism has been accompanied by a large number of skeletal changes, not just to the legs and pelvis, but also to the ], feet and ankles, and skull.{{sfn|Aiello|Dean|1990}} The ] evolved into a slightly more angular position to move the center of gravity toward the geometric center of the body. The knee and ankle joints became increasingly robust to better support increased weight. To support the increased weight on each vertebra in the upright position, the human vertebral column became S-shaped and the ] became shorter and wider. In the feet the big toe moved into alignment with the other toes to help in forward locomotion. The arms and forearms shortened relative to the legs making it easier to run. The ] migrated under the skull and more anterior.{{sfn|Kondo|1985}}
===Stone tools===


The most significant changes occurred in the pelvic region, where the long downward facing ] was shortened and widened as a requirement for keeping the center of gravity stable while walking;{{sfn|Srivastava|2009|p=}} bipedal hominids have a shorter but broader, bowl-like pelvis due to this. A drawback is that the birth canal of bipedal apes is smaller than in knuckle-walking apes, though there has been a widening of it in comparison to that of australopithecine and modern humans, thus permitting the passage of newborns due to the increase in cranial size. This is limited to the upper portion, since further increase can hinder normal bipedal movement.{{sfn|Strickberger|2000|pp=}}
Stone tools are first attested around 2.6 million years ago, when ''H. habilis'' in Eastern Africa used so-called ], ] made out of round pebbles that had been split by simple strikes.<ref name=Plummer>{{cite journal |author=Plummer T |title=Flaked stones and old bones: Biological and cultural evolution at the dawn of technology |journal=Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. |volume=Suppl 39 |issue= |pages=118-64 |year=2004 |pmid=15605391 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20157}}</ref> This marks the beginning of the ], or Old Stone Age; its end is taken to be the end of the last Ice Age, around 10,000 years ago. The Paleolithic is subdivided into the ] (Early Stone Age, ending around 350,000–300,000 years ago), the ] (Middle Stone Age, until 50,000–30,000 years ago), and the ].


The shortening of the pelvis and smaller birth canal evolved as a requirement for bipedalism and had significant effects on the process of human birth, which is much more difficult in modern humans than in other primates. During human birth, because of the variation in size of the pelvic region, the fetal head must be in a transverse position (compared to the mother) during entry into the birth canal and rotate about 90 degrees upon exit.{{sfn|Trevathan|2011|p=}} The smaller birth canal became a limiting factor to brain size increases in early humans and prompted a shorter gestation period leading to the relative immaturity of human offspring, who are unable to walk much before 12 months and have greater ], compared to other primates, who are mobile at a much earlier age.{{sfn|Curry|2008|pp=106–109}} The increased brain growth after birth and the increased dependency of children on mothers had a major effect upon the female reproductive cycle,<ref>{{cite book |last=Zuk |first=Marlene |date=2014 |title=Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet, and How We Live |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-34792-0 |oclc=846889455}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}</ref> and the more frequent appearance of ] in humans when compared with other hominids.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hrdy |first=Sarah Blaffer |date=2011 |title=Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-06032-6 |oclc=940575388}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}</ref> Delayed human sexual maturity also led to the evolution of ] with one explanation, the ], providing that elderly women could better pass on their genes by taking care of their daughter's offspring, as compared to having more children of their own.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wayman |first=Erin |date=August 19, 2013 |title=Killer whales, grandmas and what men want: Evolutionary biologists consider menopause |url= https://www.sciencenews.org/article/killer-whales-grandmas-and-what-men-want-evolutionary-biologists-consider-menopause |journal=] |issn=0036-8423 |access-date=April 24, 2015 |archive-date=November 6, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141106194849/https://www.sciencenews.org/article/killer-whales-grandmas-and-what-men-want-evolutionary-biologists-consider-menopause |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blell |first=Mwenza |date=September 29, 2017 |title=Grandmother Hypothesis, Grandmother Effect, and Residence Patterns |journal=The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology |pages=1–5 |doi=10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea2162 |isbn=978-1-118-92439-6 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
The period from 700,000–300,000 years ago is also known as the ], when ''H. ergaster'' (or ''erectus'') made large stone ]s out of ] and ], at first quite rough (Early Acheulian), later "]ed" by additional, more subtle strikes at the sides of the ]s. After 350,000 BP (]) the more refined so-called ] was developed. It consisted of a series of consecutive strikes, by which scrapers, slicers ("racloirs"), needles, and flattened needles were made.<ref name=Plummer/> Finally, after about 50,000 BP, ever more refined and specialized flint tools were made by the Neanderthals and the immigrant ]s (knives, blades, skimmers). In this period they also started to make tools out of bone.


=== Encephalization ===
===The "modern man" debate and the Great Leap Forward===
] descent of ''H. sapiens'' from ''H. erectus''. Some of the species depicted in the image may not actually represent a direct evolutionary ancestor to ''H. sapiens'', and may not directly derive from one another, namely:


* ''H. heidelbergensis'' likely did not descend from ''H. antecessor''.<ref name="Welker2020">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2153-8 |issn=1476-4687 |volume=580 |issue=7802 |pages=235–238 |last1=Welker |first1=F. |last2=Ramos-Madrigal |first2=J. |last3=Gutenbrunner |first3=P. |display-authors=etal |title=The dental proteome of ''Homo antecessor'' |journal=] |date=April 1, 2020 |pmid=32269345 |pmc=7582224 |bibcode=2020Natur.580..235W |s2cid=214736611 |url= http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/159068/1/Welker_etal_Hominin1_AAM.docx |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211110200345/https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/159068/1/Welker_etal_Hominin1_AAM.docx |url-status=live}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Frido Welker |Jazmín Ramos-Madrigal |Petra Gutenbrunner |Meaghan Mackie |Shivani Tiwary |Rosa Rakownikow Jersie-Christensen |Cristina Chiva |Marc R. Dickinson |Martin Kuhlwilm |Marc de Manuel |Pere Gelabert |María Martinón-Torres |Ann Margvelashvili |Juan Luis Arsuaga |Eudald Carbonell |Tomas Marques-Bonet |Kirsty Penkman |Eduard Sabidó |Jürgen Cox |Jesper V. Olsen |David Lordkipanidze |Fernando Racimo |Carles Lalueza-Fox |José María Bermúdez de Castro |Eske Willerslev |Enrico Cappellini}}</ref>
Until about 50,000–40,000 years ago the use of stone tools seems to have progressed stepwise: each phase (''habilis'', ''ergaster'', ''neanderthal'') started at a higher level than the previous one, but once that phase had started further development was slow. In other words, one might call these ''Homo'' species culturally conservative. After 50,000 BP, what ], author of ], and other anthropologists characterize as a ''Great Leap Forward'', human culture apparently started to change at much greater speed: "modern" humans started to bury their dead carefully, made clothing out of hides, developed sophisticated hunting techniques (such as pitfall traps, or driving animals to fall off cliffs), and made ]s.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ambrose SH |title=Paleolithic technology and human evolution |journal=Science |volume=291 |issue=5509 |pages=1748-53 |year=2001 |pmid=11249821 |doi=}}</ref> This speed-up of cultural change seems connected with the arrival of modern humans, ''homo sapiens''. As human culture advanced, different populations of humans began to create novelty in existing technologies. Artifacts such as fish hooks, buttons and bone needles begin to show signs of variation among different populations of humans, something that had not been seen in human cultures prior to 50,000 BP. Typically, ''neanderthalensis'' populations are found with technology similar to other contemporary ''neanderthalensis'' populations.
* ''H. heidelbergensis'' is likely not an ancestor to ''H. sapiens'', nor is ''H. antecessor''.<ref name="Welker2020" />
* ''H. ergaster'' is often considered the next evolutionary ancestor to ''H. sapiens'' following ''H. erectus'', however, there is considerable uncertainty as to the accuracy of classifying it as a separate species from ''H. erectus'' at all.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dennell |first1=Robin |last2=Roebroeks |first2=Wil |date=2005 |title=An Asian perspective on early human dispersal from Africa |journal=] |volume=438 |issue=7071 |pages=1099–1104 |doi=10.1038/nature04259 |pmid=16371999 |bibcode=2005Natur.438.1099D |s2cid=4405913 |url= https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04259 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211031154723/https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04259 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} up until 'modern' ''Homo sapiens''<br /> * ] – million years ago, ] – thousand years ago]]
]
The human species eventually developed a much larger brain than that of other primates—typically {{convert|1330|cm3|abbr=on}} in modern humans, nearly three times the size of a chimpanzee or gorilla brain.<ref name="Schoeneman">{{cite journal |last=Schoenemann |first=P. Thomas |date=October 2006 |title=Evolution of the Size and Functional Areas of the Human Brain |journal=] |volume=35 |pages=379–406 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.35.081705.123210 |s2cid=7611321 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref> After a period of stasis with ''Australopithecus anamensis'' and ''Ardipithecus'', species which had smaller brains as a result of their bipedal locomotion,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Graham |last2=Fairfax |first2=Stephanie |last3=Sarao |first3=Nidhi |title=Tree of Life Web Project: Human Evolution |url= http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=3710 |website=www.tolweb.org |access-date=August 24, 2015 |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200606091921/http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=3710 |url-status=live}}</ref> the pattern of ] started with ''Homo habilis'', whose {{convert|600|cm3|abbr=on}} brain was slightly larger than that of chimpanzees. This evolution continued in ''Homo erectus'' with {{convert|800–1,100|cm3|abbr=on}}, and reached a maximum in Neanderthals with {{convert|1200–1,900|cm3|abbr=on}}, larger even than modern ''Homo sapiens''. This brain increase manifested during postnatal ], far exceeding that of other apes (]). It also allowed for extended periods of ] and ] in juvenile humans, beginning as much as 2&nbsp;million years ago. Encephalization may be due to a dependency on calorie-dense, difficult-to-acquire food.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kaplan |first1=Hillard |last2=Hill |first2=Kim |last3=Lancaster |first3=Jane |last4=Hurtado |first4=Magdelena |date=August 16, 2000 |title=A Theory of Human Life History Evolution: Diet, Intelligence, and Longevity |url= https://www.unm.edu/~hkaplan/KaplanHillLancasterHurtado_2000_LHEvolution.pdf |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=156–185 |doi=10.1002/1520-6505(2000)9:4<156::AID-EVAN5>3.0.CO;2-7 |s2cid=2363289 |access-date=September 20, 2019 |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200215120245/http://www.unm.edu/~hkaplan/KaplanHillLancasterHurtado_2000_LHEvolution.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>


Furthermore, the changes in the structure of ]s may be even more significant than the increase in size.<ref name="Park2007">{{cite journal |last1=Park |first1=M. S. |last2=Nguyen |first2=A. D. |last3=Aryan |first3=H. E. |last4=U |first4=H. S. |last5=Levy |first5=M. L. |last6=Semendeferi |first6=K. |date=March 2007 |title=Evolution of the human brain: Changing brain size and the fossil record |journal=] |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=555–562 |issn=0148-396X |pmid=17327801 |s2cid=19610624 |doi=10.1227/01.NEU.0000249284.54137.32}}</ref><ref name="Bruner2007">{{cite journal |last=Bruner |first=Emiliano |date=December 2007 |title=Cranial shape and size variation in human evolution: Structural and functional perspectives |citeseerx=10.1.1.391.288 |journal=Child's Nervous System |volume=23 |issue=12 |pages=1357–1365 |doi=10.1007/s00381-007-0434-2 |issn=0256-7040 |pmid=17680251 |s2cid=16163137}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Potts |first=Richard |author-link=Rick Potts |date=October 2012 |title=Evolution and Environmental Change in Early Human Prehistory |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=41 |pages=151–167 |doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145754 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref><ref name="Leonard_2007">{{cite journal |last1=Leonard |first1=William R. |last2=Snodgrass |first2=J. Josh |last3=Robertson |first3=Marcia L. |date=August 2007 |title=Effects of brain evolution on human nutrition and metabolism |journal=] |volume=27 |pages=311–327 |doi=10.1146/annurev.nutr.27.061406.093659 |issn=0199-9885 |pmid=17439362 |s2cid=18869516}}</ref> Fossilized skulls shows the brain size in early humans fell within the range of modern humans 300,000 years ago, but only got its present-day brain shape between 100,000 and 35,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The evolution of modern human brain shape - Science |journal=Science Advances |date=January 5, 2018 |volume=4 |issue=1 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aao5961 |last1=Neubauer |first1=Simon |last2=Hublin |first2=Jean-Jacques |last3=Gunz |first3=Philipp |pages=eaao5961 |pmid=29376123 |pmc=5783678 |bibcode=2018SciA....4.5961N}}</ref> ] The ]s, which contain centers for language processing, have increased disproportionately, as has the ], which has been related to complex decision-making and moderating social behavior.<ref name="Schoeneman" /> Encephalization has been tied to increased starches<ref name="NYT-20150813">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |date=August 13, 2015 |title=For Evolving Brains, a 'Paleo' Diet Full of Carbs |work=The New York Times |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/science/for-evolving-brains-a-paleo-diet-full-of-carbs.html |url-access=limited |access-date=August 14, 2015 |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/science/for-evolving-brains-a-paleo-diet-full-of-carbs.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and meat<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mann |first=Neil |date=September 2007 |title=Meat in the human diet: An anthropological perspective |journal=Nutrition & Dietetics |volume=64 |issue=Supplement 4 |pages=S102–S107 |doi=10.1111/j.1747-0080.2007.00194.x |issn=1747-0080 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |last=McBroom |first=Patricia |date=June 14, 1999 |title=Meat-eating was essential for human evolution, says UC Berkeley anthropologist specializing in diet |location=Berkeley |publisher=] |url= http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/99legacy/6-14-1999a.html |access-date=April 25, 2015 |archive-date=April 20, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150420060844/http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/99legacy/6-14-1999a.html |url-status=live}}</ref> in the diet, however a 2022 meta study called into question the role of meat.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barr |first1=W. Andrew |last2=Pobiner |first2=Briana |last3=Rowan |first3=John |last4=Du |first4=Andrew |last5=Faith |first5=J. Tyler |date=February 1, 2022 |title=No sustained increase in zooarchaeological evidence for carnivory after the appearance of ''Homo erectus'' |journal=] |volume=119 |issue=5 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2115540119 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmid=35074877 |pmc=8812535 |bibcode=2022PNAS..11915540B}}</ref> Other factors are the development of cooking,<ref name="Organ_2011">{{cite journal |last1=Organ |first1=Chris |last2=Nunn |first2=Charles L. |last3=Machanda |first3=Zarin |last4=Wrangham |first4=Richard W. |author4-link=Richard Wrangham |date=August 30, 2011 |title=Phylogenetic rate shifts in feeding time during the evolution of ''Homo'' |journal=] |volume=108 |issue=35 |pages=14555–14559 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1107806108 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3167533 |pmid=21873223 |bibcode=2011PNAS..10814555O |doi-access=free}}</ref> and it has been proposed that intelligence increased as a response to an increased necessity for ] as human society became more complex.<ref name="David-Barrett">{{cite journal |last1=David-Barrett |first1=T. |last2=Dunbar |first2=R. I. M. |date=2013 |title=Processing Power Limits Social Group Size: Computational Evidence for the Cognitive Costs of Sociality |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences |volume=280 |issue=1765 |page=20131151 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.1151 |pmid=23804623 |pmc=3712454}}</ref> Changes in skull morphology, such as smaller mandibles and mandible muscle attachments, allowed more room for the brain to grow.{{sfn|Bown|Rose|1987}}
Theoretically, modern human behavior is taken to include four ingredient capabilities: ] (concepts free from specific examples), ] (taking steps to achieve a further goal), ] (finding new solutions), and ] (such as images, or rituals). Among concrete examples of modern human behaviour, anthropologists include specialization of tools, use of jewelry and images (such as cave drawings), organization of living space, rituals (for example, burials with grave gifts), specialized hunting techniques, exploration of less hospitable geographical areas, and ] trade networks. Debate continues whether there was indeed a "revolution" leading to modern humans ("the big bang of human consciousness"), or a more gradual evolution.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mcbrearty S, Brooks AS |title=The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior |journal=J. Hum. Evol. |volume=39 |issue=5 |pages=453-563 |year=2000 |pmid=11102266 |doi=10.1006/jhev.2000.0435}}</ref>


The increase in volume of the ] also included a rapid increase in size of the ]. Its function has traditionally been associated with balance and fine motor control, but more recently with ] and ]. The great apes, including hominids, had a more pronounced cerebellum relative to the neocortex than other primates. It has been suggested that because of its function of sensory-motor control and learning complex muscular actions, the cerebellum may have underpinned human technological adaptations, including the preconditions of speech.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barton |first1=Robert A. |last2=Venditti |first2=Chris |date=October 20, 2014 |title=Rapid Evolution of the Cerebellum in Humans and Other Great Apes |journal=] |volume=24 |issue=20 |pages=2440–2444 |issn=0960-9822 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2014.08.056 |pmid=25283776 |s2cid=5041106 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2014CBio...24.2440B}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Starowicz-Filip |first1=Anna |last2=Milczarek |first2=Olga |last3=Kwiatkowski |first3=Stanisław |last4=Bętkowska-Korpała |first4=Barbara |last5=Prochwicz |first5=Katarzyna |date=2013 |title=Cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome CCAS – a case report |journal=Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=57–64 |doi=10.12740/APP/18666 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yu |first1=Feng |last2=Jiang |first2=Qing-jun |last3=Sun |first3=Xi-yan |last4=Zhang |first4=Rong-wei |date=August 22, 2014 |title=A new case of complete primary cerebellar agenesis: Clinical and imaging findings in a living patient |journal=] |doi=10.1093/brain/awu239 |issn=1460-2156 |pmid=25149410 |volume=138 |issue=Pt 6 |pages=e353 |pmc=4614135}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Weaver |first=Anne H. |date=March 8, 2005 |title=Reciprocal evolution of the cerebellum and neocortex in fossil humans |journal=] |volume=102 |issue=10 |pages=3576–3580 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0500692102 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=553338 |pmid=15731345 |bibcode=2005PNAS..102.3576W |doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Models of human evolution==
In a recent article, Leonard Lieberman and Fatimah Jackson have called attention to the fact that although the concepts of cline, population, and ethnicity, as well as humanitarian and political concerns, have led many scientists away from the notion of race, a recent survey showed that physical anthropologists were evenly divided as to whether race is a valid biological concept. Noting that among physical anthropologists the vast majority of opposition to the race concept comes from population geneticists, any new support for a biological concept of race will likely come from another source, namely, the study of human evolution. They therefore ask what, if any, implications current models of human evolution may have for any biological conception of race.<ref>Leonard Lieberman and Fatimah Linda C. Jackson (1995) "Race and Three Models of Human Origin" in ''­American Anthropologist'' Vol. 97, No. 2, pp. 232-234</ref>


The immediate survival advantage of encephalization is difficult to discern, as the major brain changes from ''Homo erectus'' to ''Homo heidelbergensis'' were not accompanied by major changes in technology. It has been suggested that the changes were mainly social and behavioural, including increased empathic abilities,<ref>{{cite book |last=Klein |first=Stefan |date=2014 |title=Survival of the Nicest |isbn=978-1-61519-090-4 |publisher=The Experiment}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Social Network Size Affects Neural Circuits in Macaques |journal=] |date=November 4, 2011 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=22053054 |pages=697–700 |volume=334 |issue=6056 |doi=10.1126/science.1210027 |last1=Sallet |first1=J. |last2=Mars |first2=R. B. |last3=Noonan |first3=M. P. |last4=Andersson |first4=J. L. |last5=O'Reilly |first5=J. K. |last6=Jbabdi |first6=S. |last7=Croxson |first7=P. L. |last8=Jenkinson |first8=M. |last9=Miller |first9=K. L. |bibcode=2011Sci...334..697S |s2cid=206536017}}</ref> increases in size of social groups,<ref name="David-Barrett" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunbar |first1=R. I. M. |date=1992 |title=Neocortex size as a constraint on group size in primates |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=469–493 |doi=10.1016/0047-2484(92)90081-j |doi-access=free |bibcode=1992JHumE..22..469D}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Encephalization is not a universal macroevolutionary phenomenon in mammals but is associated with sociality |journal=] |date=December 14, 2010 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3003036 |pmid=21098277 |pages=21582–21586 |volume=107 |issue=50 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1005246107 |first1=Susanne |last1=Shultz |first2=Robin |last2=Dunbar |bibcode=2010PNAS..10721582S |doi-access=free}}</ref> and increased behavioral plasticity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Richard |first=Potts |date=1998 |title=Environmental Hypotheses of Hominin Evolution |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=107 |issue=S27 |pages=93–136 |doi=10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(1998)107:27+<93::aid-ajpa5>3.0.co;2-x |pmid=9881524}}</ref> Humans are unique in the ability to acquire information through social transmission and adapt that information.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richerson |first=Peter J. |title=Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution |date=2006 |publisher=] |isbn=0-226-71212-5 |oclc=642503808}}</ref> The emerging field of ] studies human sociocultural change from an evolutionary perspective.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mesoudi |first1=Alex |last2=Whiten |first2=Andrew |last3=Laland |first3=Kevin N. |date=August 2006 |title=Towards a unified science of cultural evolution |journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=329–347 |doi=10.1017/s0140525x06009083 |pmid=17094820 |issn=0140-525X}}</ref>
Today, all ] are classified as belonging to the species ''Homo sapiens sapiens.'' However, this is not the first species of hominids: the first species of genus ''Homo'', ''Homo habilis'' evolved in East Africa at least 2 million years ago, and members of this species populated different parts of Africa in a relatively short time. ''Homo erectus'' evolved more than 1.8 million years ago, and by 1.5 million years ago had spread throughout the Old World. Virtually all physical anthropologists agree that ''Homo sapiens'' evolved out of ''Homo erectus.'' Anthropologists have been divided as to whether ''Homo sapiens'' evolved as one interconnected species from ''H. erectus'' (called the Multiregional Model, or the Regional Continuity Model), or evolved only in East Africa, and then migrated out of Africa and replaced ''H. erectus'' populations throughout the Old World (called the Out of Africa Model or the Complete Replacement Model). Anthropologists continue to debate both possibilities, and the evidence is technically ambiguous as to which model is correct, although most anthropologists currently favor the Out of Africa model.


].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spoor |first1=F. |last2=Gunz |first2=P. |last3=Neubauer |first3=S. |last4=Stelzer |first4=S. |last5=Scott |first5=N. |last6=Kwekason |first6=A. |last7=Dean |first7=M. C. |title=Reconstructed ''Homo habilis'' type OH 7 suggests deep-rooted species diversity in early ''Homo'' |journal=] |volume=519 |issue=7541 |pages=83–6 |date=March 2015 |pmid=25739632 |doi=10.1038/nature14224 |bibcode=2015Natur.519...83S |s2cid=4470282}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schuster |first=A. M. |date=1997 |title=Earliest Remains of Genus ''Homo'' |url= http://archive.archaeology.org/9701/newsbriefs/homo.html |journal=Archaeology |volume=50 |access-date=March 5, 2015 |number=1 |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150317002614/http://archive.archaeology.org/9701/newsbriefs/homo.html |url-status=live}} The line to the earliest members of ''Homo'' was derived from '']'', a genus which had separated from the Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor by late ] or early ] times.
===The multiregional model===
<!--Why is so much of the ] article reproduced in this footnote?
{{main|Multiregional hypothesis}}
with date estimates by several specialists ranging from 13 million years ago to more recently than six million years ago.
Advocates of the Multiregional model, primarily ] and his associates, have argued that the simultaneous evolution of ''H. sapiens'' in different parts of Europe and Asia would have been possible if there was a degree of ] between archaic populations.<ref>Thorne, Alan, and Milford Wolpoff (1992) "The Multiregional Evolution of humans" in ''Scientific American, April 76-93; Smith, Fred and Frank Spencer, eds (1984) ''The Origin of Modern Humans''</ref> Similarities of morphological features between archaic European and Chinese populations and modern ''H. sapiens'' from the same regions, Wolpoff argues, support a regional continuity only possible within the Multiregional model.<ref>Robert H. Lavenda and Emily A. Shultz ''Anthropology, what does it mean to be human?'' Oxford (New York:2008) 132.</ref> Wolpoff and others further argue that this model is consistent with ] of phenotypic variation (Wolpoff 1993). Lieberman and Jackson have related this theory to race with the following statement:
* {{cite journal |last1=Arnason |first1=U. |last2=Gullberg |first2=A. |last3=Janke |first3=A. |title=Molecular timing of primate divergences as estimated by two nonprimate calibration points |journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution |volume=47 |issue=6 |pages=718–27 |date=December 1998 |pmid=9847414 |doi=10.1007/PL00006431 |bibcode=1998JMolE..47..718A}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Patterson |first1=N. |last2=Richter |first2=D. J. |last3=Gnerre |first3=S. |last4=Lander |first4=E. S. |last5=Reich |first5=D. |title=Genetic evidence for complex speciation of humans and chimpanzees |journal=] |volume=441 |issue=7097 |pages=1103–1108 |date=June 2006 |pmid=16710306 |doi=10.1038/nature04789 |bibcode=2006Natur.441.1103P}}
* {{cite journal |last=Wakeley |first=J. |title=Complex speciation of humans and chimpanzees |journal=] |volume=452 |issue=7184 |pages=E3-4; discussion E4 |date=March 2008 |pmid=18337768 |doi=10.1038/nature06805 |bibcode=2008Natur.452....3W}}
"Patterson et al. suggest that the apparently short divergence time between humans and chimpanzees on the X chromosome is explained by a massive interspecific hybridization event in the ancestry of these two species. However, Patterson et al. do not statistically test their own null model of simple speciation before concluding that speciation was complex, and—even if the null model could be rejected—they do not consider other explanations of a short divergence time on the X chromosome. These include natural selection on the X chromosome in the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, changes in the ratio of male-to-female mutation rates over time, and less extreme versions of divergence with gene flow. I therefore believe that their claim of hybridization is unwarranted." see ].
--></ref>{{efn|''H. erectus'' in the narrow sense (the Asian species) was extinct by 140,000 years ago, '']'', found in ], is considered the latest known survival of ''H. erectus''. Formerly dated to as late as 50,000 to 40,000 years ago, a 2011 study pushed back the date of its extinction of ''H. e. soloensis'' to 143,000 years ago at the latest, more likely before 550,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Indriati |first1=E. |last2=Swisher |first2=C. C. |last3=Lepre |first3=C. |last4=Quinn |first4=R. L. |last5=Suriyanto |first5=R. A. |last6=Hascaryo |first6=A. T. |last7=Grün |first7=R. |last8=Feibel |first8=C. S. |last9=Pobiner |first9=B. L. |last10=Aubert |first10=M. |last11=Lees |first11=W. |last12=Antón |first12=S. C. |display-authors=5 |title=The age of the 20 meter Solo River terrace, Java, Indonesia and the survival of ''Homo erectus'' in Asia |journal=] |volume=6 |issue=6 |pages=e21562 |date=2011 |pmid=21738710 |pmc=3126814 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0021562 |bibcode=2011PLoSO...621562I |doi-access=free}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Etty Indriati |Carl C. Swisher III |Christopher Lepre |Rhonda L. Quinn |Rusyad A. Suriyanto |Agus T. Hascaryo |Rainer Grün |Craig S. Feibel |Briana L. Pobiner |Maxime Aubert |Wendy Lees |Susan C. Antón}}</ref>}}<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Mondal |first1=M. |last2=Bertranpetit |first2=J. |last3=Lao |first3=O. |title=Approximate Bayesian computation with deep learning supports a third archaic introgression in Asia and Oceania |journal=Nature Communications |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=246 |date=January 2019 |pmid=30651539 |pmc=6335398 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-08089-7 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10..246M}}</ref><ref name="Zeitoun 2003 148–156">{{cite journal |last=Zeitoun |first=V. |title=High occurrence of a basicranial feature in ''Homo erectus'': Anatomical description of the preglenoid tubercle |journal=The Anatomical Record Part B: The New Anatomist |volume=274 |issue=1 |pages=148–56 |date=September 2003 |pmid=12964205 |doi=10.1002/ar.b.10028 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Proceedings 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Dembo |first1=M. |last2=Matzke |first2=N. J. |last3=Mooers |first3=A. Ø. |last4=Collard |first4=M. |title=Bayesian analysis of a morphological supermatrix sheds light on controversial fossil hominin relationships |journal=Proceedings. Biological Sciences |volume=282 |issue=1812 |page=20150943 |date=August 2015 |pmid=26202999 |pmc=4528516 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2015.0943}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Dembo |first1=M. |last2=Radovčić |first2=D. |last3=Garvin |first3=H. M. |last4=Laird |first4=M. F. |last5=Schroeder |first5=L. |last6=Scott |first6=J. E. |last7=Brophy |first7=J. |last8=Ackermann |first8=R. R. |last9=Musiba |first9=C. M. |last10=de Ruiter |first10=D. J. |last11=Mooers |first11=A. Ø. |last12=Collard |first12=M. |display-authors=2 |title=The evolutionary relationships and age of ''Homo naledi'': An assessment using dated Bayesian phylogenetic methods |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=97 |pages=17–26 |date=August 2016 |pmid=27457542 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.008 |bibcode=2016JHumE..97...17D |hdl-access=free |hdl=2164/8796}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Mana Dembo |Davorka Radovčić |Heather M. Garvinc |Myra F. Laird |Lauren Schroeder |Jill E. Scott |Juliet Brophy |Rebecca R. Ackermann |Chares M. Musiba |Darryl J. de Ruiter |Arne Ø. Mooers |Mark Collard}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mounier |first1=A. |last2=Caparros |first2=M. |date=2015 |title=The phylogenetic status of ''Homo heidelbergensis'' – a cladistic study of Middle Pleistocene hominins |journal=BMSAP |language=fr |volume=27 |issue=3–4 |pages=110–134 |doi=10.1007/s13219-015-0127-4 |s2cid=17449909 |issn=0037-8984}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bL2XDwAAQBAJ&q=Sahelanthropus+tchadensis&pg=PA7 |title=The Origins of Europeans and Their Pre-Historic Innovations from 6 Million to 10,000 BCE: From 6 Million to 10,000 BCE |last=Harrison |first=N. |date=May 1, 2019 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-1-62894-379-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rogers |first1=A. R. |last2=Harris |first2=N. S. |last3=Achenbach |first3=A. A. |title=Neanderthal-Denisovan ancestors interbred with a distantly related hominin |journal=Science Advances |volume=6 |issue=8 |pages=eaay5483 |date=February 2020 |pmid=32128408 |pmc=7032934 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aay5483 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020SciA....6.5483R}}</ref>]]


=== Sexual dimorphism ===
{{cquote|The major implication for race in the multiregional evolution continuity model involves the time depth of a million or more years in which race differentiation might evolve in diverse ecological regions . This must be balanced against the degree of gene flow and the transregional operation of natural selection on encephalization due to development of tools and, more broadly, culture.<ref name="lieberman237">Leonard Lieberman and Fatimah Linda C. Jackson (1995) "Race and Three Models of Human Origin" in ''­American Anthropologist'' Vol. 97, No. 2, pp. 237</ref>}}
The reduced degree of ] is visible primarily in the reduction of the male ] relative to other ape species (except gibbons) and reduced brow ridges and general robustness of males. Another important physiological change related to ] in humans was the evolution of ]. Humans are the only hominoids in which the female is fertile year round and in which no special signals of fertility are produced by the body (such as genital swelling or overt changes in proceptivity during estrus).<ref>{{cite book |last=Tanner |first=Nancy Makepeace |title=On Becoming Human |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_j45AAAAIAAJ |date=1981 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0-521-28028-0 |page=}}</ref>


Nonetheless, humans retain a degree of sexual dimorphism in the distribution of body hair and subcutaneous fat, and in the overall size, males being around 15% larger than females.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reno |first1=Philip L. |last2=Lovejoy |first2=C. Owen |date=April 28, 2015 |title=From Lucy to Kadanuumuu: Balanced analyses of ''Australopithecus afarensis'' assemblages confirm only moderate skeletal dimorphism |journal=PeerJ |volume=3 |page=e925 |doi=10.7717/peerj.925 |pmid=25945314 |pmc=4419524 |issn=2167-8359 |doi-access=free}}</ref> These changes taken together have been interpreted as a result of an increased emphasis on ]ing as a possible solution to the requirement for increased parental investment due to the prolonged infancy of offspring.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lovejoy |first=C. Owen |date=October 2, 2009 |title=Reexamining Human Origins in Light of Ardipithecus ramidus |journal=] |volume=326 |issue=5949 |pages=74–74e8 |doi=10.1126/science.1175834 |issn=0036-8075 |bibcode=2009Sci...326...74L |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/211449/files/PAL_E4439.pdf |pmid=19810200 |s2cid=42790876 |access-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210224110943/http://doc.rero.ch/record/211449/files/PAL_E4439.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
===The out of Africa model===
{{seealso|Recent single origin hypothesis}}


=== Ulnar opposition ===
According to the Out of Africa Model, developed by ] and Peter Andrews, modern ''H. sapiens'' evolved in Africa 200,000 years ago. Homo sapiens began migrating from Africa around 50,000 years ago and would eventually replace existing hominid species in Europe and Asia.<ref></ref><ref>Christopher Stringer and Peter Andrews (1988) "Genetic and Fossil Evidence for the Origin of Modern Humans" in ''Science'' 239: 1263-1268</ref> The Out of Africa Model has gained support by recent research using ] (mtDNA). After analysing genealogy trees constructed using 133 types of mtDNA, they concluded that all were descended from a woman from Africa, dubbed ].<ref>Rebecca L. Cann, Mark Stoneking, Allan C. Wilson (1987) "Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution" in ''Nature'' 325: 31-36)</ref> Lieberman and Jackson have related this theory to race with the following comment:
]
The ulnar opposition—the contact between the thumb and the tip of the ] of the same hand—is unique to the ],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Young |first=Richard W. |date=January 2003 |title=Evolution of the human hand: The role of throwing and clubbing |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=202 |issue=1 |pages=165–174 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2003.00144.x |issn=0021-8782 |pmc=1571064 |pmid=12587931}}</ref> including Neanderthals, the ] ] and ].<ref name="Miriam">{{cite book |last=Ittyerah |first=Miriam |title=Hand Preference and Hand Ability: Evidence from studies in Haptic Cognition |publisher=] |date=2013 |pages=37–38 |isbn=978-90-272-7164-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Frank R. |url= https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/w/wilson-hand.html |title=The Hand How Its Use Shapes the Brain, Language, and Human Culture |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 2, 2017 |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170828024550/http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/w/wilson-hand.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In other primates, the thumb is short and unable to touch the little finger.<ref name="Miriam" /> The ulnar opposition facilitates the precision grip and power grip of the human hand, underlying all the skilled manipulations.


=== Other changes ===
{{cquote|There are three major implications of this model for the race concept. First, the shallow time dimension minimizes the degree to which racial differences could have evolved . Second, the mitochondrial DNA model presents a view that is very much different from Carleton Coon's (1962) concerning the time at which Africans passed the threshold from archaic to modern, thereby minimizing race differences and avoiding racist implications. However, the model, as interpreted by Wainscoat et al. (1989:34), does describe "a major division of human populations into an African and an Eurasian group." This conclusion could best be used to emphasize the degree of biological differences, and thereby provide support for the race concept. Third, the replacement of preexisting members of genus Homo (with little gene flow) implies several possible causes from disease epidemics to extermination. If the latter, then from a contemporary viewpoint, xenophobia or racism may have been practiced"<ref>Leonard Lieberman and Fatimah Linda C. Jackson (1995) "Race and Three Models of Human Origin" in ''­American Anthropologist'' Vol. 97, No. 2, pp. 235–236</ref>}}
A number of other changes have also characterized the evolution of humans, among them an increased reliance on vision rather than smell (highly reduced ]); a longer juvenile developmental period and higher infant dependency;<ref name="Kuzawa2014">{{cite journal |last1=Kuzawa |first1=Christopher W. |last2=Chugani |first2=Harry T. |last3=Grossman |first3=Lawrence I. |last4=Lipovich |first4=Leonard |last5=Muzik |first5=Otto |last6=Hof |first6=Patrick R. |last7=Wildman |first7=Derek E. |last8=Sherwood |first8=Chet C. |last9=Leonard |first9=William R. |last10=Lange |first10=Nicholas |date=August 25, 2014 |title=Metabolic costs and evolutionary implications of human brain development |journal=] |volume=111 |issue=36 |pages=13010–13015 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1323099111 |pmid=25157149 |pmc=4246958 |bibcode=2014PNAS..11113010K |doi-access=free}}</ref> a smaller gut and small, misaligned teeth; faster basal metabolism;<ref name="Pontzer2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Pontzer |first1=Herman |last2=Brown |first2=Mary H. |last3=Raichlen |first3=David A. |last4=Dunsworth |first4=Holly |last5=Hare |first5=Brian |last6=Walker |first6=Kara |last7=Luke |first7=Amy |last8=Dugas |first8=Lara R. |last9=Durazo-Arvizu |first9=Ramon |last10=Schoeller |first10=Dale |last11=Plange-Rhule |first11=Jacob |last12=Bovet |first12=Pascal |last13=Forrester |first13=Terrence E. |last14=Lambert |first14=Estelle V. |last15=Thompson |first15=Melissa Emery |last16=Shumaker |first16=Robert W. |last17=Ross |first17=Stephen P. |date=May 4, 2016 |title=Metabolic acceleration and the evolution of human brain size and life history |journal=] |volume=533 |issue=7603 |pages=390–392 |bibcode=2016Natur.533..390P |doi=10.1038/nature17654 |pmid=27144364 |pmc=4942851}}</ref> loss of body hair;<ref name="MarkusJRantala2007">{{cite journal |last1=Rantala |first1=Markus J. |date=August 20, 2007 |title=Evolution of nakedness in ''Homo sapiens'' |url= https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00295.x |journal=] |volume=273 |issue=1 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00295.x |access-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221105183758/https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2007.00295.x |url-status=live}}</ref> an increase in
] density that is ten times higher than any other ]an primates,<ref></ref> yet humans use 30% to 50% less water per day compared to chimps and gorillas;<ref></ref> more ] but less sleep in total;<ref></ref> a change in the shape of the dental arcade from u-shaped to parabolic; development of a ] (found in ''Homo sapiens'' alone); ]; and a descended ]. As the human hand and arms adapted to the making of tools and were used less for climbing, the shoulder blades changed too. As a side effect, it allowed human ancestors to throw objects with greater force, speed and accuracy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Potter |first=Lisa Marie |title=Shouldering the Burden of Evolution |work=UCSF News Center |publisher=] |date=September 8, 2015 |url= https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2015/09/131526/shouldering-burden-evolution |url-status=live |access-date=May 8, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230508132136/https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2015/09/131526/shouldering-burden-evolution |archive-date=May 8, 2023}}</ref>


===Comparison of the two models=== == Use of tools ==
] pebble tool, the most basic of human stone tools]]
Lieberman and Jackson have argued that while advocates of both the Multiregional Model and the Out of Africa Model use the word race and make racial assumptions, none define the term.<ref name="lieberman237" /> They conclude that
]
"Each model has implications that both magnify and minimize the differences between races. Yet each model seems to take race and races as a conceptual reality. The net result is that those anthropologists who prefer to view races as a reality are encouraged to do so" and conclude that students of human evolution would be better off avoiding the word race, and instead describe genetic differences in terms of populations and clinal gradations.<ref>Leonard Lieberman and Fatimah Linda C. Jackson (1995) "Race and Three Models of Human Origin" in ''­American Anthropologist'' Vol. 97, No. 2, pp. 239</ref>
] hand-axes from ]. ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' ] work. The types shown are (clockwise from top) cordate, ficron and ovate.]]
], an example of ] art, dated 24–26,000 years ago]]
{{See also|Hunting hypothesis}}


The use of tools has been interpreted as a sign of intelligence, and it has been theorized that tool use may have stimulated certain aspects of human evolution, especially the continued expansion of the human brain.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |last=Ko |first=Kwang Hyun |title=Origins of human intelligence: The chain of tool-making and brain evolution |journal=Anthropological Notebooks |date=2016 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=5–22 |url= http://www.drustvo-antropologov.si/AN/PDF/2016_1/Anthropological_Notebooks_XXII_1_Ko.pdf |access-date=August 8, 2016 |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160817210720/http://www.drustvo-antropologov.si/AN/PDF/2016_1/Anthropological_Notebooks_XXII_1_Ko.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Paleontology has yet to explain the expansion of this organ over millions of years despite being extremely demanding in terms of energy consumption. The brain of a modern human consumes, on average, about 13 watts (260 kilocalories per day), a fifth of the body's resting power consumption.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jabr |first=Ferris |date=July 18, 2012 |title=Does Thinking Really Hard Burn More Calories? |url= http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calories/ |journal=Scientific American |issn=0036-8733 |access-date=May 3, 2015 |archive-date=May 3, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150503113428/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calories/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Increased tool use would allow hunting for energy-rich meat products, and would enable processing more energy-rich plant products. Researchers have suggested that early hominins were thus under evolutionary pressure to increase their capacity to create and use tools.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gibbons |first=Ann |date=May 29, 1998 |title=Solving the Brain's Energy Crisis |journal=] |volume=280 |issue=5368 |pages=1345–1347 |doi=10.1126/science.280.5368.1345 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=9634409 |s2cid=28464775}}</ref>
==Notable human evolution researchers==


Precisely when early humans started to use tools is difficult to determine, because the more primitive these tools are (for example, sharp-edged stones) the more difficult it is to decide whether they are natural objects or human artifacts.<ref name="auto" /> There is some evidence that the australopithecines (4 Ma) ], but this is debated.{{sfn|Robinson|2008|p=}}
*], a British judge most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics
*], a British naturalist who documented considerable evidence that species originate through evolutionary change
*], a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist who has promoted a gene-centered view of evolution
*], a British geneticist and evolutionary biologist
*], an American anthropologist who specializes in studies of human evolution, the origins of bipedality, and paleoanthropology
*], an African archaeologist and naturalist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa
*], an African paleontologist and archaeologist, son of Louis Leakey
*], a Swedish biologist specializing in evolutionary genetics
*], an American physical anthropologist and professor of biological anthropology
*], an American surgeon and author of three books
*], a prominent American paleoanthropologist and expert on Neanderthal biology and human evolution
*], an American paleoanthropologist who leading proponent of the multiregional evolution hypothesis
*], a British zoologist, who first hypothesised the aquatic ape theory of human evolution


], but it is the human genus that dominates the areas of making and using more complex tools. The oldest known tools are flakes from West Turkana, Kenya, which date to 3.3&nbsp;million years ago.<ref name="Harmand 310–315">{{Cite journal |last1=Harmand |first1=Sonia |last2=Lewis |first2=Jason E. |last3=Feibel |first3=Craig S. |last4=Lepre |first4=Christopher J. |last5=Prat |first5=Sandrine |last6=Lenoble |first6=Arnaud |last7=Boës |first7=Xavier |last8=Quinn |first8=Rhonda L. |last9=Brenet |first9=Michel |date=May 20, 2015 |title=3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya |journal=] |volume=521 |issue=7552 |pages=310–315 |doi=10.1038/nature14464 |pmid=25993961 |issn=0028-0836 |bibcode=2015Natur.521..310H |s2cid=1207285}}</ref> The next oldest stone tools are from ], and are considered the beginning of the Oldowan technology. These tools date to about 2.6&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Semaw |first1=Sileshi |last2=Rogers |first2=Michael J. |last3=Quade |first3=Jay |last4=Renne |first4=Paul R. |last5=Butler |first5=Robert F. |last6=Dominguez-Rodrigo |first6=Manuel |last7=Stout |first7=Dietrich |last8=Hart |first8=William S. |last9=Pickering |first9=Travis |last10=Simpson |first10=Scott W. |date=August 1, 2003 |title=2.6-Million-year-old stone tools and associated bones from OGS-6 and OGS-7, Gona, Afar, Ethiopia |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=169–177 |doi=10.1016/S0047-2484(03)00093-9 |pmid=14529651 |issn=0047-2484 |bibcode=2003JHumE..45..169S}}</ref> A ''Homo'' fossil was found near some ] tools, and its age was noted at 2.3&nbsp;million years old, suggesting that maybe the ''Homo'' species did indeed create and use these tools. It is a possibility but does not yet represent solid evidence.{{sfn|Freeman|Herron|2007|pp=786–788}} The ] enables the hand bone to lock into the wrist bones, allowing for greater amounts of pressure to be applied to the wrist and hand from a grasping thumb and fingers. It allows humans the dexterity and strength to make and use complex tools. This unique anatomical feature separates humans from apes and other nonhuman primates, and is not seen in human fossils older than 1.8&nbsp;million years.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ward |first1=Carol V. |last2=Tocheri |first2=Matthew W. |last3=Plavcan |first3=J. Michael |last4=Brown |first4=Francis H. |last5=Manthi |first5=Fredrick Kyalo |date=January 7, 2014 |title=Early Pleistocene third metacarpal from Kenya and the evolution of modern human-like hand morphology |journal=] |volume=111 |issue=1 |pages=121–124 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1316014110 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3890866 |pmid=24344276 |display-authors=3 |bibcode=2014PNAS..111..121W |doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Species list==


Bernard Wood noted that ''Paranthropus'' co-existed with the early ''Homo'' species in the area of the "Oldowan Industrial Complex" over roughly the same span of time. Although there is no direct evidence which identifies ''Paranthropus'' as the tool makers, their anatomy lends to indirect evidence of their capabilities in this area. Most paleoanthropologists agree that the early ''Homo'' species were indeed responsible for most of the Oldowan tools found. They argue that when most of the Oldowan tools were found in association with human fossils, ''Homo'' was always present, but ''Paranthropus'' was not.{{sfn|Freeman|Herron|2007|pp=786–788}}
This list will conduct in chronological order, following ].


In 1994, Randall Susman used the anatomy of opposable thumbs as the basis for his argument that both the ''Homo'' and ''Paranthropus'' species were toolmakers. He compared bones and muscles of human and chimpanzee thumbs, finding that humans have 3 muscles which are lacking in chimpanzees. Humans also have thicker metacarpals with broader heads, allowing more precise grasping than the chimpanzee hand can perform. Susman posited that modern anatomy of the human opposable thumb is an evolutionary response to the requirements associated with making and handling tools and that both species were indeed toolmakers.{{sfn|Freeman|Herron|2007|pp=786–788}}
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{{anchor|Modern humans and the "Great Leap Forward" debate}}
==Additional notes==


== Transition to behavioral modernity ==
*The validity of evolution and the origins of humanity have often been a subject of great ] and ] controversy within the non-scientific community (see '']'' and '']'').
{{Further|Behavioral modernity}}
*The classification of humans and their relatives has changed considerably over time (see '']'').
*Speculation about the future evolution of humans is often explored in ] as continued ] of humans as they fill various ]s (see '']'' and '']''), as well as deliberate self-modification (see '']'').
*Currently, scientists have estimated that humans branched off from their common ancestor with ] about 5–7 ].
Australopithecus


Anthropologists describe ] to include cultural and behavioral traits such as specialization of tools, use of jewellery and images (such as cave drawings), organization of living space, rituals (such as grave gifts), specialized hunting techniques, exploration of less hospitable geographical areas, and ] trade networks, as well as more general traits such as language and complex symbolic thinking. Debate continues as to whether a "revolution" led to modern humans ("big bang of human consciousness"), or whether the evolution was more gradual.<ref name="Mcbrearty_Brooks" />
==References==


Until about 50,000–40,000 years ago, the use of stone tools seems to have progressed stepwise. Each phase (''H.&nbsp;habilis'', ''H.&nbsp;ergaster'', ''H.&nbsp;neanderthalensis'') marked a new technology, followed by very slow development until the next phase. Currently paleoanthropologists are debating whether these ''Homo'' species possessed some or many modern human behaviors. They seem to have been culturally conservative, maintaining the same technologies and foraging patterns over very long periods.
{{reflist|2}}


Around 50,000 ], human culture started to evolve more rapidly. The transition to behavioral modernity has been characterized by some as a "'''Great Leap Forward'''",{{sfn|Diamond|1999|p=39}} or as the "Upper Palaeolithic Revolution",<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bar-Yosef |first=Ofer |author-link=Ofer Bar-Yosef |date=October 2002 |title=The Upper Paleolithic Revolution |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=31 |pages=363–393 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.31.040402.085416 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref> due to the sudden appearance in the archaeological record of distinctive signs of modern behavior and ].<ref name="oppenheimer" /> Evidence of behavioral modernity significantly earlier also exists from Africa, with older evidence of abstract imagery, widened subsistence strategies, more sophisticated tools and weapons, and other "modern" behaviors, and many scholars have recently argued that the transition to modernity occurred sooner than previously believed.<ref name="Mcbrearty_Brooks" /><ref name="Henshilwood etal 2002" /><ref name="Henshilwood Marean 2003">{{cite journal |last1=Henshilwood |first1=Christopher |last2=Marean |first2=Curtis |date=2003 |title=The Origin of Modern Human Behavior: Critique of the Models and Their Test Implications |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=44 |issue=5 |pages=627–651 |pmid=14971366 |s2cid=11081605 |doi=10.1086/377665}}</ref><ref name="Backwell">{{cite journal |last1=Backwell |first1=L. |last2=d'Errico |first2=F. |last3=Wadley |first3=L. |date=2008 |title=Middle Stone Age bone tools from the Howiesons Poort layers, Sibudu Cave, South Africa |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |volume=35 |issue=6 |pages=1566–1580 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.006 |bibcode=2008JArSc..35.1566B}}</ref>
* {{cite journal

| author = Wolfgang Enard et al.
Other scholars consider the transition to have been more gradual, noting that some features had already appeared among archaic African ''Homo sapiens'' 300,000–200,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nowell |first=April |date=October 2010 |title=Defining Behavioral Modernity in the Context of Neandertal and Anatomically Modern Human Populations |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=39 |pages=437–452 |issn=0084-6570 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.012809.105113}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=d'Errico |first1=Francesco |last2=Stringer |first2=Chris B. |date=April 12, 2011 |title=Evolution, revolution or saltation scenario for the emergence of modern cultures? |journal=] |volume=366 |issue=1567 |pages=1060–1069 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2010.0340 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=3049097 |pmid=21357228}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Chatterjee |first=Rhitu |title=Scientists Are Amazed By Stone Age Tools They Dug Up In Kenya |date=March 15, 2018 |work=] |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/03/15/593591796/scientists-are-amazed-by-stone-age-tools-they-dug-up-in-kenya |access-date=March 15, 2018 |archive-date=March 15, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180315193655/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/03/15/593591796/scientists-are-amazed-by-stone-age-tools-they-dug-up-in-kenya |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Atlantic-555674">{{cite news |last=Yong |first=Ed |author-link=Ed Yong |title=A Cultural Leap at the Dawn of Humanity – New finds from Kenya suggest that humans used long-distance trade networks, sophisticated tools, and symbolic pigments right from the dawn of our species |date=March 15, 2018 |work=] |url= https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/a-deeper-origin-of-complex-human-cultures/555674/ |access-date=March 15, 2018 |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201117002023/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/a-deeper-origin-of-complex-human-cultures/555674/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Brooks">{{Cite journal |title=Long-distance stone transport and pigment use in the earliest Middle Stone Age |journal=] |volume=360 |issue=6384 |pages=90–94 |date=2018 |pmid=29545508 |doi=10.1126/science.aao2646 |last1=Brooks |first1=A. S. |last2=Yellen |first2=J. E. |last3=Potts |first3=R. |last4=Behrensmeyer |first4=A. K. |last5=Deino |first5=A. L. |last6=Leslie |first6=D. E. |last7=Ambrose |first7=S. H. |last8=Ferguson |first8=J. R. |last9=d'Errico |first9=F. |last10=Zipkin |first10=A. M. |last11=Whittaker |first11=S. |last12=Post |first12=J. |last13=Veatch |first13=E. G. |last14=Foecke |first14=K. |last15=Clark |first15=J. B. |bibcode=2018Sci...360...90B |s2cid=14051717 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Recent evidence suggests that the Australian Aboriginal population separated from the African population 75,000 years ago, and that they made a {{convert|160|km|abbr=on}} sea journey 60,000 years ago, which may diminish the significance of the Upper Paleolithic Revolution.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Morten |last1=Rasmussen |first2=Xiaosen |last2=Guo |first3=Yong |last3=Wang |first4=Kirk E. |last4=Lohmueller |first5=Simon |last5=Rasmussen |first6=Anders |last6=Albrechtsen |first7=Line |last7=Skotte |first8=Stinus |last8=Lindgreen |first9=Mait |last9=Metspalu|first10=Thibaut |last10=Jombart |first11=Toomas |last11=Kivisild |first12=Weiwei |last12=Zhai |first13=Anders |last13=Eriksson |first14=Andrea |last14=Manica |first15=Ludovic |last15=Orlando |first16=Francisco M. |last16=De La Vega |first17=Silvana |last17=Tridico |first18=Ene |last18=Metspalu |first19=Kasper |last19=Nielsen |first20=María C. |last20=Ávila-Arcos |first21=J. Víctor |last21=Moreno-Mayar |first22=Craig |last22=Muller |first23=Joe |last23=Dortch |first24=M. Thomas P. |last24=Gilbert |first25=Ole |last25=Lund |first26=Agata |last26=Wesolowska |first27=Monika |last27=Karmin |first28=Lucy A. |last28=Weinert |first29=Bo |last29=Wang|first30=Jun |last30=Li |first31=Shuaishuai |last31=Tai |first32=Fei |last32=Xiao |first33=Tsunehiko |last33=Hanihara |first34=George |last34=van Driem |first35=Aashish R. |last35=Jha |first36=François-Xavier |last36=Ricaut |first37=Peter |last37=de Knijff |first38=Andrea B. |last38=Migliano |first39=Irene |last39=Gallego Romero|first40=Karsten |last40=Kristiansen |first41=David M. |last41=Lambert |first42=Søren |last42=Brunak |first43=Peter |last43=Forster |first44=Bernd |last44=Brinkmann |first45=Olaf |last45=Nehlich |first46=Michael |last46=Bunce |first47=Michael |last47=Richards |first48=Ramneek |last48=Gupta |first49=Carlos D. |last49=Bustamante|first50=Anders |last50=Krogh |first51=Robert A. |last51=Foley |first52=Marta M. |last52=Lahr |first53=Francois |last53=Balloux |first54=Thomas |last54=Sicheritz-Pontén |first55=Richard |last55=Villems |first56=Rasmus |last56=Nielsen |first57=Jun |last57=Wang |first58=Eske |last58=Willerslev |display-authors=6 |title=An Aboriginal Australian Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia |journal=] |volume=334 |issue=6052 |pages=94–98 |date=2011 |doi=10.1126/science.1211177 |pmid=21940856 |pmc=3991479 |bibcode=2011Sci...334...94R}}</ref>
| title = Molecular evolution of ], a gene involved in speech and language

| journal = Nature
Modern humans started burying their dead, making clothing from animal hides, hunting with more sophisticated techniques (such as using ] or driving animals off cliffs), and ].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ambrose |first=Stanley H. |date=March 2, 2001 |title=Paleolithic Technology and Human Evolution |journal=] |volume=291 |issue=5509 |pages=1748–1753 |bibcode=2001Sci...291.1748A |doi=10.1126/science.1059487 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=11249821 |s2cid=6170692}}</ref> As human culture advanced, different populations innovated existing technologies: artifacts such as fish hooks, buttons, and bone needles show signs of cultural variation, which had not been seen prior to 50,000 BP. Typically, the older ''H.&nbsp;neanderthalensis'' populations did not vary in their technologies, although the ] assemblages have been found to be Neanderthal imitations of ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' ] technologies.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mellars |first=P. |date=2010 |title=Neanderthal symbolism and ornament manufacture: The bursting of a bubble? |journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci USA |volume=107 |issue=47 |pages=20147–20148 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1014588107 |pmid=21078972 |pmc=2996706 |bibcode=2010PNAS..10720147M |doi-access=free}}</ref>
| volume = 418

|date= ]
== Recent and ongoing human evolution ==
| pages = 870
{{Main|Recent human evolution}}
}}
] populations continue to evolve, as they are affected by both natural selection and ]. Although ] on some traits, such as resistance to smallpox, has decreased in the modern age, humans are still undergoing natural selection for many other traits. Some of these are due to specific environmental pressures, while others are related to lifestyle changes since the development of agriculture (10,000 years ago), urbanization (5,000), and industrialization (250 years ago). It has been argued that human evolution has accelerated since the development of agriculture 10,000 years ago and civilization some 5,000 years ago, resulting, it is claimed, in substantial genetic differences between different current human populations,{{sfn|Cochran|Harpending|2009}} and more recent research indicates that for some traits, the developments and innovations of human culture have driven a new form of selection that coexists with, and in some cases has largely replaced, natural selection.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bender |first=Andrea |date=August 8, 2019 |title=The Role of Culture and Evolution for Human Cognition |journal=Topics in Cognitive Science |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=1403–1420 |doi=10.1111/tops.12449 |pmid=31392845 |issn=1756-8757 |doi-access=free |hdl=1956/22031 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>
*

* {{cite journal
] human ] {{c.|40 000 years BP}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fu |first1=Q. |last2=Hajdinjak |first2=M. |last3=Moldovan |first3=O. T. |last4=Constantin |first4=S. |last5=Mallick |first5=S. |last6=Skoglund |first6=Pontus |last7=Patterson |first7=N. |last8=Rohland |first8=N. |last9=Lazaridis |first9=I. |last10=Nickel |first10=B. |last11=Viola |first11=B. |last12=Prüfer |first12=Kay |last13=Meyer |first13=M. |last14=Kelso |first14=J. |last15=Reich |first15=D. |last16=Pääbo |first16=S. |author16-link=Svante Pääbo |title=An early modern human from Romania with a recent Neanderthal ancestor |journal=] |date=2015 |volume=524 |issue=7564 |pages=216–219 |doi=10.1038/nature14558 |pmid=26098372 |pmc=4537386 |bibcode=2015Natur.524..216F}}</ref>]]
| author = J. W. IJdo, A. Baldini, D. C. Ward, S. T. Reeders, R. A. Wells
Particularly conspicuous is variation in superficial characteristics, such as ], or the recent evolution of ] and blond hair in some populations, which are attributed to differences in climate. Particularly strong selective pressures have resulted in ], with different ones in different isolated populations. Studies of the ] show that some developed very recently, with Tibetans evolving over 3,000 years to have high proportions of an allele of ] that is adaptive to high altitudes.
| title = Origin of human chromosome 2: An ancestral telomere-telomere fusion

| journal = Genetics
Other evolution is related to ]s: the presence of ] selects for ] (the ] form of sickle cell gene), while in the absence of malaria, the health effects of ] select against this trait. For another example, the population at risk of the severe debilitating disease ] has significant over-representation of an immune variant of the ] gene G127V versus non-immune alleles. The frequency of this ] is due to the survival of immune persons.<ref>{{cite news |author=Medical Research Council |author-link=Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) |date=November 21, 2009 |title=Brain Disease 'Resistance Gene' evolves in Papua New Guinea community; could offer insights into CJD |url= https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120091959.htm |work=ScienceDaily |access-date=November 22, 2009 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190608194846/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120091959.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa0809716 |pmid=19923577 |date=2009 |display-authors=3 |last1=Mead |first1=S. |last2=Whitfield |first2=J. |last3=Poulter |first3=M. |last4=Shah |first4=P. |last5=Uphill |first5=J. |last6=Campbell |first6=T. |last7=Al-Dujaily |first7=H. |last8=Hummerich |first8=H. |last9=Beck |first9=J. |last10=Mein |first10=C. A. |last11=Verzilli |first11=C. |last12=Whittaker |first12=J. |last13=Alpers |first13=M. P. |last14=Collinge |first14=J. |title=A Novel Protective Prion Protein Variant that Colocalizes with Kuru Exposure |volume=361 |issue=21 |pages=2056–2065 |journal=The New England Journal of Medicine |url= https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/4514/1/nejmoa0809716.pdf |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180720215808/http://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/4514/1/nejmoa0809716.pdf |url-status=live}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Simon Mead |Jerome Whitfield |Mark Poulter |Paresh Shah |James Uphill |Tracy Campbell |Huda Al-Dujaily |Holger Hummerich |Jon Beck |Charles A. Mein |Claudio Verzilli |John Whittaker |Michael P. Alpers |John Collinge}}</ref> Some reported trends remain unexplained and the subject of ongoing research in the novel field of evolutionary medicine: ] (PCOS) reduces fertility and thus is expected to be subject to extremely strong negative selection, but its relative commonality in human populations suggests a counteracting selection pressure. The identity of that pressure remains the subject of some debate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Corbett |first1=Stephen |last2=Morin-Papunen |first2=Laure |date=July 2013 |title=The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and recent human evolution |journal=Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology |volume=373 |issue=1–2 |pages=39–50 |pmid=23352610 |s2cid=13078403 |doi=10.1016/j.mce.2013.01.001 |url= https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S030372071300004X |access-date=October 8, 2020 |archive-date=May 25, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210525180722/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S030372071300004X |url-status=live}}</ref>
| volume = 88

| pages = 9051–9055
Recent human evolution related to agriculture includes genetic resistance to infectious disease that has appeared in human populations by crossing the species barrier from domesticated animals,{{sfn|Diamond|1999}} as well as changes in metabolism due to changes in diet, such as ].
| month = October

| year = 1991
Culturally-driven evolution can defy the expectations of natural selection: while human populations experience some pressure that drives a selection for producing children at younger ages, the advent of effective contraception, higher education, and changing social norms have driven the observed selection in the opposite direction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Courtiol |first1=Alexandre |last2=Tropf |first2=Felix C. |last3=Mills |first3=Melinda C. |date=July 12, 2016 |title=When genes and environment disagree: Making sense of trends in recent human evolution |journal=] |volume=113 |issue=28 |pages=7693–7695 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1608532113 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4948334 |pmid=27402758 |bibcode=2016PNAS..113.7693C |doi-access=free}}</ref> However, culturally-driven selection need not necessarily work counter or in opposition to natural selection: some proposals to explain the high rate of recent human brain expansion indicate a kind of feedback whereupon the brain's increased social learning efficiency encourages cultural developments that in turn encourage more efficiency, which drive more complex cultural developments that demand still-greater efficiency, and so forth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Markov |first1=Alexander V. |last2=Markov |first2=Mikhail A. |date=June 2020 |title=Runaway brain-culture coevolution as a reason for larger brains: Exploring the "cultural drive" hypothesis by computer modeling |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=10 |issue=12 |pages=6059–6077 |doi=10.1002/ece3.6350 |issn=2045-7758 |pmc=7319167 |pmid=32607213 |bibcode=2020EcoEv..10.6059M}}</ref> Culturally-driven evolution has an advantage in that in addition to the genetic effects, it can be observed also in the archaeological record: the development of stone tools across the Palaeolithic period connects to culturally-driven cognitive development in the form of skill acquisition supported by the culture and the development of increasingly complex technologies and the cognitive ability to elaborate them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stout |first=Dietrich |date=April 12, 2011 |title=Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=366 |issue=1567 |pages=1050–1059 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2010.0369 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=3049103 |pmid=21357227}}</ref>
| url = http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/88/20/9051.pdf

}}—two ancestral ape chromosomes fused to give rise to human chromosome 2.
In contemporary times, since industrialization, some trends have been observed: for instance, menopause is evolving to occur later.<ref name="doi10.1073/pnas.0906199106" /> Other reported trends appear to include lengthening of the human reproductive period and reduction in cholesterol levels, blood glucose and blood pressure in some populations.<ref name="doi10.1073/pnas.0906199106">{{Cite journal |first1=S. G. |last1=Byars |last3=Govindaraju |first2=D. |first3=D. R. |last2=Ewbank |first4=S. C. |last4=Stearns |title=Natural selection in a contemporary human population |journal=] |date=2009 |pmid=19858476 |pmc=2868295 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0906199106 |volume=107 |issue=suppl_1 |pages=1787–1792 |bibcode=2010PNAS..107.1787B |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* {{cite journal

| author = Ovchinnikov, et al.
== History of study ==
| title = Molecular analysis of Neanderthal DNA from the Northern ]
{{For timeline|Timeline of human evolution}}
| journal = Nature

| volume = 404
=== Before Darwin ===
| pages = 490
The name {{lang|la|Homo}} of the biological genus to which humans belong is ] for 'human'.{{efn|The Latin word which refers to adult
| year = 2000
males only is {{lang|la|vir}}}} It was chosen originally by ] in his classification system.{{efn|See the ] and {{lang|la|]}} articles.}} The English word ''human'' is from the Latin {{lang|la|humanus}}, the adjectival form of {{lang|la|homo}}. The Latin {{lang|la|homo}} derives from the ] root *''{{PIE|dhghem}}'', or 'earth'.<ref>{{cite book |title=More Word Histories and Mysteries: From Aardvark to Zombie |editor=((Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries)) |date=2006 |location=Boston |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-618-71681-4 |lccn=2006020835 |oclc=70199867 |url= https://archive.org/details/morewordhistorie0000unse |url-access=registration}}{{page needed|date=December 2021}}</ref> Linnaeus and other scientists of his time also considered the great apes to be the closest relatives of humans based on ] and ] similarities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nested Hierarchies, the Order of Nature: Carolus Linnaeus |work=Understanding Evolution: The History of Evolutionary Thought |publisher=The University of California at Berkeley |url= https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/history_05 |access-date=August 2, 2019 |archive-date=August 2, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190802105432/https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/history_05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Darwin ===
The possibility of linking humans with earlier apes by descent became clear only after 1859 with the publication of ]'s '']'', in which he argued for the idea of the evolution of new species from earlier ones. Darwin's book did not address the question of human evolution, saying only that "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history."{{sfn|Darwin|1859|pp=}}

The first debates about the nature of human evolution arose between ] and ]. Huxley argued for human evolution from apes by illustrating many of the similarities and differences between humans and other apes, and did so particularly in his 1863 book '']''. Many of Darwin's early supporters (such as ] and ]) did not initially agree that the origin of the mental capacities and the moral sensibilities of humans could be explained by ], though this later changed. Darwin applied the theory of evolution and ] to humans in his 1871 book '']''.{{sfn|Darwin|1981}}

=== First fossils ===
A major problem in the 19th century was the lack of ]. ] remains were discovered in a limestone quarry in 1856, three years before the publication of ''On the Origin of Species'', and Neanderthal fossils had been discovered in Gibraltar even earlier, but it was originally claimed that these were the remains of a modern human who had suffered some kind of illness.{{sfn|Montgomery|1988|pp=95–96}} Despite the 1891 discovery by ] of what is now called ''Homo erectus'' at ], ], it was only in the 1920s when such fossils were discovered in Africa, that intermediate species began to accumulate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shipman |first1=Pat |last2=Storm |first2=Paul |date=2002 |title=Missing links: Eugène Dubois and the origins of paleoanthropology |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=108–116 |doi=10.1002/evan.10021 |s2cid=84889438 |issn=1520-6505}}</ref> In 1925, ] described '']''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dart |first=Raymond |author-link=Raymond Dart |date=February 7, 1925 |title=''Australopithecus africanus'': The Man-Ape of South Africa |journal=] |volume=115 |issue=2884 |pages=195–199 |doi=10.1038/115195a0 |issn=0028-0836 |bibcode=1925Natur.115..195D |s2cid=4142569 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The ] was the ], an australopithecine infant which was discovered in a cave. The child's remains were a remarkably well-preserved tiny skull and an ] of the brain.

Although the brain was small (410&nbsp;cm<sup>3</sup>), its shape was rounded, unlike that of chimpanzees and gorillas, and more like a modern human brain. Also, the specimen showed short ], and the position of the ] (the hole in the skull where the spine enters) was evidence of ] locomotion. All of these traits convinced Dart that the Taung Child was a bipedal human ancestor, a transitional form between apes and humans.

=== The East African fossils ===
] ] evolution display at ], ], Oklahoma, US]]

During the 1960s and 1970s, hundreds of fossils were found in East Africa in the regions of the ] and ]. These searches were carried out by the Leakey family, with ] and his wife ], and later their son ] and daughter-in-law ], fossil hunters and paleoanthropologists. From the fossil beds of Olduvai and Lake Turkana they amassed specimens of the early hominins: the australopithecines and ''Homo'' species, and even ''H.&nbsp;erectus''.

These finds cemented Africa as the cradle of humankind. In the late 1970s and the 1980s, ] emerged as the new hot spot of paleoanthropology after ], the most complete fossil member of the species '']'', was found in 1974 by ] near ] in the desertic ] region of northern Ethiopia. Although the specimen had a small brain, the pelvis and leg bones were almost identical in function to those of modern humans, showing with certainty that these hominins had walked erect.{{sfn|Johanson|Edey|1981|pp=20–22, 184–185}} Lucy was classified as a new species, ''Australopithecus afarensis'', which is thought to be more closely related to the genus ''Homo'' as a direct ancestor, or as a close relative of an unknown ancestor, than any other known hominid or hominin from this early time range.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Human Lineage |last1=Cartmill |first1=Matt |last2=Smith |first2=Fred H. |last3=Brown |first3=Kaye B. |page= |date=2009 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-0-471-21491-5}}</ref> (The specimen was nicknamed "Lucy" after ]' song "]", which was played loudly and repeatedly in the camp during the excavations.){{sfn|Johanson|Edey|1981|p=22}} The ] area would later yield discovery of many more hominin fossils, particularly those uncovered or described by teams headed by ] in the 1990s, including '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shreeve |first=Jamie |date=July 2010 |title=The Evolutionary Road |url= http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/07/middle-awash/shreeve-text |journal=National Geographic |issn=0027-9358 |access-date=May 28, 2015 |archive-date=January 26, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160126024510/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/07/middle-awash/shreeve-text |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013, fossil skeletons of '']'', an ] of ] assigned (provisionally) to the genus ''Homo'', were found in the ] system, a site in South Africa's ] region in ] province near ].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.7554/eLife.09560 |volume=4 |title=''Homo naledi'', a new species of the genus ''Homo'' from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa |journal=eLife |pmid=26354291 |pmc=4559886 |date=September 10, 2015 |last1=Berger |first1=L. R. |last2=Hawks |first2=J. |last3=de Ruiter |first3=D. J. |last4=Churchill |first4=S. E. |display-authors=etal |doi-access=free}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Lee R Berger |John Hawks |Darryl J de Ruiter |Steven E Churchill |Peter Schmid |Lucas K Delezene |Tracy L Kivell |Heather M Garvin |Scott A Williams |Jeremy M DeSilva |Matthew M Skinner |Charles M Musiba |Noel Cameron |Trenton W Holliday |William Harcourt-Smith |Rebecca R Ackermann |Markus Bastir |Barry Bogin |Debra Bolter |Juliet Brophy |Zachary D Cofran |Kimberly A Congdon |Andrew S Deane |Mana Dembo |Michelle Drapeau |Marina C Elliott |Elen M Feuerriegel |Daniel Garcia-Martinez |David J Green |Alia Gurtov |Joel D Irish |Ashley Kruger |Myra F Laird |Damiano Marchi |Marc R Meyer |Shahed Nalla |Enquye W Negash |Caley M Orr |Davorka Radovcic |Lauren Schroeder |Jill E Scott |Zachary Throckmorton |Matthew W Tocheri |Caroline VanSickle |Christopher S Walker |Pianpian Wei |Bernhard Zipfel}}</ref><ref name="NGS-20150910" /> {{As of|2015|9}}, fossils of at least fifteen individuals, amounting to 1,550 specimens, have been excavated from the cave.<ref name="NGS-20150910">{{cite web |last=Shreeve |first=Jamie |title=This Face Changes the Human Story. But How? |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/ |date=September 10, 2015 |work=] |access-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-date=April 14, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180414054102/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The species is characterized by a body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations, a smaller ] volume similar to '']'', and a ] ] (skull shape) similar to early ''Homo'' species. The skeletal anatomy combines primitive features known from ]s with features known from early hominins. The individuals show signs of having been deliberately disposed of within the cave near the time of death. The fossils were dated close to 250,000 years ago,<ref>{{harvp|Dirks|Roberts|Hilbert-Wolf|Kramers|2017}}: between 335 and 236 ka. The lower limit of 236 ka is due to optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments with U-Th and palaeomagnetic analyses of flowstones; the upper limit of 335 ka is due to U-series and electron spin resonance (US-ESR) dating of two ''H. naledi'' teeth, to {{val|253|82|70|u=ka}}, for an estimated age of the fossils of {{val|253|82|17|u=ka}}.</ref> and thus are not ancestral but contemporary with the first appearance of larger-brained ].<ref name="eLIFE-2017a">{{Cite journal |last1=Dirks |first1=Paul H. G. M. |first2=Eric M. |last2=Roberts |first3=Hannah |last3=Hilbert-Wolf |first4=Jan D. |last4=Kramers |first5=John |last5=Hawks |first6=Anthony |last6=Dosseto |first7=Mathieu |last7=Duval |first8=Marina |last8=Elliott |first9=Mary |last9=Evans |first10=Rainer |last10=Grün |first11=John |last11=Hellstrom |first12=Andy I. R. |last12=Herries |first13=Renaud |last13=Joannes-Boyau |first14=Tebogo V. |last14=Makhubela |first15=Christa J. |last15=Placzek |first16=Jessie |last16=Robbins |first17=Carl |last17=Spandler |first18=Jelle |last18=Wiersma |first19=Jon |last19=Woodhead |first20=Lee R. |last20=Berger |display-authors=4 |name-list-style=vanc |date=May 9, 2017 |title=The age of ''Homo naledi'' and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa |journal=eLife |volume=6 |pages=e24231 |pmid=28483040 |pmc=5423772 |doi=10.7554/eLife.24231 |doi-access=free}}{{collapsible list| title=Full list of authors| bullets=true| Paul H.G.M. Dirks| Eric M. Roberts| Hannah Hilbert-Wolf| Jan D. Kramers| John Hawks| Anthony Dosseto| Mathieu Duval| Marina Elliott| Mary Evans| Rainer Grün| John Hellstrom| Andy I.R. Herries| Renaud Joannes-Boyau| Tebogo V. Makhubela| Christa J. Placzek| Jessie Robbins| Carl Spandler| Jelle Wiersma| Jon Woodhead| Lee R. Berger}}</ref>

=== The genetic revolution ===

The genetic revolution in studies of human evolution started when ] and ] measured the strength of immunological cross-reactions of ] ] between pairs of creatures, including humans and African apes (chimpanzees and gorillas).<ref name="MolClock">{{Cite journal |last1=Sarich |first1=V. M. |last2=Wilson |first2=A. C. |title=Immunological time scale for hominid evolution |journal=] |volume=158 |issue=3805 |pages=1200–1204 |date=1967 |pmid=4964406 |doi=10.1126/science.158.3805.1200 |bibcode=1967Sci...158.1200S |s2cid=7349579}}</ref> The strength of the reaction could be expressed numerically as an immunological distance, which was in turn proportional to the number of ] differences between homologous proteins in different species. By constructing a calibration curve of the ID of species' pairs with known divergence times in the fossil record, the data could be used as a ] to estimate the times of divergence of pairs with poorer or unknown fossil records.

In their seminal 1967 paper in '']'', Sarich and Wilson estimated the divergence time of humans and apes as four to five million years ago,<ref name="MolClock" /> at a time when standard interpretations of the fossil record gave this divergence as at least 10 to as much as 30&nbsp;million years. Subsequent fossil discoveries, notably "Lucy", and reinterpretation of older fossil materials, notably '']'', showed the younger estimates to be correct and validated the albumin method.

Progress in ], specifically ] (mtDNA) and then ] (Y-DNA) advanced the understanding of human origins.{{sfn|DeSalle|Tattersall|2008|p=}}{{sfn|M'charek|2005|p=}}{{sfn|Trent|2005|p=}} Application of the ] principle revolutionized the study of ].

On the basis of a separation from the ] between 10 and 20&nbsp;million years ago, earlier studies of the molecular clock suggested that there were about 76 mutations per generation that were not inherited by human children from their parents; this evidence supported the divergence time between hominins and chimpanzees noted above. However, a 2012 study in Iceland of 78 children and their parents suggests a mutation rate of only 36 mutations per generation; this datum extends the separation between humans and chimpanzees to an earlier period greater than 7&nbsp;million years ago (]). Additional research with 226 offspring of wild chimpanzee populations in eight locations suggests that chimpanzees reproduce at age 26.5 years on average; which suggests the human divergence from chimpanzees occurred between 7 and 13&nbsp;mya. And these data suggest that ''Ardipithecus'' (4.5 Ma), ''Orrorin'' (6 Ma) and ''Sahelanthropus'' (7 Ma) all may be on the hominid ], and even that the separation may have occurred outside the ] region.

Furthermore, analysis of the two species' genes in 2006 provides evidence that after human ancestors had started to diverge from chimpanzees, interspecies mating between "proto-human" and "proto-chimpanzees" nonetheless occurred regularly enough to change certain genes in the new ]:
: A new comparison of the human and chimpanzee genomes suggests that after the two lineages separated, they may have begun interbreeding... A principal finding is that the ]s of humans and chimpanzees appear to have ] about 1.2&nbsp;million years more recently than the other chromosomes.
The research suggests:
: There were in fact two splits between the human and chimpanzee lineages, with the first being followed by interbreeding between the two populations and then a second split. The suggestion of a hybridization has startled paleoanthropologists, who nonetheless are treating the new genetic data seriously.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Wade |date=May 18, 2006 |title=Two Splits Between Human and Chimp Lines Suggested |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/science/18evolve.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 20, 2015 |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220518095858/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/science/18evolve.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== The quest for the earliest hominin ===
In the 1990s, several teams of paleoanthropologists were working throughout Africa looking for evidence of the earliest divergence of the hominin lineage from the great apes. In 1994, Meave Leakey discovered '']''. The find was overshadowed by Tim D. White's 1995 discovery of ''Ardipithecus ramidus'', which pushed back the fossil record to {{ma|4.2}}.

In 2000, ] and ] discovered, in the ] of ], a 6-million-year-old bipedal hominin which they named '']''. And in 2001, a team led by ] discovered the skull of '']'' which was dated as {{ma|7.2|million years ago}}, and which Brunet argued was a bipedal, and therefore a hominid—that is, a hominin ({{lang|la|{{abbr|cf|confer}}}} ]; terms "hominids" and hominins).

=== Human dispersal ===
{{See also|Early human migrations|Recent African origin of modern humans|Multiregional origin of modern humans|Archaic humans in Southeast Asia}}
{{multiple image
| total_width = 570
| footer = Different models for the beginning of the present human species
| image1 = World map of prehistoric human migrations.jpg
| alt1 = Map with arrows emanating from Africa, across Eurasia, to Australia and the Americas.
| caption1 = A global mapping model of human migration, based from divergence of the ] (which indicates the ]).<ref name="Behar 2008" /><ref name="Gonder 2007" /><ref name="Tishkoff 2009" /> Timescale (]) indicated by colours.
| image2 = Homo trellis.jpg
| alt2 = Trellis of intermingling populations for the last two million years.
| caption2 = A "trellis" (as ] called it) that emphasizes back-and-forth gene flow among geographic regions<ref>{{cite journal |last=Templeton |first=Alan R. |author-link=Alan Templeton |date=2005 |title=Haplotype Trees and Modern Human Origins |journal=] |volume=128 |issue=Supplement 41: Yearbook of Physical Anthropology |pages=33–59 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20351 |issn=0002-9483 |pmid=16369961}}</ref>
}} }}
* {{cite journal
| author = Heizmann, Elmar P J, Begun, David R
| title = The oldest Eurasian hominoid
| journal = Journal of Human Evolution
| volume = 41
| issue = 5
| year = 2001
}}
* {{cite journal
| author = ]
| title = Origin of Man
| journal = Nature
| volume = 176
| issue = 169
| year = 1955
}}
* ] ''Homo habilis'' and ''Homo erectus'' are sister species that overlapped in time.


Anthropologists in the 1980s were divided regarding some details of reproductive barriers and migratory dispersals of the genus ''Homo''. Subsequently, genetics has been used to investigate and resolve these issues. According to the ] evidence suggests that the genus ''Homo'' have migrated out of Africa at least three and possibly four times (e.g. ''Homo erectus'', ''Homo heidelbergensis'' and two or three times for ''Homo sapiens''). Recent evidence suggests these dispersals are closely related to fluctuating periods of climate change.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=deMenocal |first=Peter B. |date=2016 |title=Climate Shocks |magazine=] |volume=25 |issue=4}}</ref>
== Further reading ==


Recent evidence suggests that humans may have left Africa half a million years earlier than previously thought. A joint Franco-Indian team has found human artifacts in the Siwalk Hills north of New Delhi dating back at least 2.6&nbsp;million years. This is earlier than the previous earliest finding of genus ''Homo'' at ], in ], dating to 1.85&nbsp;million years. Although controversial, tools found at a Chinese cave strengthen the case that humans used tools as far back as 2.48&nbsp;million years ago.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Barras |first=Colin |title=Stone tools hint humans reached Asia much earlier |magazine=] |date=February 6, 2016}}</ref> This suggests that the Asian "Chopper" tool tradition, found in Java and northern China may have left Africa before the appearance of the ] hand axe.
* Flinn, M. V., Geary, D. C., & Ward, C. V. (2005). Ecological dominance, social competition, and coalitionary arms races: Why humans evolved extraordinary intelligence. ''Evolution and Human Behavior, 26,'' 10-46. {{PDFlink||345&nbsp;]<!-- application/pdf, 353661 bytes -->}}


==== Dispersal of modern ''Homo sapiens'' ====
== See also ==
Up until the genetic evidence became available, there were two dominant models for the dispersal of modern humans. The ] proposed that the genus ''Homo'' contained only a single interconnected population as it does today (not separate species), and that its evolution took place worldwide continuously over the last couple of million years. This model was proposed in 1988 by ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolpoff |first1=Milford H. |author1-link=Milford H. Wolpoff |last2=Hawks |first2=John |author2-link=John D. Hawks |last3=Caspari |first3=Rachel |date=May 2000 |title=Multiregional, Not Multiple Origins |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=112 |issue=1 |pages=129–136 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(200005)112:1<129::AID-AJPA11>3.0.CO;2-K |issn=0002-9483 |pmid=10766948 |url= http://www-personal.umich.edu/~wolpoff/Papers/Multiregional.PDF |hdl=2027.42/34270 |hdl-access=free |access-date=May 12, 2013 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210125052356/http://www-personal.umich.edu/~wolpoff/Papers/Multiregional.PDF |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolpoff |first1=M. H. |author1-link=Milford H. Wolpoff |last2=Spuhler |first2=J. N. |last3=Smith |first3=F. H. |last4=Radovcic |first4=J. |last5=Pope |first5=G. |last6=Frayer |first6=D. W. |last7=Eckhardt |first7=R. |last8=Clark |first8=G. |date=August 12, 1988 |title=Modern Human Origins |journal=] |volume=241 |issue=4867 |pages=772–774 |bibcode=1988Sci...241..772W |doi=10.1126/science.3136545 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=3136545 |s2cid=5223638}}</ref> In contrast, the "out of Africa" model proposed that modern ''H.&nbsp;sapiens'' speciated in Africa recently (that is, approximately 200,000 years ago) and the subsequent migration through ] resulted in the nearly complete replacement of other ''Homo'' species. This model has been developed by ] and Peter Andrews.<ref>{{cite news |last=Owen |first=James |date=July 18, 2007 |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070718-african-origin.html |title=Modern Humans Came Out of Africa, 'Definitive' Study Says |work=National Geographic News |location=Washington, DC |publisher=] |access-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180627005155/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070718-african-origin.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stringer |first1=Chris B. |last2=Andrews |first2=Peter |date=March 11, 1988 |title=Genetic and fossil evidence for the origin of modern humans |journal=] |volume=239 |issue=4845 |pages=1263–1268 |issn=0036-8075 |bibcode=1988Sci...239.1263S |doi=10.1126/science.3125610 |pmid=3125610 |s2cid=39200956}}</ref>


Sequencing mtDNA and Y-DNA sampled from a wide range of indigenous populations revealed ancestral information relating to both male and female genetic heritage, and strengthened the "out of Africa" theory and weakened the views of multiregional evolutionism.{{sfn|Webster|2010|p=}} Aligned in genetic tree differences were interpreted as supportive of a recent single origin.{{sfn|Ramachandran|Tang|Gutenkunst|Bustamante|2010|p=}}
{{Col-begin}}

{{Col-break|width=45%}}
"Out of Africa" has thus gained much support from research using female mitochondrial DNA and the male ]. After analysing genealogy trees constructed using 133 types of mtDNA, researchers concluded that all were descended from a female African progenitor, dubbed ]. "Out of Africa" is also supported by the fact that mitochondrial genetic diversity is highest among African populations.<ref name="Cann">{{cite journal |last1=Cann |first1=Rebecca L. |author1-link=Rebecca L. Cann |last2=Stoneking |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Stoneking |last3=Wilson |first3=Allan C. |author3-link=Allan Wilson (biologist) |date=January 1, 1987 |title=Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution |url= http://artsci.wustl.edu/~landc/html/cann/ |journal=] |volume=325 |issue=6099 |pages=31–36 |bibcode=1987Natur.325...31C |doi=10.1038/325031a0 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=3025745 |s2cid=4285418 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100813121953/http://artsci.wustl.edu/~landc/html/cann/ |archive-date=August 13, 2010 |access-date=April 21, 2015}}</ref>
* ]

A broad study of African genetic diversity, headed by ], found the ] had the greatest genetic diversity among the 113 distinct populations sampled, making them one of 14 "ancestral population clusters". The research also located a possible origin of modern human migration in southwestern Africa, near the coastal border of ] and ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gill |first=Victoria |date=May 1, 2009 |title=Africa's genetic secrets unlocked |work=] |location=London |publisher=BBC |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8027269.stm |access-date=June 8, 2011 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200514095952/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8027269.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> The fossil evidence was insufficient for archaeologist ] to resolve the debate about exactly where in Africa modern humans first appeared.{{sfn|Leakey|1994|pp=87–89}} Studies of ]s in ] and ] have largely supported a recent African origin.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jorde |first1=Lynn B. |last2=Bamshad |first2=Michael |last3=Rogers |first3=Alan R. |author3-link=Alan R. Rogers |date=February 1998 |title=Using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers to reconstruct human evolution |journal=BioEssays |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=126–136 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1521-1878(199802)20:2<126::AID-BIES5>3.0.CO;2-R |issn=0265-9247 |pmid=9631658 |s2cid=17203268}}</ref> All the evidence from autosomal DNA also predominantly supports a Recent African origin. However, evidence for ], both in Africa and later, throughout Eurasia has recently been suggested by a number of studies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wall |first1=Jeffrey D. |last2=Lohmueller |first2=Kirk E. |last3=Plagnol |first3=Vincent |date=August 2009 |title=Detecting Ancient Admixture and Estimating Demographic Parameters in Multiple Human Populations |pmid=19420049 |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=26 |issue=8 |pages=1823–1827 |issn=0737-4038 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msp096 |pmc=2734152}}</ref>

Recent sequencing of Neanderthal<ref name="greenetal">{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=R. E. |last2=Krause |first2=J. |last3=Briggs |first3=A. W. |last4=Maricic |first4=T. |last5=Stenzel |first5=U. |last6=Kircher |first6=M. |last7=Patterson |first7=N. |last8=Li |first8=H. |last9=Zhai |first9=W. |last10=Fritz |first10=M. H. Y. |last11=Hansen |first11=N. F. |last12=Durand |first12=E. Y. |last13=Malaspinas |first13=A. S. |last14=Jensen |first14=J. D. |last15=Marques-Bonet |first15=T. |last16=Alkan |first16=C. |last17=Prufer |first17=K. |last18=Meyer |first18=M. |last19=Burbano |first19=H. A. |last20=Good |first20=J. M. |last21=Schultz |first21=R. |last22=Aximu-Petri |first22=A. |last23=Butthof |first23=A. |last24=Höber |first24=B. |last25=Höffner |first25=B. |last26=Siegemund |first26=M. |last27=Weihmann |first27=A. |last28=Nusbaum |first28=C. |last29=Lander |first29=E. S. |last30=Russ |first30=C. |last31=Novod |first31=N. |last32=Affourtit |first32=J. |last33=Egholm |first33=M. |last34=Verna |first34=C. |last35=Rudan |first35=P. |last36=Brajkovic |first36=D. |last37=Kucan |first37=Z. |last38=Gusic |first38=I. |last39=Doronichev |first39=V. B. |last40=Golovanova |first40=L. V. |last41=Lalueza-Fox |first41=C. |last42=de la Rasilla |first42=M. |last43=Fortea |first43=J. |last44=Rosas |first44=A. |last45=Schmitz |first45=R. W. |last46=Johnson |first46=P. L. F. |last47=Eichler |first47=E. E. |last48=Falush |first48=D. |last49=Birney |first49=E. |last50=Mullikin |first50=J. C. |last51=Slatkin |first51=M. |last52=Nielsen |first52=R. |last53=Kelso |first53=J. |last54=Lachmann |first54=M. |last55=Reich |first55=D. |last56=Pääbo |first56=S. |display-authors=4 |date=May 7, 2010 |title=A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome |journal=] |volume=328 |issue=5979 |pages=710–722 |bibcode=2010Sci...328..710G |doi=10.1126/science.1188021 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=20448178 |pmc=5100745}}{{collapsible list |title=Full list of authors |bullets=true |Richard E. Green |Johannes Krause |Adrian W. Briggs |Tomislav Maricic |Udo Stenzel |Martin Kircher |Nick Patterson |Heng Li |Weiwei Zhai |Markus Hsi-Yang Fritz |Nancy F. Hansen |Eric Y. Durand |Anna-Sapfo Malaspinas |Jeffrey D. Jensen |Tomas Marques-Bonet |Can Alkan |Kay Prüfer |Matthias Meyer |Hernán A. Burbano |Jeffrey M. Good |Rigo Schultz |Ayinuer Aximu-Petri |Anne Butthof |Barbara Höber |Barbara Höffner |Madlen Siegemund |Antje Weihmann |Chad Nusbaum |Eric S. Lander |Carsten Russ |Nathaniel Novod |Jason Affourtit |Michael Egholm |Christine Verna |Pavao Rudan |Dejana Brajkovic |Željko Kucan |Ivan Gušic |Vladimir B. Doronichev |Liubov V. Golovanova |Carles Lalueza-Fox |Marco de la Rasilla |Javier Fortea |Antonio Rosas |Ralf W. Schmitz |Philip L. F. Johnson |Evan E. Eichler |Daniel Falush |Ewan Birney |James C. Mullikin |Montgomery Slatkin |Rasmus Nielsen |Janet Kelso |Michael Lachmann |David Reich |]}}</ref> and Denisovan<ref name="pmid21179161" /> genomes shows that some admixture with these populations has occurred. All modern human groups outside Africa have 1–4% or (according to more recent research) about 1.5–2.6% Neanderthal ]s in their genome,<ref name="A high-coverage Neandertal genome f">{{cite journal |last1=Prüfer |first1=K. |last2=de Filippo |first2=C. |last3=Grote |first3=S. |last4=Mafessoni |first4=F. |last5=Korlević |first5=P. |last6=Hajdinjak |first6=M. |title=A high-coverage Neandertal genome from Vindija Cave in Croatia |journal=] |date=2017 |doi=10.1126/science.aao1887 |pmid=28982794 |pmc=6185897 |display-authors=etal |volume=358 |issue=6363 |pages=655–658 |bibcode=2017Sci...358..655P}}</ref> and some ] have an additional 4–6% of Denisovan alleles. These new results do not contradict the "out of Africa" model, except in its strictest interpretation, although they make the situation more complex. After recovery from a ] that some researchers speculate might be linked to the ], a fairly small group left Africa and interbred with Neanderthals, probably in the Middle East, on the Eurasian steppe or even in North Africa before their departure. Their still predominantly African descendants spread to populate the world. A fraction in turn interbred with Denisovans, probably in southeastern Asia, before populating Melanesia.<ref name="Reich_2011">{{cite journal |last1=Reich |first1=David |last2=Patterson |first2=Nick |last3=Kircher |first3=Martin |last4=Delfin |first4=Frederick |last5=Nandineni |first5=Madhusudan R. |last6=Pugach |first6=Irina |last7=Ko |first7=Albert Min-Shan |last8=Ko |first8=Ying-Chin |last9=Jinam |first9=Timothy A. |last10=Phipps |first10=Maude E. |last11=Saitou |first11=Naruya |last12=Wollstein |first12=Andreas |last13=Kayser |first13=Manfred |last14=Pääbo |first14=Svante |last15=Stoneking |first15=Mark |display-authors=3 |date=October 7, 2011 |title=Denisova Admixture and the First Modern Human Dispersals into Southeast Asia and Oceania |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=516–528 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.09.005 |issn=0002-9297 |pmc=3188841 |pmid=21944045}}</ref> ] haplotypes of Neanderthal and Denisova origin have been identified in modern Eurasian and Oceanian populations.<ref name="10.1126/science.1209202" /> The Denisovan ] gene has also been found in Tibetan populations.<ref>Huertha Sanchez, Emilia et al. (2014), "Altitude adaptation in Tibetans caused by introgression of Denisovan-like DNA" (Nature Vol 512, August 14, 2014)</ref> Studies of the human genome using machine learning have identified additional genetic contributions in Eurasians from an "unknown" ancestral population potentially related to the Neanderthal-Denisovan lineage.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190116122650.htm |title=Artificial intelligence applied to the genome identifies an unknown human ancestor |website=] |access-date=January 17, 2019 |archive-date=January 16, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190116213803/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190116122650.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

]]]

There are still differing theories on whether there was a single exodus from Africa or several. A multiple dispersal model involves the Southern Dispersal theory,<ref name="lahr">{{cite web |url= http://www.human-evol.cam.ac.uk/Projects/sdispersal/sdispersal.htm |title=Searching for traces of the Southern Dispersal |last1=Lahr |first1=Marta Mirazón |author1-link=Marta Mirazón Lahr |last2=Petraglia |first2=Mike |last3=Stokes |first3=Stephen |last4=Duller |first4=Geoff |display-authors=3 |website=Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies |publisher=] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120510133600/http://www.human-evol.cam.ac.uk/Projects/sdispersal/sdispersal.htm |archive-date=May 10, 2012 |access-date=April 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>Simpson, Colin. . ]. 16, June 2020. Archived at </ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fernandes |first1=V. |last2=Alshamali |first2=F. |last3=Alves |first3=M. |display-authors=etal |title=The Arabian cradle: Mitochondrial relicts of the first steps along the southern route out of Africa |journal=] |date=2012 |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=347–355 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.12.010 |pmid=22284828 |pmc=3276663 }}</ref> which has gained support in recent years from genetic, linguistic and archaeological evidence. In this theory, there was a coastal dispersal of modern humans from the ] crossing the Bab el Mandib to Yemen at a lower sea level around 70,000 years ago. This group helped to populate Southeast Asia and Oceania, explaining the discovery of early human sites in these areas much earlier than those in the ].<ref name="lahr" /> This group seems to have been dependent upon marine resources for their survival.

] has proposed a second wave of humans may have later dispersed through the Persian Gulf oases, and the Zagros mountains into the Middle East. Alternatively it may have come across the ] into Asia, from shortly after 50,000 yrs BP, resulting in the bulk of the human populations of Eurasia. It has been suggested that this second group possibly possessed a more sophisticated "big game hunting" tool technology and was less dependent on coastal food sources than the original group. Much of the evidence for the first group's expansion would have been destroyed by the rising sea levels at the end of each ].<ref name="lahr" /> The multiple dispersal model is contradicted by studies indicating that the populations of Eurasia and the populations of Southeast Asia and Oceania are all descended from the same mitochondrial DNA L3 ], which support a single migration out of Africa that gave rise to all non-African populations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Macaulay |first1=Vincent |last2=Hill |first2=Catherine |last3=Achilli |first3=Alessandro |last4=Rengo |first4=Chiara |last5=Clarke |first5=D. |last6=Meehan |first6=W. |last7=Blackburn |first7=J. |last8=Semino |first8=O. |last9=Scozzari |first9=R. |last10=Cruciani |first10=F. |last11=Taha |first11=A. |last12=Shaari |first12=N. K. |last13=Raja |first13=J. M. |last14=Ismail |first14=P. |last15=Zainuddin |first15=Z. |last16=Goodwin |first16=W. |last17=Bulbeck |first17=D. |last18=Bandelt |first18=H. J. |last19=Oppenheimer |first19=S. |last20=Torroni |first20=A. |last21=Richards |first21=M. |display-authors=3 |date=May 13, 2005 |title=Single, Rapid Coastal Settlement of Asia Revealed by Analysis of Complete Mitochondrial Genomes |journal=] |volume=308 |issue=5724 |pages=1034–1036 |bibcode=2005Sci...308.1034M |doi=10.1126/science.1109792 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=15890885 |s2cid=31243109 |url= http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40255/1/Single%2C%20rapid%20coastal%20settlement%20of%20Asia%20revealed%20by%20analysis%20of%20complete%20mitochondrial%20genomes.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220828110206/http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40255/1/Single%2C%20rapid%20coastal%20settlement%20of%20Asia%20revealed%20by%20analysis%20of%20complete%20mitochondrial%20genomes.pdf |archive-date=August 28, 2022}}</ref>

On the basis of the early date of Badoshan Iranian Aurignacian, Oppenheimer suggests that this second dispersal may have occurred with a pluvial period about 50,000 years before the present, with modern human big-game hunting cultures spreading up the Zagros Mountains, carrying modern human genomes from Oman, throughout the Persian Gulf, northward into Armenia and Anatolia, with a variant travelling south into Israel and to Cyrenicia.<ref name="oppenheimer">{{cite book |last=Oppenheimer |first=Stephen |date=2012 |title=Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World |publisher=Robinson |edition=New}}</ref>

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== Evidence ==
The evidence on which scientific accounts of human evolution are based comes from many fields of ]. The main source of knowledge about the evolutionary process has traditionally been the fossil record, but since the development of genetics beginning in the 1970s, DNA analysis has come to occupy a place of comparable importance. The studies of ontogeny, ] and especially ] of both vertebrates and invertebrates offer considerable insight into the evolution of all life, including how humans evolved. The specific study of the origin and life of humans is ], particularly paleoanthropology which focuses on the study of human ].{{sfn|Stanford|Allen|Antón|2009}}

=== Evidence from genetics ===
{{Main|Human evolutionary genetics|Human genetic variation}}
] hominoids: humans (genus '']''), ]s and bonobos (genus '']''), ]s (genus ''Gorilla''), ]s (genus '']''), and gibbons (four genera of the family ]: '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']''). All except gibbons are hominids.]]

The closest living relatives of humans are bonobos and chimpanzees (both genus ''Pan'') and gorillas (genus ''Gorilla'').<ref name="Wood">{{cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Bernard A. |last2=Richmond |first2=Brian G. |date=July 2000 |title=Human evolution: Taxonomy and paleobiology |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=197 |issue=1 |pages=19–60 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2000.19710019.x |issn=1469-7580 |pmid=10999270 |pmc=1468107}}</ref> With the sequencing of both the human and chimpanzee genome, {{as of|2012|lc=y}} estimates of the similarity between their DNA sequences range between 95% and 99%.<ref name="Wood" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ajit |first1=Varki |author1-link=Ajit Varki |last2=Nelson |first2=David L. |date=October 2007 |title=Genomic Comparisons of Humans and Chimpanzees |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=36 |pages=191–209 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.36.081406.094339 |issn=0084-6570 |url= http://www.chd.ucsd.edu/_files/fall2008/Varki.2007.ARA.pdf |access-date=April 26, 2015 |quote=Sequence differences from the human genome were confirmed to be ~1% in areas that can be precisely aligned, representing ~35 million single base-pair differences. Some 45 million nucleotides of insertions and deletions unique to each lineage were also discovered, making the actual difference between the two genomes ~4%. |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923202404/http://www.chd.ucsd.edu/_files/fall2008/Varki.2007.ARA.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sayers">{{cite journal |last1=Sayers |first1=Ken |last2=Raghanti |first2=Mary Ann |last3=Lovejoy |first3=C. Owen |author3-link=Owen Lovejoy (anthropologist) |date=October 2012 |title=Human Evolution and the Chimpanzee Referential Doctrine |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=41 |pages=119–138 |doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145815 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref> It is also noteworthy that mice share around 97.5% of their working DNA with humans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=#author. Coghlan |first=Andy |date=May 30, 2002 |title=Just 2.5% of DNA turns mice into men |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2352-just-2-5-of-dna-turns-mice-into-men/#:~:text=Mice%20and%20men%20share%20about%2097.5%20per,mouse-human%20differences%20as%20high%20as%2015%20per. |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US}}</ref> By using the technique called the ] which estimates the time required for the number of divergent mutations to accumulate between two lineages, the approximate date for the split between lineages can be calculated.

The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and then the orangutans (genus ''Pongo'') were the first groups to split from the line leading to the hominins, including humans—followed by gorillas (genus ''Gorilla''), and, ultimately, by the chimpanzees (genus ''Pan''). The splitting date between hominin and chimpanzee lineages is placed by some between {{Mya|4|8}}, that is, during the ].{{sfn|Dawkins|2004}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.timetree.org/index.php?taxon_a=Hominidae&taxon_b=Hylobatidae&submit=Search |title=Find Time of Divergence: Hominidae versus Hylobatidae |website=] |access-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150418222205/http://www.timetree.org/index.php?taxon_a=Hominidae&taxon_b=Hylobatidae&submit=Search |archive-date=April 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ruvolo |first=Maryellen |date=October 1997 |title=Genetic Diversity in Hominoid Primates |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=26 |pages=515–540 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.515 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref><ref name="Ruvolo1997">{{cite journal |last=Ruvolo |first=Maryellen |date=March 1997 |title=Molecular Phylogeny of the Hominoids: Inferences from Multiple Independent DNA Sequence Data Sets |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=248–265 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a025761 |issn=0737-4038 |pmid=9066793 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Speciation, however, appears to have been unusually drawn out. Initial divergence occurred sometime between {{Mya|7|13}}, but ongoing hybridization blurred the separation and delayed complete separation during several millions of years. Patterson (2006) dated the final divergence at {{Mya|5|6}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Patterson |first1=N. |last2=Richter |first2=D. J. |last3=Gnerre |first3=S. |last4=Lander |first4=E. S. |last5=Reich |first5=D. |date=2006 |title=Genetic evidence for complex speciation of humans and chimpanzees |journal=] |volume=441 |issue=7097 |pages=1103–1108 |doi=10.1038/nature04789 |pmid=16710306 |bibcode=2006Natur.441.1103P |s2cid=2325560}}</ref>

Genetic evidence has also been employed to compare species within the genus ''Homo'', investigating ], and to enhance the understanding of the early human migration patterns and splitting dates. By comparing the parts of the genome that are ] and which therefore accumulate mutations at a fairly steady rate, it is possible to reconstruct a genetic tree incorporating the entire human species since the last shared ancestor.

Each time a certain mutation (]) appears in an individual and is passed on to his or her descendants, a haplogroup is formed including all of the descendants of the individual who will also carry that mutation. By comparing mitochondrial ] which is inherited only from the mother, geneticists have concluded that the last female common ancestor whose ] is found in all modern humans, the so-called ], must have lived around 200,000 years ago.

Human evolutionary genetics studies how ]s differ among individuals, the evolutionary past that gave rise to them, and their current effects. Differences between genomes have ], medical and ] implications and applications. Genetic data can provide important insight into human evolution.

In May 2023, scientists reported a more complicated pathway of human evolution than previously understood. According to the studies, humans evolved from different places and times in Africa, instead of from a single location and period of time.<ref name="NYT-20230517">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=Study Offers New Twist in How the First Humans Evolved - A new genetic analysis of 290 people suggests that humans emerged at various times and places in Africa. |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/science/human-origins-africa.html |date=May 17, 2023 |work=] |archive-url= https://archive.today/20230517235653/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/science/human-origins-africa.html |archive-date=May 17, 2023 |access-date=May 18, 2023}}</ref><ref name="NAT-20230517">{{cite journal |last1=Ragsdale |first1=Aaron P. |display-authors=et al. |title=A weakly structured stem for human origins in Africa |date=May 17, 2023 |journal=] |volume=167 |issue=7962 |pages=755–763 |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06055-y |pmid=37198480 |pmc=10208968 |bibcode=2023Natur.617..755R}}</ref>


=== Evidence from the fossil record ===
]''. Fossil number KNM ER 1813, found at ], Kenya.]]
]'' (African ''H.&nbsp;erectus''). Fossil number Khm-Heu 3733 discovered in 1975 in Kenya.]]

There is little fossil evidence for the divergence of the gorilla, chimpanzee and hominin lineages.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Begun |first=David R. |date=October 2010 |title=Miocene Hominids and the Origins of the African Apes and Humans |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=39 |pages=67–84 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.012809.105047 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref> The earliest fossils that have been proposed as members of the hominin lineage are ''Sahelanthropus tchadensis'' dating from {{mya|7}}, ''Orrorin tugenensis'' dating from {{mya|5.7}}, and ''Ardipithecus kadabba'' dating to {{mya|5.6}}. Each of these have been argued to be a ] ancestor of later hominins but, in each case, the claims have been contested. It is also possible that one or more of these species are ancestors of another branch of African apes, or that they represent a shared ancestor between hominins and other apes.

The question then of the relationship between these early fossil species and the hominin lineage is still to be resolved. From these early species, the australopithecines arose around {{mya|4}} and diverged into ] (also called '']'') and ] branches, one of which (possibly '']'') probably went on to become ancestors of the genus ''Homo''. The australopithecine species that is best represented in the fossil record is ''Australopithecus afarensis'' with more than 100 fossil individuals represented, found from Northern Ethiopia (such as the famous "Lucy"), to Kenya, and South Africa. Fossils of robust australopithecines such as ''A. robustus'' (or alternatively '']'') and ''A./P. boisei'' are particularly abundant in South Africa at sites such as ] and ], and around ] in Kenya.

The earliest member of the genus ''Homo'' is ''Homo habilis'' which evolved around {{Mya|2.8}}.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> ''H.&nbsp;habilis'' is the first species for which we have positive evidence of the use of stone tools. They developed the ] lithic technology, named after the Olduvai Gorge in which the first specimens were found. Some scientists consider '']'', a larger bodied group of fossils with similar morphology to the original ''H.&nbsp;habilis'' fossils, to be a separate species, while others consider them to be part of ''H.&nbsp;habilis''—simply representing intraspecies variation, or perhaps even ]. The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee, and their main adaptation was bipedalism as an adaptation to terrestrial living.

During the next million years, a process of encephalization began and, by the arrival (about {{Mya|1.9}}) of ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' in the fossil record, cranial capacity had doubled. ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' were the first of the hominins to emigrate from Africa, and, from {{Mya|1.8|1.3}}, this species spread through Africa, Asia, and Europe. One population of ''H.&nbsp;erectus'', also sometimes classified as separate species ''H.&nbsp;ergaster'', remained in Africa and evolved into ''H.&nbsp;sapiens''. It is believed that ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' and ''H.&nbsp;ergaster'' were the first to use fire and complex tools. In Eurasia, ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' evolved into species such as '']'', '']'' and '']''. The earliest fossils of anatomically modern humans are from the Middle Paleolithic, about 300–200,000 years ago such as the Herto and ] of Ethiopia, ] remains of Morocco, and Florisbad remains of South Africa; ] from the ] in Israel and Southern Europe begin around 90,000 years ago ({{Mya|0.09}}).

As modern humans spread out from Africa, they encountered other hominins such as ''H.&nbsp;neanderthalensis'' and the Denisovans, who may have evolved from populations of ''H.&nbsp;erectus'' that had left Africa around {{mya|2}}. The nature of interaction between early humans and these sister species has been a long-standing source of controversy, the question being whether humans replaced these earlier species or whether they were in fact similar enough to interbreed, in which case these earlier populations may have contributed genetic material to modern humans.{{sfn|Wood|2009|pp=}}<ref name="NYT-01302012">{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Alanna |date=January 30, 2012 |title=DNA Turning Human Story Into a Tell-All |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/science/gains-in-dna-are-speeding-research-into-human-origins.html |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/science/gains-in-dna-are-speeding-research-into-human-origins.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=February 13, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

This migration out of Africa is estimated to have begun about 70–50,000 years ] and modern humans subsequently spread globally, replacing earlier hominins either through competition or hybridization. They inhabited Eurasia and Oceania by 40,000 years BP, and the Americas by at least 14,500 years BP.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wood |first=Bernard A. |date=December 1996 |title=Human evolution |journal=BioEssays |volume=18 |issue=12 |pages=945–954 |doi=10.1002/bies.950181204 |issn=0265-9247 |pmid=8976151 |s2cid=221464189}}</ref>

=== Inter-species breeding ===
{{Further|Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans}}
]" expansion of ''H. sapiens'' is indicated at the top of the diagram, with admixture indicated with ], ], and unspecified archaic African hominins.]]
The hypothesis of interbreeding, also known as hybridization, admixture or hybrid-origin theory, has been discussed ever since the discovery of Neanderthal remains in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Huxley |first=T. |title=Collected Essays: Volume VII, Man's Place in Nature |date=1890 |chapter=The Aryan Question and Pre-Historic Man |chapter-url= http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/CE7/Aryan.html |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110726231311/http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/CE7/Aryan.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The linear view of human evolution began to be abandoned in the 1970s as different species of humans were discovered that made the linear concept increasingly unlikely. In the 21st century with the advent of molecular biology techniques and computerization, ] of Neanderthal and human ] were performed, confirming recent admixture between different human species.<ref name="greenetal" /> In 2010, evidence based on molecular biology was published, revealing unambiguous examples of interbreeding between archaic and modern humans during the ] and early ]. It has been demonstrated that interbreeding happened in several independent events that included Neanderthals and Denisovans, as well as several unidentified hominins.<ref>{{cite web |last=Coghlan |first=Andy |date=March 15, 2018 |url= https://www.newscientist.com/article/2163910-our-ancestors-mated-with-the-mystery-denisovan-people-twice/ |title=Our ancestors mated with the mystery 'Denisovan' people – twice |work=] |access-date=August 25, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180805035916/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2163910-our-ancestors-mated-with-the-mystery-denisovan-people-twice |archive-date=August 5, 2018}}</ref> Today, approximately 2% of DNA from all non-African populations (including Europeans, Asians, and ]) is Neanderthal,<ref name="greenetal" /> with traces of Denisovan heritage.<ref name="NG-20180822">{{cite news |last=Wei-Haas |first=Maya |date=August 22, 2018 |title=Ancient Girl's Parents Were Two Different Human Species – Born 90,000 years ago, the child is the first direct evidence of interbreeding among Neanderthals and their cousins the Denisovans |work=National Geographic |url= https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/news-denisovan-neanderthal-hominin-hybrid-ancient-human/ |access-date=August 22, 2018 |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190614092015/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/news-denisovan-neanderthal-hominin-hybrid-ancient-human/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> Also, 4–6% of modern ] genetics are Denisovan.<ref name="NG-20180822" /> Comparisons of the human genome to the genomes of Neandertals, Denisovans and apes can help identify features that set modern humans apart from other hominin species. In a 2016 ] study, a Harvard Medical School/UCLA research team made a world map on the distribution and made some predictions about where Denisovan and Neanderthal genes may be impacting modern human biology.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160328133514.htm |author=Cell Press |author-link=Cell Press |title=A world map of Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry in modern humans |date=March 28, 2016 |website=ScienceDaily |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=August 26, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180826005214/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160328133514.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sankararaman |first1=S. |last2=Mallick |first2=S. |last3=Patterson |first3=N. |last4=Reich |first4=D. |date=March 28, 2016 |title=The Combined Landscape of Denisovan and Neanderthal Ancestry in Present-Day Humans |journal=Current Biology |volume=26 |issue=9 |pages=1241–1247 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.037 |pmid=27032491 |pmc=4864120 |bibcode=2016CBio...26.1241S}}</ref>

For example, comparative studies in the mid-2010s found several ] related to neurological, immunological,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |work=the Neandertal Genome |url= http://www.sciencemag.org/site/special/neandertal/feature/genomics.html |title=Human-Neandertal Comparisons |date=2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200528032345/http://www.sciencemag.org/site/special/neandertal/feature/genomics.html |archive-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> developmental, and metabolic phenotypes, that were developed by archaic humans to European and Asian environments and inherited to modern humans through admixture with local hominins.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dannemann |first1=M. |last2=Andrés |first2=A. M. |last3=Kelso |first3=J. |title=Introgression of Neandertal- and Denisovan-like Haplotypes Contributes to Adaptive Variation in Human Toll-like Receptors |date=2016 |journal=] |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=22–33 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2015.11.015 |pmid=26748514 |pmc=4716682}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gittelman |first1=Rachel M. |last2=Schraiber |first2=Joshua G. |last3=Vernot |first3=Benjamin |last4=Mikacenic |first4=Carmen |last5=Wurfel |first5=Mark M. |last6=Akey |first6=Joshua M. |date=2016 |title=Archaic Hominin Admixture Facilitated Adaptation to Out-of-Africa Environments |journal=] |volume=26 |issue=24 |pages=3375–3382 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.041 |pmid=27839976 |pmc=6764441 |bibcode=2016CBio...26.3375G}}</ref>

Although the narratives of human evolution are often contentious, several discoveries since 2010 show that human evolution should not be seen as a simple linear or branched progression, but a mix of related species.<ref name="pmid21179161" /><ref name="Denisovans & Neandertals" /><ref name="Human Hybrids" /><ref name="Mosaic humans, the hybrid species" /> In fact, genomic research has shown that hybridization between substantially diverged lineages is the rule, not the exception, in human evolution.<ref name="Ackermann 2015">{{cite journal |title=The Hybrid Origin of "Modern" Humans |first1=Rebecca |last1=Rogers Ackermann |first2=Alex |last2=Mackay |first3=Michael L. |last3=Arnold |journal=Evolutionary Biology |date=October 2015 |doi=10.1007/s11692-015-9348-1 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |s2cid=14329491}}</ref> Furthermore, it is argued that hybridization was an essential creative force in the emergence of modern humans.<ref name="Ackermann 2015" />

=== Stone tools ===
{{Main|Stone tool}}
Stone tools are first attested around 2.6&nbsp;million years ago, when hominins in Eastern Africa used so-called core ], ] made out of round cores that had been split by simple strikes.<ref name="Plummer">{{cite journal |last=Plummer |first=Thomas |date=2004 |title=Flaked stones and old bones: Biological and cultural evolution at the dawn of technology |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=125 |issue=Supplement 39: Yearbook of Physical Anthropology |pages=118–164 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20157 |issn=0002-9483 |pmid=15605391 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This marks the beginning of the ], or Old ]; its end is taken to be the end of the last ], around 10,000 years ago. The Paleolithic is subdivided into the ] (Early Stone Age), ending around 350,000–300,000 years ago, the ] (Middle Stone Age), until 50,000–30,000 years ago, and the ], (Late Stone Age), 50,000–10,000 years ago.

Archaeologists working in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya have discovered the oldest known stone tools in the world. Dated to around 3.3&nbsp;million years ago, the implements are some 700,000 years older than stone tools from Ethiopia that previously held this distinction.<ref name="Harmand 310–315" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Wong |first=Kate |date=April 15, 2015 |title=Archaeologists Take Wrong Turn, Find World's Oldest Stone Tools |url= http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2015/04/15/archaeologists-take-wrong-turn-find-worlds-oldest-stone-tools/ |journal=Scientific American |type=Blog |issn=0036-8733 |access-date=May 3, 2015 |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150508034444/http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2015/04/15/archaeologists-take-wrong-turn-find-worlds-oldest-stone-tools/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Balter |first=Michael |date=April 14, 2015 |title=World's oldest stone tools discovered in Kenya |url= https://www.science.org/content/article/world-s-oldest-stone-tools-discovered-kenya |journal=] |type=News |doi=10.1126/science.aab2487 |issn=0036-8075 |access-date=May 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211020055503/https://www.science.org/content/article/world-s-oldest-stone-tools-discovered-kenya |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Drake |first=Nadia |author-link=Nadia Drake |date=April 16, 2015 |title=Oldest Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya |url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150416-oil-fish-hearts-spill-tuna-gulf-bp-deepwater-exxon-alaska/150416-oldest-stone-tools-archaeology-kenya-human-origins-evolution/ |work=National Geographic News |location=Washington, DC |publisher=] |access-date=May 3, 2015 |archive-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150423222706/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150416-oil-fish-hearts-spill-tuna-gulf-bp-deepwater-exxon-alaska/150416-oldest-stone-tools-archaeology-kenya-human-origins-evolution/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The period from 700,000 to 300,000 years ago is also known as the ], when ''H.&nbsp;ergaster'' (or ''erectus'') made large stone ]s out of ] and ], at first quite rough (Early Acheulian), later "]" by additional, more-subtle strikes at the sides of the ]. After 350,000 BP the more refined so-called ] was developed, a series of consecutive strikes, by which scrapers, slicers ("racloirs"), needles, and flattened needles were made.<ref name="Plummer" /> Finally, after about 50,000 BP, ever more refined and specialized flint tools were made by the Neanderthals and the immigrant ]s (knives, blades, skimmers). Bone tools were also made by ''H. sapiens'' in Africa by 90,000–70,000 years ago<ref name="Henshilwood etal 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Henshilwood |first1=C. S. |last2=d'Errico |first2=F. |last3=Yates |first3=R. |last4=Jacobs |first4=Z. |last5=Tribolo |first5=C. |last6=Duller |first6=G. A. T. |last7=Mercier |first7=N. |last8=Sealy |first8=J. C. |last9=Valladas |first9=H. |last10=Watts |first10=I. |last11=Wintle |first11=A. G. |author-link=Christopher Henshilwood |display-authors=3 |date=2002 |title=Emergence of Modern Human Behavior: Middle Stone Age Engravings from South Africa |journal=] |volume=295 |issue=5558 |pages=1278–1280 |doi=10.1126/science.1067575 |pmid=11786608 |s2cid=31169551 |bibcode=2002Sci...295.1278H}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=A middle stone age worked bone industry from Katanda, Upper Semliki Valley, Zaire |date=April 28, 1995 |last1=Yellen |first1=J. E. |last2=Brooks |first2=A. S. |last3=Cornelissen |first3=E. |last4=Mehlman |first4=M. J. |last5=Stewart |first5=K. |journal=] |volume=268 |pages=553–556 |issue=5210 |doi=10.1126/science.7725100 |pmid=7725100 |bibcode=1995Sci...268..553Y}}</ref> and are also known from early ''H. sapiens'' sites in Eurasia by about 50,000 years ago.

== Species list ==
{{See also|Template:Homo|l1=List of ''Homo'' species}}
This list is in ] order across the table by ''''']'''''. Some species/subspecies names are well-established, and some are less established – especially in genus ''Homo''. Please see articles for more information.
{| class="wikitable"
!'']''
!'']'' (humans)
|-
|''S. tchadensis''
|'']''
|-
!'']''
|'']''
|-
|''O. tugenensis''
|'']''
|-
!'']''
|'']''
|-
|'']''
|'']''
|-
|'']''
|'']''
|-
!'']''
|• '']''
|-
|'']''
|'']''
|-
|'']''
|'']''
|-
|'']''{{pad|5em}}
|'']''
|-
|'']''
|'']''
|-
|'']''
|'']''
|-
|'']''
|'']''
|-
!'']''
|'']''
|-
|''K. platyops''
|'']''
|-
!'']''
|• '']''
|-
|'']''
|• '']'' (early)
|-
|'']''
|• '']'' (modern)
|-
|'']''
|
|}

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
{{Col-break|gap=3em}}
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] ("African Eve" theory)
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
{{Col-end}}
{{div col end}}


== External links == == Notes ==
{{Notelist}}


== References ==
*
{{Reflist|refs=
*
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* {{cite book |last=Diamond |first=Jared |author-link=Jared Diamond |title=Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies |location=New York |publisher=] |date=1999 |isbn=978-0-393-31755-8 |lccn=2005284124 |oclc=35792200 |title-link=Guns, Germs, and Steel}}
* {{cite book |last1=Freeman |first1=Scott |last2=Herron |first2=Jon C. |date=2007 |title=Evolutionary Analysis |edition=4th |location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-13-227584-2 |lccn=2006034384 |oclc=73502978}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Johanson |first1=Donald |author1-link=Donald C. Johanson |last2=Edey |first2=Maitland |date=1981 |title=Lucy, the Beginnings of Humankind |place=St Albans |publisher=Granada |isbn=978-0-586-08437-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Montgomery |first=William M. |chapter=Germany |editor-last=Glick |editor-first=Thomas F. |date=1988 |orig-date=Originally published 1974 |title=The Comparative Reception of Darwinisms |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-226-29977-8 |lccn=87035814 |oclc=17328115}} "The Conference on the Comparative Reception of Darwinism was held in Austin, Texas, on April 22 and 23, 1972, under the joint sponsorship of the ] and the ]"
* {{cite journal |editor-last=Kondo |editor-first=Shiro |date=1985 |title=Primate Morphophysiology, Locomotor Analyses, and Human Bipedalism |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=278–279 |publisher=] |doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330700214 |isbn=978-4-13-066093-8 |lccn=85173489 |oclc=12352830}}
* {{cite book |last=Leakey |first=Richard E. |author-link=Richard Leakey |title=The Origin of Humankind |series=Science Masters Series |location=New York |publisher=] |date=1994 |isbn=978-0-465-03135-1 |lccn=94003617 |oclc=30739453 |url= https://archive.org/details/originofhumankin00leak}}
* {{cite book |last=M'charek |first=Amade |date=2005 |title=The Human Genome Diversity Project: An Ethnography of Scientific Practice |series=Cambridge Studies in Society and the Life Sciences |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-521-83222-9 |lccn=2004052648 |oclc=55600894}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Martin |first=Robert D. |author-link=Robert D. Martin |editor1-last=Smelser |editor1-first=Neil J. |editor1-link=Neil Smelser |editor2-last=Baltes |editor2-first=Paul B. |editor2-link=Paul Baltes |encyclopedia=] |date=2001 |publisher=] |location=Amsterdam / New York |isbn=978-0-08-043076-8 |lccn=2001044791 |oclc=47869490 |doi=10.1016/B0-08-043076-7/03083-7 |chapter=Primates, Evolution of |pages=12032–12038}}
* {{cite book |last=Maxwell |first=Mary |date=1984 |title=Human Evolution: A Philosophical Anthropology |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-231-05946-6 |lccn=83024005 |oclc=10163036}}
* {{cite book |last=McHenry |first=Henry M. |author-link=Henry McHenry (anthropologist) |date=2009 |chapter=Human Evolution |editor1-last=Ruse |editor1-first=Michael |editor1-link=Michael Ruse |editor2-last=Travis |editor2-first=Joseph |editor2-link=Joseph Travis |title=Evolution: The First Four Billion Years |others=Foreword by ] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-674-03175-3 |lccn=2008030270 |oclc=225874308 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/evolutionfirstfo00mich}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Sohini |author1-link=Sohini Ramachandran |last2=Tang |first2=Hua |last3=Gutenkunst |first3=Ryan N. |last4=Bustamante |first4=Carlos D. |author4-link=Carlos D. Bustamante |date=2010 |chapter=Genetics and Genomics of Human Population Structure |editor1-last=Speicher |editor1-first=Michael R. |editor2-last=Antonarakis |editor2-first=Stylianos E. |editor2-link=Stylianos Antonarakis |editor3-last=Motulsky |editor3-first=Arno G. |title=Vogel and Motulsky's Human Genetics: Problems and Approaches |edition=4th |location=Heidelberg / London / New York |publisher=] |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-37654-5 |isbn=978-3-540-37653-8 |lccn=2009931325 |oclc=549541244}}
* {{cite book |last=Robinson |first=J. T. |author-link=John T. Robinson |date=2008 |orig-date=Originally published 1963; Chicago, Illinois: Aldine Transaction |chapter=Adaptive Radiation in the Australopithecines and the Origin of Man |editor1-last=Howell |editor1-first=F. Clark |editor1-link=Francis Clark Howell |editor2-last=Bourlière |editor2-first=François |title=African Ecology and Human Evolution |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-202-36136-9 |lccn=2007024716 |oclc=144770218}}
* {{cite book |last=Srivastava |first=R. P. |date=2009 |title=Morphology of the Primates and Human Evolution |location=New Delhi |publisher=PHI Learning |isbn=978-81-203-3656-8 |oclc=423293609}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stanford |first1=Craig |author1-link=Craig Stanford |last2=Allen |first2=John S. |last3=Antón |first3=Susan C. |date=2009 |title=Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind |edition=2nd |location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-13-601160-6 |lccn=2007052429 |oclc=187548835 |url= https://archive.org/details/biologicalanthro00stan}}
* {{cite book |last=Strickberger |first=Monroe W. |date=2000 |title=Evolution |edition=3rd |location=Sudbury, Massachusetts |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7637-1066-8 |lccn=99032072 |oclc=41431683}}
* {{cite book |last=Stringer |first=Chris B. |author-link=Chris Stringer |date=1994 |orig-date=1992 |chapter=Evolution of Early Humans |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Steve |editor1-link=Steve Jones (biologist) |editor2-last=Martin |editor2-first=Robert D. |editor3-last=Pilbeam |editor3-first=David |editor3-link=David Pilbeam |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-521-32370-3 |lccn=92018037 |oclc=444512451 |url-access=registration |url= https://archive.org/details/cambridgeencyclo00step}}
* {{cite book |last1=Swisher |first1=Carl C. III |last2=Curtis |first2=Garniss H. |author2-link=Garniss Curtis |last3=Lewin |first3=Roger |author3-link=Roger Lewin |date=2001 |orig-date=Originally published 2000 |title=Java Man: How Two Geologists Changed Our Understanding of Human Evolution |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-226-78734-3 |lccn=2001037337 |oclc=48066180}}
* {{cite book |last=Trent |first=Ronald J. |date=2005 |title=Molecular Medicine: An Introductory Text |edition=3rd |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-12-699057-7 |lccn=2004028087 |oclc=162577235}}
* {{cite book |last=Trevathan |first=Wenda R. |date=2011 |orig-date=Originally published 1987; New York: Aldine De Gruyter |title=Human Birth: An Evolutionary Perspective |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4128-1502-4 |lccn=2010038249 |oclc=669122326}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Ungar |editor1-first=Peter S. |editor1-link=Peter Ungar |editor2-last=Teaford |editor2-first=Mark F. |date=2002 |title=Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution |location=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Bergin & Garvey |isbn=978-0-89789-736-5 |lccn=2001043790 |oclc=537239907}}
* {{cite book |last=Walker |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Walker (anthropologist) |date=2007 |chapter=Early Hominin Diets: Overview and Historical Perspectives |editor-last=Ungar |editor-first=Peter |title=Evolution of the Human Diet: The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable |series=Human Evolution Series |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-518346-7 |lccn=2005036120 |oclc=132816551}}
* {{cite book |last=Wallace |first=David Rains |author-link=David Rains Wallace |date=2004 |title=Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution |location=Berkeley |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-520-24684-3 |lccn=2003022857 |oclc=53254011}}
* {{cite book |last=Webster |first=Donovan |author-link=Donovan Webster |date=2010 |title=Meeting the Family: One Man's Journey Through His Human Ancestry |others=Foreword by ] |location=Washington, DC |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4262-0573-6 |lccn=2009050471 |oclc=429022321}}
* {{cite book |last=Wood |first=Bernard A. |title=The First Humans – Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo |chapter=Where Does the Genus ''Homo'' Begin, and How Would We Know? |editor1-last=Grine |editor1-first=Frederick E. |editor1-link=Frederick E. Grine |editor2-last=Fleagle |editor2-first=John G. |editor2-link=John G. Fleagle |editor3-last=Leakey |editor3-first=Richard E. |url= https://archive.org/details/firsthumansorigi00grin |url-access=limited |pages=–28 |date=2009 |series=Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology |location=Dordrecht |publisher=] |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-9980-9_3 |isbn=978-1-4020-9979-3 |issn=1877-9077 |lccn=2009927083 |oclc=310400980}} "Contributions from the Third Stony Brook Human Evolution Symposium and Workshop October 3–7, 2006."
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Richard D. |author-link=Richard D. Alexander |date=1990 |title=How Did Humans Evolve? Reflections on the Uniquely Unique Species |url= http://qcpages.qc.edu/Biology/LahtiSites/RDAlexander/Pubs/Alexander90.pdf |series=Special Publication |issue=1 |location=Ann Arbor |publisher=] |pages=1–38 |lccn=90623893 |oclc=22860997 |access-date=May 6, 2015 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185713/http://qcpages.qc.edu/Biology/LahtiSites/RDAlexander/Pubs/Alexander90.pdf}}
* {{cite book |last1=Barton |first1=Nicholas H. |author1-link=Nick Barton |last2=Briggs |first2=Derek E. G. |author2-link=Derek Briggs |last3=Eisen |first3=Jonathan A. |author3-link=Jonathan Eisen |last4=Goldstein |first4=David B. |last5=Patel |first5=Nipan H. |date=2007 |title=Evolution |publisher=] Press |isbn=978-0-87969-684-9 |lccn=2007010767 |oclc=86090399 |display-authors=3}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Enard |first1=Wolfgang |last2=Przeworski |first2=Molly |last3=Fisher |first3=Simon E. |author3-link=Simon Fisher |last4=Lai |first4=Cecilia S. L. |last5=Wiebe |first5=Victor |last6=Kitano |first6=Takashi |last7=Monaco |first7=Anthony P. |last8=Pääbo |first8=Svante |date=August 22, 2002 |title=Molecular evolution of ''FOXP2'', a gene involved in speech and language |journal=] |volume=418 |issue=6900 |pages=869–872 |doi=10.1038/nature01025 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=12192408 |display-authors=3 |bibcode=2002Natur.418..869E |s2cid=4416233 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0012-CB89-A |hdl-access=free}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Flinn |first1=Mark V. |last2=Geary |first2=David C. |author2-link=David C. Geary |last3=Ward |first3=Carol V. |date=2005 |title=Ecological dominance, social competition, and coalitionary arms races: Why humans evolved extraordinary intelligence |url= http://web.missouri.edu/~gearyd/Flinnetal2005.pdf |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=10–46 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.005 |bibcode=2005EHumB..26...10F |issn=1090-5138 |access-date=May 5, 2015 |archive-date=June 4, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070604224126/http://web.missouri.edu/~gearyd/Flinnetal2005.pdf |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Galinon-Melenec |first=Béatrice |chapter=From "Traces" and "Human Trace" to "Human–Trace Paradigm" |editor1-last=Parrend |editor1-first=Pierre |editor2-last=Bourgine |editor2-first=Paul |editor3-last=Collet |editor3-first=Pierre |date=2015 |title=First Complex systems Digital Campus World E-Conference |publisher=] |location=Tempe, Arizona}}
* {{cite book |last=Gibbons |first=Ann |date=2006 |title=The First Human: The Race to Discover our Earliest Ancestors |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-385-51226-8 |lccn=2005053780 |oclc=61652817 |url= https://archive.org/details/firsthumanraceto00gibb}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Hartwig |editor-first=Walter C. |editor-link=Walter Hartwig |date=2002 |title=The Primate Fossil Record |series=Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology |volume=33 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-521-66315-1 |lccn=2001037847 |oclc=47254191}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Heizmann |first1=Elmar P. J. |last2=Begun |first2=David R. |date=November 2001 |title=The oldest Eurasian hominoid |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=41 |issue=5 |doi=10.1006/jhev.2001.0495 |pages=463–481 |issn=0047-2484 |pmid=11681862 |bibcode=2001JHumE..41..463H |s2cid=21230992 |url= http://doc.rero.ch/record/13528/files/PAL_E351.pdf}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=Andrew |last2=Ward |first2=Steven |date=1988 |title=Origin of the hominidae: The record of African large hominoid evolution between 14 my and 4 my |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=31 |issue=59 |pages=49–83 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330310505 |issn=0002-9483 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal |last=Hoagland |first=Hudson |title=Science and the New Humanism |journal=] |date=1964 |volume=143 |issue=3602 |pages=111–114 |doi=10.1126/science.143.3602.111 |pmid=17781189 |bibcode=1964Sci...143..111H}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ijdo |first1=Jacob W. |last2=Baldini |first2=Antonio |last3=Ward |first3=David C. |last4=Reeders |first4=Stephen T. |last5=Wells |first5=Richard A. |date=October 15, 1991 |title=Origin of human chromosome 2: An ancestral telomere-telomere fusion |journal=] |volume=88 |issue=20 |pages=9051–9055 |bibcode=1991PNAS...88.9051I |doi=10.1073/pnas.88.20.9051 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=52649 |pmid=1924367 |display-authors=3 |doi-access=free}} – two ancestral ape chromosomes fused to give rise to human chromosome 2
* {{cite book |last1=Johanson |first1=Donald |author1-link=Donald Johanson |last2=Wong |first2=Kate |date=2010 |title=Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-307-39640-2 |lccn=2010483830 |oclc=419801728}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Steve |editor2-last=Martin |editor2-first=Robert D. |editor3-last=Pilbeam |editor3-first=David |date=1994 |orig-date=1992 |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution |others=Foreword by Richard Dawkins |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-521-32370-3 |lccn=92018037 |oclc=444512451 |url= https://archive.org/details/cambridgeencyclo00step}} (This book contains very useful, information-dense chapters on primate evolution in general, and human evolution in particular, including fossil history.)
* {{cite book |last1=Kawabata |first1=Hiroshi |last2=Kaifu |first2=Yousuke |date=2020 |title=Lost in Evolution: Exploring Humanity's Path in Asia |location=Tokyo |publisher=Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture |isbn=978-4-86658-133-0 |url= https://www.jpicinternational.com/books/science/b78321546939314b4f3be37eeeba766ac05b6301.html |access-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221020054826/https://www.jpicinternational.com/books/science/b78321546939314b4f3be37eeeba766ac05b6301.html |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Leakey |first1=Richard E. |last2=Lewin |first2=Roger |date=1992 |title=Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes us Human |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-385-41264-3 |lccn=92006661 |oclc=25373161}}
* {{cite book |last=Lewin |first=Roger |date=1997 |title=Bones of Contention: Controversies in the Search for Human Origins |edition=2nd |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-226-47651-3 |lccn=97000972 |oclc=36181117}}
* {{cite book |last1=Morwood |first1=Mike |last2=van Oosterzee |first2=Penny |date=2007 |title=A New Human: The Startling Discovery and Strange Story of the 'Hobbits' of Flores, Indonesia |location=New York |publisher=] Books / ] |isbn=978-0-06-089908-0 |lccn=2006052267 |oclc=76481584 |url= https://archive.org/details/newhumanstrange00morw}}
* {{cite book |last=Oppenheimer |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Oppenheimer |date=2003 |title=Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World |location=London |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-84119-697-8 |lccn=2005482222 |oclc=52195607}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ovchinnikov |first1=Igor V. |last2=Götherström |first2=Anders |last3=Romanova |first3=Galina P. |last4=Kharitonov |first4=Vitaliy M. |last5=Lidén |first5=Kerstin |last6=Goodwin |first6=William |display-authors=3 |date=March 30, 2000 |title=Molecular analysis of Neanderthal DNA from the Northern Caucasus |journal=] |volume=404 |issue=6777 |pages=490–493 |doi=10.1038/35006625 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=10761915 |bibcode=2000Natur.404..490O |s2cid=3101375}}
* {{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Alice M. |author-link=Alice Roberts |date=2009 |title=The Incredible Human Journey: The Story of How We Colonised the Planet |location=London |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7475-9839-8 |oclc=310156315}}
* {{cite book |last=Shreeve |first=James |date=1995 |title=The Neandertal Enigma: Solving the Mystery of Modern Human Origins |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-688-09407-2 |lccn=95006337 |oclc=32088673 |url= https://archive.org/details/neandertalenigma00shre_0}}
* {{cite book |last=Stringer |first=Chris B. |date=2011 |title=The Origin of Our Species |location=London |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-84614-140-9 |lccn=2011489742 |oclc=689522193}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stringer |first1=Chris B. |last2=Andrews |first2=Peter |date=2005 |title=The Complete World of Human Evolution |url= https://archive.org/details/completeworldofh0000stri |url-access=registration |location=London / New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-500-05132-0 |lccn=2004110563 |oclc=224377190}}
* {{cite book |last1=Stringer |first1=Christopher |last2=McKie |first2=Robin |date=1997 |title=African Exodus: The Origins of Modern Humanity |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8050-2759-4 |lccn=96037718 |oclc=36001167 |url= https://archive.org/details/africanexodusori00stri}}
* {{cite book |last=Sykes |first=Rebecca Wragg |date=2020 |title=] |location=London |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4729-3749-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Tattersall |first=Ian |date=2008 |title=The Fossil Trail: How We Know What We Think We Know About Human Evolution |edition=2nd |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-536766-9 |lccn=2008013654 |oclc=218188644}}
* {{cite book |last=van Oosterzee |first=Penny |date=1999 |title=Dragon Bones: The Story of Peking Man |location=St Leonards, New South Wales |publisher=] Australia |isbn=978-1-86508-123-6 |lccn=00300421 |oclc=45853997}}
* {{cite book |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Wade |date=2006 |title=Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-59420-079-3 |lccn=2005055293 |oclc=62282400 |title-link=Before the Dawn (Wade book)}}
* {{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Alan |last2=Shipman |first2=Pat |date=1996 |title=The Wisdom of the Bones: In Search of Human Origins |location=London |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-297-81670-6 |oclc=35202130}}
* {{cite book |last1=Weiss |first1=Mark L. |last2=Mann |first2=Alan E. |date=1985 |title=Human Biology and Behavior: An Anthropological Perspective |edition=4th |location=Boston |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-316-92894-6 |lccn=85000158 |oclc=11726796}} (This book contains very accessible descriptions of human and non-human primates, their evolution, and fossil history.)
* {{cite book |last=Wells |first=Spencer |author-link=Spencer Wells |date=2003 |orig-date=Originally published 2002; Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press |title=The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey |edition=Random House trade paperback |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8129-7146-0 |lccn=2003066679 |oclc=53287806}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Human evolution}}
* "" by Allison Hopper, '']'' (July 5, 2021).
* {{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/human/human_evolution/index.shtml |title=The evolution of man |publisher=BBC Science & Nature |access-date=May 6, 2015}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.becominghuman.org/ |title=Becoming Human |publisher=]'s ] |access-date=May 6, 2015}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/bones-stones-and-genes-origin-modern-humans-0 |title=Bones, Stones and Genes: The Origin of Modern Humans |type=Video lecture series |publisher=] |access-date=May 6, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150424155530/http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/bones-stones-and-genes-origin-modern-humans-0 |archive-date=April 24, 2015}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.evolution-textbook.org/content/free/figures/ch25.html |title=''Evolution'' Figures: Chapter 25 |publisher=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press |access-date=May 6, 2015}} – Illustrations from the book ''Evolution'' (2007)
* {{cite web |url= http://humanorigins.si.edu/ |title=Human Evolution |publisher=]'s Human Origins Program |access-date=June 24, 2013}}
* {{cite web |url= http://archaeologyinfo.com/human-evolution-timeline/ |title=Human Evolution Timeline |publisher=ArchaeologyInfo.com |access-date=June 24, 2013 |archive-date=June 18, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130618121818/http://archaeologyinfo.com/human-evolution-timeline/}}
* (2015) ] UNIHAVRE, ], IDEES, E.Laboratory on Human Trace Unitwin Complex System Digital Campus UNESCO.
* {{cite AV media |people=Lambert, Tim (Producer) |date=June 24, 2015 |title=First Peoples |url= https://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/home/ |access-date=July 18, 2015 |location=London |publisher=] |oclc=910115743}}
* 2013 ]
* – ], ] (August 2016).
* , BBC Radio 4 discussion with Steve Jones, Fred Spoor & Margaret Clegg (''In Our Time'', February 16, 2006)
* − ] (February 2021)
* – ] (August 24, 2021)


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{{Human genetics}}
{{Evolutionary biology}}
{{Human}} {{Apes}}
{{Prehistoric technology}}
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{{Evolutionary psychology}}
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Latest revision as of 03:56, 27 December 2024

"Anthropogeny" redirects here. For the study of humans, see Anthropology. Evolutionary process leading to anatomically modern humans

The hominoids are descendants of a common ancestor.

Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominid family that includes all the great apes. This process involved the gradual development of traits such as human bipedalism, dexterity, and complex language, as well as interbreeding with other hominins (a tribe of the African hominid subfamily), indicating that human evolution was not linear but weblike. The study of the origins of humans involves several scientific disciplines, including physical and evolutionary anthropology, paleontology, and genetics; the field is also known by the terms anthropogeny, anthropogenesis, and anthropogony. (The latter two terms are sometimes used to refer to the related subject of hominization.)

Primates diverged from other mammals about 85 million years ago (mya), in the Late Cretaceous period, with their earliest fossils appearing over 55 mya, during the Paleocene. Primates produced successive clades leading to the ape superfamily, which gave rise to the hominid and the gibbon families; these diverged some 15–20 mya. African and Asian hominids (including orangutans) diverged about 14 mya. Hominins (including the Australopithecine and Panina subtribes) parted from the Gorillini tribe between 8 and 9 mya; Australopithecine (including the extinct biped ancestors of humans) separated from the Pan genus (containing chimpanzees and bonobos) 4–7 mya. The Homo genus is evidenced by the appearance of H. habilis over 2 mya, while anatomically modern humans emerged in Africa approximately 300,000 years ago.

Before Homo

For evolutionary history before primates, see Evolution of mammals, History of life, and Timeline of human evolution.

Early evolution of primates

See also: Evolution of primates

The evolutionary history of primates can be traced back 65 million years. One of the oldest known primate-like mammal species, the Plesiadapis, came from North America; another, Archicebus, came from China. Other similar basal primates were widespread in Eurasia and Africa during the tropical conditions of the Paleocene and Eocene.

Notharctus tenebrosus, American Museum of Natural History, New York

David R. Begun concluded that early primates flourished in Eurasia and that a lineage leading to the African apes and humans, including to Dryopithecus, migrated south from Europe or Western Asia into Africa. The surviving tropical population of primates—which is seen most completely in the Upper Eocene and lowermost Oligocene fossil beds of the Faiyum depression southwest of Cairo—gave rise to all extant primate species, including the lemurs of Madagascar, lorises of Southeast Asia, galagos or "bush babies" of Africa, and to the anthropoids, which are the Platyrrhines or New World monkeys, the Catarrhines or Old World monkeys, and the great apes, including humans and other hominids.

The earliest known catarrhine is Kamoyapithecus from the uppermost Oligocene at Eragaleit in the northern Great Rift Valley in Kenya, dated to 24 million years ago. Its ancestry is thought to be species related to Aegyptopithecus, Propliopithecus, and Parapithecus from the Faiyum, at around 35 mya. In 2010, Saadanius was described as a close relative of the last common ancestor of the crown catarrhines, and tentatively dated to 29–28 mya, helping to fill an 11-million-year gap in the fossil record.

Reconstructed tailless Proconsul skeleton

In the Early Miocene, about 22 million years ago, the many kinds of arboreally-adapted (tree-dwelling) primitive catarrhines from East Africa suggest a long history of prior diversification. Fossils at 20 million years ago include fragments attributed to Victoriapithecus, the earliest Old World monkey. Among the genera thought to be in the ape lineage leading up to 13 million years ago are Proconsul, Rangwapithecus, Dendropithecus, Limnopithecus, Nacholapithecus, Equatorius, Nyanzapithecus, Afropithecus, Heliopithecus, and Kenyapithecus, all from East Africa.

The presence of other generalized non-cercopithecids of Middle Miocene from sites far distant, such as Otavipithecus from cave deposits in Namibia, and Pierolapithecus and Dryopithecus from France, Spain and Austria, is evidence of a wide diversity of forms across Africa and the Mediterranean basin during the relatively warm and equable climatic regimes of the Early and Middle Miocene. The youngest of the Miocene hominoids, Oreopithecus, is from coal beds in Italy that have been dated to 9 million years ago.

Molecular evidence indicates that the lineage of gibbons diverged from the line of great apes some 18–12 mya, and that of orangutans (subfamily Ponginae) diverged from the other great apes at about 12 million years; there are no fossils that clearly document the ancestry of gibbons, which may have originated in a so-far-unknown Southeast Asian hominoid population, but fossil proto-orangutans may be represented by Sivapithecus from India and Griphopithecus from Turkey, dated to around 10 mya.

Hominidae subfamily Homininae (African hominids) diverged from Ponginae (orangutans) about 14 mya. Hominins (including humans and the Australopithecine and Panina subtribes) parted from the Gorillini tribe (gorillas) between 8 and 9 mya; Australopithecine (including the extinct biped ancestors of humans) separated from the Pan genus (containing chimpanzees and bonobos) 4–7 mya. The Homo genus is evidenced by the appearance of H. habilis over 2 mya, while anatomically modern humans emerged in Africa approximately 300,000 years ago.

Divergence of the human clade from other great apes

Species close to the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimpanzees and humans may be represented by Nakalipithecus fossils found in Kenya and Ouranopithecus found in Greece. Molecular evidence suggests that between 8 and 4 million years ago, first the gorillas, and then the chimpanzees (genus Pan) split off from the line leading to the humans. Human DNA is approximately 98.4% identical to that of chimpanzees when comparing single nucleotide polymorphisms (see human evolutionary genetics). The fossil record, however, of gorillas and chimpanzees is limited; both poor preservation – rain forest soils tend to be acidic and dissolve bone – and sampling bias probably contribute to this problem.

Other hominins probably adapted to the drier environments outside the equatorial belt; and there they encountered antelope, hyenas, dogs, pigs, elephants, horses, and others. The equatorial belt contracted after about 8 million years ago, and there is very little fossil evidence for the split—thought to have occurred around that time—of the hominin lineage from the lineages of gorillas and chimpanzees. The earliest fossils argued by some to belong to the human lineage are Sahelanthropus tchadensis (7 Ma) and Orrorin tugenensis (6 Ma), followed by Ardipithecus (5.5–4.4 Ma), with species Ar. kadabba and Ar. ramidus.

It has been argued in a study of the life history of Ar. ramidus that the species provides evidence for a suite of anatomical and behavioral adaptations in very early hominins unlike any species of extant great ape. This study demonstrated affinities between the skull morphology of Ar. ramidus and that of infant and juvenile chimpanzees, suggesting the species evolved a juvenalised or paedomorphic craniofacial morphology via heterochronic dissociation of growth trajectories. It was also argued that the species provides support for the notion that very early hominins, akin to bonobos (Pan paniscus) the less aggressive species of the genus Pan, may have evolved via the process of self-domestication. Consequently, arguing against the so-called "chimpanzee referential model" the authors suggest it is no longer tenable to use chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) social and mating behaviors in models of early hominin social evolution. When commenting on the absence of aggressive canine morphology in Ar. ramidus and the implications this has for the evolution of hominin social psychology, they wrote:

Of course Ar. ramidus differs significantly from bonobos, bonobos having retained a functional canine honing complex. However, the fact that Ar. ramidus shares with bonobos reduced sexual dimorphism, and a more paedomorphic form relative to chimpanzees, suggests that the developmental and social adaptations evident in bonobos may be of assistance in future reconstructions of early hominin social and sexual psychology. In fact the trend towards increased maternal care, female mate selection and self-domestication may have been stronger and more refined in Ar. ramidus than what we see in bonobos.

The authors argue that many of the basic human adaptations evolved in the ancient forest and woodland ecosystems of late Miocene and early Pliocene Africa. Consequently, they argue that humans may not represent evolution from a chimpanzee-like ancestor as has traditionally been supposed. This suggests many modern human adaptations represent phylogenetically deep traits and that the behavior and morphology of chimpanzees may have evolved subsequent to the split with the common ancestor they share with humans.

Genus Australopithecus

Main article: Australopithecus
Reconstruction of "Lucy"

The genus Australopithecus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct 2 million years ago. During this time period various forms of australopiths existed, including Australopithecus anamensis, A. afarensis, A. sediba, and A. africanus. There is still some debate among academics whether certain African hominid species of this time, such as A. robustus and A. boisei, constitute members of the same genus; if so, they would be considered to be "robust australopiths" while the others would be considered "gracile australopiths". However, if these species do indeed constitute their own genus, then they may be given their own name, Paranthropus.

A new proposed species Australopithecus deyiremeda is claimed to have been discovered living at the same time period of A. afarensis. There is debate whether A. deyiremeda is a new species or is A. afarensis. Australopithecus prometheus, otherwise known as Little Foot has recently been dated at 3.67 million years old through a new dating technique, making the genus Australopithecus as old as afarensis. Given the opposable big toe found on Little Foot, it seems that the specimen was a good climber. It is thought given the night predators of the region that he built a nesting platform at night in the trees in a similar fashion to chimpanzees and gorillas.

Chimpanzee nest. Later hominins may have developed niche creating shelter-building traditions from such earlier nest-building practices.

Evolution of genus Homo

Main article: Homo
Hominin timeline
This box:
−10 —–−9 —–−8 —–−7 —–−6 —–−5 —–−4 —–−3 —–−2 —–−1 —–0 —MiocenePliocenePleistoceneHomininiNakalipithecusSamburupithecusOuranopithecus
(Ou. turkae)
(Ou. macedoniensis)ChororapithecusOreopithecusSivapithecusSahelanthropusGraecopithecusOrrorin(O. praegens)
(O. tugenensis)Ardipithecus(Ar. kadabba)(Ar. ramidus)Australopithecus
(Au. africanus)
(Au. afarensis)
(Au. anamensis)H. habilis
(H. rudolfensis)
(Au. garhi)H. erectus
(H. antecessor)
(H. ergaster)
(Au. sediba)H. heidelbergensisHomo sapiensNeanderthalsDenisovans 
Earlier apes
Gorilla split
Chimpanzee split
Earliest bipedal
Earliest sign of Ardipithecus
Earliest sign of Australopithecus
Earliest stone tools
Earliest sign of
Homo
Dispersal beyond Africa
Earliest language
Earliest fire / cooking
Earliest rock art
Earliest clothes
Modern humans
H o m i n i d sP a r a n t h r o p u s
(million years ago)

The earliest documented representative of the genus Homo is Homo habilis, which evolved around 2.8 million years ago, and is arguably the earliest species for which there is positive evidence of the use of stone tools. The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee, although it has been suggested that this was the time in which the human SRGAP2 gene doubled, producing a more rapid wiring of the frontal cortex. During the next million years a process of rapid encephalization occurred, and with the arrival of Homo erectus and Homo ergaster in the fossil record, cranial capacity had doubled to 850 cm. (Such an increase in human brain size is equivalent to each generation having 125,000 more neurons than their parents.) It is believed that H. erectus and H. ergaster were the first to use fire and complex tools, and were the first of the hominin line to leave Africa, spreading throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe between 1.3 to 1.8 million years ago.

According to the recent African origin theory, modern humans evolved in Africa possibly from H. heidelbergensis, H. rhodesiensis or H. antecessor and migrated out of the continent some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago, gradually replacing local populations of H. erectus, Denisova hominins, H. floresiensis, H. luzonensis and H. neanderthalensis, whose ancestors had left Africa in earlier migrations. Archaic Homo sapiens, the forerunner of anatomically modern humans, evolved in the Middle Paleolithic between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago. Recent DNA evidence suggests that several haplotypes of Neanderthal origin are present among all non-African populations, and Neanderthals and other hominins, such as Denisovans, may have contributed up to 6% of their genome to present-day humans, suggestive of a limited interbreeding between these species. According to some anthropologists, the transition to behavioral modernity with the development of symbolic culture, language, and specialized lithic technology happened around 50,000 years ago (beginning of the Upper Paleolithic), although others point to evidence of a gradual change over a longer time span during the Middle Paleolithic.

A model of the phylogeny of H. sapiens during the Middle Paleolithic. The horizontal axis represents geographic location; the vertical axis represents time in millions of years ago (Mya). Homo Erectus is shown spreading across Eurasia starting around 1.8 Mya. Homo heidelbergensis is shown diverging into Neanderthals, Denisovans and H. sapiens. With the expansion of H. sapiens after 0.2 Mya, Neanderthals, Denisovans and unspecified archaic African hominins are shown as again subsumed into the H. sapiens lineage. Admixture events in modern African populations are also indicated.

Homo sapiens is the only extant species of its genus, Homo. While some (extinct) Homo species might have been ancestors of Homo sapiens, many, perhaps most, were likely "cousins", having speciated away from the ancestral hominin line. There is yet no consensus as to which of these groups should be considered a separate species and which should be subspecies; this may be due to the dearth of fossils or to the slight differences used to classify species in the genus Homo. The Sahara pump theory (describing an occasionally passable "wet" Sahara desert) provides one possible explanation of the intermittent migration and speciation in the genus Homo.

Based on archaeological and paleontological evidence, it has been possible to infer, to some extent, the ancient dietary practices of various Homo species and to study the role of diet in physical and behavioral evolution within Homo.

Some anthropologists and archaeologists subscribe to the Toba catastrophe theory, which posits that the supereruption of Lake Toba on Sumatra in Indonesia some 70,000 years ago caused global starvation, killing the majority of humans and creating a population bottleneck that affected the genetic inheritance of all humans today. The genetic and archaeological evidence for this remains in question however. A 2023 genetic study suggests that a similar human population bottleneck of between 1,000 and 100,000 survivors occurred "around 930,000 and 813,000 years ago ... lasted for about 117,000 years and brought human ancestors close to extinction."

H. habilis and H. gautengensis

Homo habilis lived from about 2.8 to 1.4 Ma. The species evolved in South and East Africa in the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene, 2.5–2 Ma, when it diverged from the australopithecines with the development of smaller molars and larger brains. One of the first known hominins, it made tools from stone and perhaps animal bones, leading to its name homo habilis (Latin 'handy man') bestowed by discoverer Louis Leakey. Some scientists have proposed moving this species from Homo into Australopithecus due to the morphology of its skeleton being more adapted to living in trees rather than walking on two legs like later hominins.

In May 2010, a new species, Homo gautengensis, was discovered in South Africa.

H. rudolfensis and H. georgicus

These are proposed species names for fossils from about 1.9–1.6 Ma, whose relation to Homo habilis is not yet clear.

  • Homo rudolfensis refers to a single, incomplete skull from Kenya. Scientists have suggested that this was a specimen of Homo habilis, but this has not been confirmed.
  • Homo georgicus, from Georgia, may be an intermediate form between Homo habilis and Homo erectus, or a subspecies of Homo erectus.

H. ergaster and H. erectus

Reconstruction of Turkana Boy who lived 1.5 to 1.6 million years ago

The first fossils of Homo erectus were discovered by Dutch physician Eugene Dubois in 1891 on the Indonesian island of Java. He originally named the material Anthropopithecus erectus (1892–1893, considered at this point as a chimpanzee-like fossil primate) and Pithecanthropus erectus (1893–1894, changing his mind as of based on its morphology, which he considered to be intermediate between that of humans and apes). Years later, in the 20th century, the German physician and paleoanthropologist Franz Weidenreich (1873–1948) compared in detail the characters of Dubois' Java Man, then named Pithecanthropus erectus, with the characters of the Peking Man, then named Sinanthropus pekinensis. Weidenreich concluded in 1940 that because of their anatomical similarity with modern humans it was necessary to gather all these specimens of Java and China in a single species of the genus Homo, the species H. erectus.

Homo erectus lived from about 1.8 Ma to about 70,000 years ago – which would indicate that they were probably wiped out by the Toba catastrophe; however, nearby H. floresiensis survived it. The early phase of H. erectus, from 1.8 to 1.25 Ma, is considered by some to be a separate species, H. ergaster, or as H. erectus ergaster, a subspecies of H. erectus. Many paleoanthropologists now use the term Homo ergaster for the non-Asian forms of this group, and reserve H. erectus only for those fossils that are found in Asia and meet certain skeletal and dental requirements which differ slightly from H. ergaster.

In Africa in the Early Pleistocene, 1.5–1 Ma, some populations of Homo habilis are thought to have evolved larger brains and to have made more elaborate stone tools; these differences and others are sufficient for anthropologists to classify them as a new species, Homo erectus—in Africa. The evolution of locking knees and the movement of the foramen magnum are thought to be likely drivers of the larger population changes. This species also may have used fire to cook meat. Richard Wrangham notes that Homo seems to have been ground dwelling, with reduced intestinal length, smaller dentition, and "brains to their current, horrendously fuel-inefficient size", and hypothesizes that control of fire and cooking, which released increased nutritional value, was the key adaptation that separated Homo from tree-sleeping Australopithecines.

See also: Control of fire by early humans

H. cepranensis and H. antecessor

These are proposed as species intermediate between H. erectus and H. heidelbergensis.

  • H. antecessor is known from fossils from Spain and England that are dated 1.2 Ma–500 ka.
  • H. cepranensis refers to a single skull cap from Italy, estimated to be about 800,000 years old.

H. heidelbergensis

Main article: Homo heidelbergensis

H. heidelbergensis ("Heidelberg Man") lived from about 800,000 to about 300,000 years ago. Also proposed as Homo sapiens heidelbergensis or Homo sapiens paleohungaricus.

H. rhodesiensis, and the Gawis cranium

  • H. rhodesiensis, estimated to be 300,000–125,000 years old. Most current researchers place Rhodesian Man within the group of Homo heidelbergensis, though other designations such as archaic Homo sapiens and Homo sapiens rhodesiensis have been proposed.
  • In February 2006 a fossil, the Gawis cranium, was found which might possibly be a species intermediate between H. erectus and H. sapiens or one of many evolutionary dead ends. The skull from Gawis, Ethiopia, is believed to be 500,000–250,000 years old. Only summary details are known, and the finders have not yet released a peer-reviewed study. Gawis man's facial features suggest that it is either an intermediate species or an example of a "Bodo man" female.

Neanderthal and Denisovan

Main articles: Neanderthal and Denisovan
Reconstruction of an elderly Neanderthal man

Homo neanderthalensis, alternatively designated as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, lived in Europe and Asia from 400,000 to about 28,000 years ago. There are a number of clear anatomical differences between anatomically modern humans (AMH) and Neanderthal specimens, many relating to the superior Neanderthal adaptation to cold environments. Neanderthal surface to volume ratio was even lower than that among modern Inuit populations, indicating superior retention of body heat.

Neanderthals also had significantly larger brains, as shown from brain endocasts, casting doubt on their intellectual inferiority to modern humans. However, the higher body mass of Neanderthals may have required larger brain mass for body control. Also, recent research by Pearce, Stringer, and Dunbar has shown important differences in brain architecture. The larger size of the Neanderthal orbital chamber and occipital lobe suggests that they had a better visual acuity than modern humans, useful in the dimmer light of glacial Europe.

Neanderthals may have had less brain capacity available for social functions. Inferring social group size from endocranial volume (minus occipital lobe size) suggests that Neanderthal groups may have been limited to 120 individuals, compared to 144 possible relationships for modern humans. Larger social groups could imply that modern humans had less risk of inbreeding within their clan, trade over larger areas (confirmed in the distribution of stone tools), and faster spread of social and technological innovations. All these may have all contributed to modern Homo sapiens replacing Neanderthal populations by 28,000 BP.

Earlier evidence from sequencing mitochondrial DNA suggested that no significant gene flow occurred between H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens, and that the two were separate species that shared a common ancestor about 660,000 years ago. However, a sequencing of the Neanderthal genome in 2010 indicated that Neanderthals did indeed interbreed with anatomically modern humans c. 45,000-80,000 years ago, around the time modern humans migrated out from Africa, but before they dispersed throughout Europe, Asia and elsewhere. The genetic sequencing of a 40,000-year-old human skeleton from Romania showed that 11% of its genome was Neanderthal, implying the individual had a Neanderthal ancestor 4–6 generations previously, in addition to a contribution from earlier interbreeding in the Middle East. Though this interbred Romanian population seems not to have been ancestral to modern humans, the finding indicates that interbreeding happened repeatedly.

All modern non-African humans have about 1% to 4% (or 1.5% to 2.6% by more recent data) of their DNA derived from Neanderthals. This finding is consistent with recent studies indicating that the divergence of some human alleles dates to one Ma, although this interpretation has been questioned. Neanderthals and AMH Homo sapiens could have co-existed in Europe for as long as 10,000 years, during which AMH populations exploded, vastly outnumbering Neanderthals, possibly outcompeting them by sheer numbers.

In 2008, archaeologists working at the site of Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of Siberia uncovered a small bone fragment from the fifth finger of a juvenile member of another human species, the Denisovans. Artifacts, including a bracelet, excavated in the cave at the same level were carbon dated to around 40,000 BP. As DNA had survived in the fossil fragment due to the cool climate of the Denisova Cave, both mtDNA and nuclear DNA were sequenced.

While the divergence point of the mtDNA was unexpectedly deep in time, the full genomic sequence suggested the Denisovans belonged to the same lineage as Neanderthals, with the two diverging shortly after their line split from the lineage that gave rise to modern humans. Modern humans are known to have overlapped with Neanderthals in Europe and the Near East for possibly more than 40,000 years, and the discovery raises the possibility that Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans may have co-existed and interbred. The existence of this distant branch creates a much more complex picture of humankind during the Late Pleistocene than previously thought. Evidence has also been found that as much as 6% of the DNA of some modern Melanesians derive from Denisovans, indicating limited interbreeding in Southeast Asia.

Alleles thought to have originated in Neanderthals and Denisovans have been identified at several genetic loci in the genomes of modern humans outside Africa. HLA haplotypes from Denisovans and Neanderthal represent more than half the HLA alleles of modern Eurasians, indicating strong positive selection for these introgressed alleles. Corinne Simoneti at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville and her team have found from medical records of 28,000 people of European descent that the presence of Neanderthal DNA segments may be associated with a higher rate of depression.

The flow of genes from Neanderthal populations to modern humans was not all one way. Sergi Castellano of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology reported in 2016 that while Denisovan and Neanderthal genomes are more related to each other than they are to us, Siberian Neanderthal genomes show more similarity to modern human genes than do European Neanderthal populations. This suggests Neanderthal populations interbred with modern humans around 100,000 years ago, probably somewhere in the Near East.

Studies of a Neanderthal child at Gibraltar show from brain development and tooth eruption that Neanderthal children may have matured more rapidly than Homo sapiens.

H. floresiensis

Main article: Homo floresiensis
A facial reconstruction of Homo floresiensis

H. floresiensis, which lived from approximately 190,000 to 50,000 years before present (BP), has been nicknamed the hobbit for its small size, possibly a result of insular dwarfism. H. floresiensis is intriguing both for its size and its age, being an example of a recent species of the genus Homo that exhibits derived traits not shared with modern humans. In other words, H. floresiensis shares a common ancestor with modern humans, but split from the modern human lineage and followed a distinct evolutionary path. The main find was a skeleton believed to be a woman of about 30 years of age. Found in 2003, it has been dated to approximately 18,000 years old. The living woman was estimated to be one meter in height, with a brain volume of just 380 cm (considered small for a chimpanzee and less than a third of the H. sapiens average of 1400 cm).

However, there is an ongoing debate over whether H. floresiensis is indeed a separate species. Some scientists hold that H. floresiensis was a modern H. sapiens with pathological dwarfism. This hypothesis is supported in part, because some modern humans who live on Flores, the Indonesian island where the skeleton was found, are pygmies. This, coupled with pathological dwarfism, could have resulted in a significantly diminutive human. The other major attack on H. floresiensis as a separate species is that it was found with tools only associated with H. sapiens.

The hypothesis of pathological dwarfism, however, fails to explain additional anatomical features that are unlike those of modern humans (diseased or not) but much like those of ancient members of our genus. Aside from cranial features, these features include the form of bones in the wrist, forearm, shoulder, knees, and feet. Additionally, this hypothesis fails to explain the find of multiple examples of individuals with these same characteristics, indicating they were common to a large population, and not limited to one individual.

In 2016, fossil teeth and a partial jaw from hominins assumed to be ancestral to H. floresiensis were discovered at Mata Menge, about 74 km (46 mi) from Liang Bua. They date to about 700,000 years ago and are noted by Australian archaeologist Gerrit van den Bergh for being even smaller than the later fossils.

H. luzonensis

Main article: Homo luzonensis

A small number of specimens from the island of Luzon, dated 50,000 to 67,000 years ago, have recently been assigned by their discoverers, based on dental characteristics, to a novel human species, H. luzonensis.

H. sapiens

Main articles: Archaic humans, Early modern human, Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans, and Human § Evolution
Reconstruction of early Homo sapiens from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco c. 315 000 years BP

H. sapiens (the adjective sapiens is Latin for "wise" or "intelligent") emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago, likely derived from H. heidelbergensis or a related lineage. In September 2019, scientists reported the computerized determination, based on 260 CT scans, of a virtual skull shape of the last common human ancestor to modern humans (H. sapiens), representative of the earliest modern humans, and suggested that modern humans arose between 260,000 and 350,000 years ago through a merging of populations in East and South Africa.

Between 400,000 years ago and the second interglacial period in the Middle Pleistocene, around 250,000 years ago, the trend in intra-cranial volume expansion and the elaboration of stone tool technologies developed, providing evidence for a transition from H. erectus to H. sapiens. The direct evidence suggests there was a migration of H. erectus out of Africa, then a further speciation of H. sapiens from H. erectus in Africa. A subsequent migration (both within and out of Africa) eventually replaced the earlier dispersed H. erectus. This migration and origin theory is usually referred to as the "recent single-origin hypothesis" or "out of Africa" theory. H. sapiens interbred with archaic humans both in Africa and in Eurasia, in Eurasia notably with Neanderthals and Denisovans.

The Toba catastrophe theory, which postulates a population bottleneck for H. sapiens about 70,000 years ago, was controversial from its first proposal in the 1990s and by the 2010s had very little support. Distinctive human genetic variability has arisen as the result of the founder effect, by archaic admixture and by recent evolutionary pressures.

Anatomical changes

Since Homo sapiens separated from its last common ancestor shared with chimpanzees, human evolution is characterized by a number of morphological, developmental, physiological, behavioral, and environmental changes. Environmental (cultural) evolution discovered much later during the Pleistocene played a significant role in human evolution observed via human transitions between subsistence systems. The most significant of these adaptations are bipedalism, increased brain size, lengthened ontogeny (gestation and infancy), and decreased sexual dimorphism. The relationship between these changes is the subject of ongoing debate. Other significant morphological changes included the evolution of a power and precision grip, a change first occurring in H. erectus.

Bipedalism

Bipedalism shown by a man and a woman

Bipedalism, (walking on two legs), is the basic adaptation of the hominid and is considered the main cause behind a suite of skeletal changes shared by all bipedal hominids. The earliest hominin, of presumably primitive bipedalism, is considered to be either Sahelanthropus or Orrorin, both of which arose some 6 to 7 million years ago. The non-bipedal knuckle-walkers, the gorillas and chimpanzees, diverged from the hominin line over a period covering the same time, so either Sahelanthropus or Orrorin may be our last shared ancestor. Ardipithecus, a full biped, arose approximately 5.6 million years ago.

The early bipeds eventually evolved into the australopithecines and still later into the genus Homo. There are several theories of the adaptation value of bipedalism. It is possible that bipedalism was favored because it freed the hands for reaching and carrying food, saved energy during locomotion, enabled long-distance running and hunting, provided an enhanced field of vision, and helped avoid hyperthermia by reducing the surface area exposed to direct sun; features all advantageous for thriving in the new savanna and woodland environment created as a result of the East African Rift Valley uplift versus the previous closed forest habitat. A 2007 study provides support for the hypothesis that bipedalism evolved because it used less energy than quadrupedal knuckle-walking. However, recent studies suggest that bipedality without the ability to use fire would not have allowed global dispersal. This change in gait saw a lengthening of the legs proportionately when compared to the length of the arms, which were shortened through the removal of the need for brachiation. Another change is the shape of the big toe. Recent studies suggest that australopithecines still lived part of the time in trees as a result of maintaining a grasping big toe. This was progressively lost in habilines.

Anatomically, the evolution of bipedalism has been accompanied by a large number of skeletal changes, not just to the legs and pelvis, but also to the vertebral column, feet and ankles, and skull. The femur evolved into a slightly more angular position to move the center of gravity toward the geometric center of the body. The knee and ankle joints became increasingly robust to better support increased weight. To support the increased weight on each vertebra in the upright position, the human vertebral column became S-shaped and the lumbar vertebrae became shorter and wider. In the feet the big toe moved into alignment with the other toes to help in forward locomotion. The arms and forearms shortened relative to the legs making it easier to run. The foramen magnum migrated under the skull and more anterior.

The most significant changes occurred in the pelvic region, where the long downward facing iliac blade was shortened and widened as a requirement for keeping the center of gravity stable while walking; bipedal hominids have a shorter but broader, bowl-like pelvis due to this. A drawback is that the birth canal of bipedal apes is smaller than in knuckle-walking apes, though there has been a widening of it in comparison to that of australopithecine and modern humans, thus permitting the passage of newborns due to the increase in cranial size. This is limited to the upper portion, since further increase can hinder normal bipedal movement.

The shortening of the pelvis and smaller birth canal evolved as a requirement for bipedalism and had significant effects on the process of human birth, which is much more difficult in modern humans than in other primates. During human birth, because of the variation in size of the pelvic region, the fetal head must be in a transverse position (compared to the mother) during entry into the birth canal and rotate about 90 degrees upon exit. The smaller birth canal became a limiting factor to brain size increases in early humans and prompted a shorter gestation period leading to the relative immaturity of human offspring, who are unable to walk much before 12 months and have greater neoteny, compared to other primates, who are mobile at a much earlier age. The increased brain growth after birth and the increased dependency of children on mothers had a major effect upon the female reproductive cycle, and the more frequent appearance of alloparenting in humans when compared with other hominids. Delayed human sexual maturity also led to the evolution of menopause with one explanation, the grandmother hypothesis, providing that elderly women could better pass on their genes by taking care of their daughter's offspring, as compared to having more children of their own.

Encephalization

Skulls of successive (or near-successive, depending on the source) human evolutionary ancestors, up until 'modern' Homo sapiens
* Mya – million years ago, kya – thousand years ago
Brain size and tooth size in hominins

The human species eventually developed a much larger brain than that of other primates—typically 1,330 cm (81 cu in) in modern humans, nearly three times the size of a chimpanzee or gorilla brain. After a period of stasis with Australopithecus anamensis and Ardipithecus, species which had smaller brains as a result of their bipedal locomotion, the pattern of encephalization started with Homo habilis, whose 600 cm (37 cu in) brain was slightly larger than that of chimpanzees. This evolution continued in Homo erectus with 800–1,100 cm (49–67 cu in), and reached a maximum in Neanderthals with 1,200–1,900 cm (73–116 cu in), larger even than modern Homo sapiens. This brain increase manifested during postnatal brain growth, far exceeding that of other apes (heterochrony). It also allowed for extended periods of social learning and language acquisition in juvenile humans, beginning as much as 2 million years ago. Encephalization may be due to a dependency on calorie-dense, difficult-to-acquire food.

Furthermore, the changes in the structure of human brains may be even more significant than the increase in size. Fossilized skulls shows the brain size in early humans fell within the range of modern humans 300,000 years ago, but only got its present-day brain shape between 100,000 and 35,000 years ago.

Three students hold three different skulls in front of their faces, to show the difference in size and shape compared to the modern head
The size and shape of the skull changed over time. The leftmost, and largest, is a replica of a modern human skull.

The temporal lobes, which contain centers for language processing, have increased disproportionately, as has the prefrontal cortex, which has been related to complex decision-making and moderating social behavior. Encephalization has been tied to increased starches and meat in the diet, however a 2022 meta study called into question the role of meat. Other factors are the development of cooking, and it has been proposed that intelligence increased as a response to an increased necessity for solving social problems as human society became more complex. Changes in skull morphology, such as smaller mandibles and mandible muscle attachments, allowed more room for the brain to grow.

The increase in volume of the neocortex also included a rapid increase in size of the cerebellum. Its function has traditionally been associated with balance and fine motor control, but more recently with speech and cognition. The great apes, including hominids, had a more pronounced cerebellum relative to the neocortex than other primates. It has been suggested that because of its function of sensory-motor control and learning complex muscular actions, the cerebellum may have underpinned human technological adaptations, including the preconditions of speech.

The immediate survival advantage of encephalization is difficult to discern, as the major brain changes from Homo erectus to Homo heidelbergensis were not accompanied by major changes in technology. It has been suggested that the changes were mainly social and behavioural, including increased empathic abilities, increases in size of social groups, and increased behavioral plasticity. Humans are unique in the ability to acquire information through social transmission and adapt that information. The emerging field of cultural evolution studies human sociocultural change from an evolutionary perspective.

Evolution of the shape, size, and contours of the human (Homo) skull

Sexual dimorphism

The reduced degree of sexual dimorphism in humans is visible primarily in the reduction of the male canine tooth relative to other ape species (except gibbons) and reduced brow ridges and general robustness of males. Another important physiological change related to sexuality in humans was the evolution of hidden estrus. Humans are the only hominoids in which the female is fertile year round and in which no special signals of fertility are produced by the body (such as genital swelling or overt changes in proceptivity during estrus).

Nonetheless, humans retain a degree of sexual dimorphism in the distribution of body hair and subcutaneous fat, and in the overall size, males being around 15% larger than females. These changes taken together have been interpreted as a result of an increased emphasis on pair bonding as a possible solution to the requirement for increased parental investment due to the prolonged infancy of offspring.

Ulnar opposition

Only the human is able to touch the little finger with the thumb.

The ulnar opposition—the contact between the thumb and the tip of the little finger of the same hand—is unique to the genus Homo, including Neanderthals, the Sima de los Huesos hominins and anatomically modern humans. In other primates, the thumb is short and unable to touch the little finger. The ulnar opposition facilitates the precision grip and power grip of the human hand, underlying all the skilled manipulations.

Other changes

A number of other changes have also characterized the evolution of humans, among them an increased reliance on vision rather than smell (highly reduced olfactory bulb); a longer juvenile developmental period and higher infant dependency; a smaller gut and small, misaligned teeth; faster basal metabolism; loss of body hair; an increase in eccrine sweat gland density that is ten times higher than any other catarrhinian primates, yet humans use 30% to 50% less water per day compared to chimps and gorillas; more REM sleep but less sleep in total; a change in the shape of the dental arcade from u-shaped to parabolic; development of a chin (found in Homo sapiens alone); styloid processes; and a descended larynx. As the human hand and arms adapted to the making of tools and were used less for climbing, the shoulder blades changed too. As a side effect, it allowed human ancestors to throw objects with greater force, speed and accuracy.

Use of tools

"A sharp rock", an Oldowan pebble tool, the most basic of human stone tools
The harnessing of fire was a pivotal milestone in human history.
Acheulean hand-axes from Kent. H. erectus flint work. The types shown are (clockwise from top) cordate, ficron and ovate.
Venus of Willendorf, an example of Paleolithic art, dated 24–26,000 years ago
See also: Hunting hypothesis

The use of tools has been interpreted as a sign of intelligence, and it has been theorized that tool use may have stimulated certain aspects of human evolution, especially the continued expansion of the human brain. Paleontology has yet to explain the expansion of this organ over millions of years despite being extremely demanding in terms of energy consumption. The brain of a modern human consumes, on average, about 13 watts (260 kilocalories per day), a fifth of the body's resting power consumption. Increased tool use would allow hunting for energy-rich meat products, and would enable processing more energy-rich plant products. Researchers have suggested that early hominins were thus under evolutionary pressure to increase their capacity to create and use tools.

Precisely when early humans started to use tools is difficult to determine, because the more primitive these tools are (for example, sharp-edged stones) the more difficult it is to decide whether they are natural objects or human artifacts. There is some evidence that the australopithecines (4 Ma) may have used broken bones as tools, but this is debated.

Many species make and use tools, but it is the human genus that dominates the areas of making and using more complex tools. The oldest known tools are flakes from West Turkana, Kenya, which date to 3.3 million years ago. The next oldest stone tools are from Gona, Ethiopia, and are considered the beginning of the Oldowan technology. These tools date to about 2.6 million years ago. A Homo fossil was found near some Oldowan tools, and its age was noted at 2.3 million years old, suggesting that maybe the Homo species did indeed create and use these tools. It is a possibility but does not yet represent solid evidence. The third metacarpal styloid process enables the hand bone to lock into the wrist bones, allowing for greater amounts of pressure to be applied to the wrist and hand from a grasping thumb and fingers. It allows humans the dexterity and strength to make and use complex tools. This unique anatomical feature separates humans from apes and other nonhuman primates, and is not seen in human fossils older than 1.8 million years.

Bernard Wood noted that Paranthropus co-existed with the early Homo species in the area of the "Oldowan Industrial Complex" over roughly the same span of time. Although there is no direct evidence which identifies Paranthropus as the tool makers, their anatomy lends to indirect evidence of their capabilities in this area. Most paleoanthropologists agree that the early Homo species were indeed responsible for most of the Oldowan tools found. They argue that when most of the Oldowan tools were found in association with human fossils, Homo was always present, but Paranthropus was not.

In 1994, Randall Susman used the anatomy of opposable thumbs as the basis for his argument that both the Homo and Paranthropus species were toolmakers. He compared bones and muscles of human and chimpanzee thumbs, finding that humans have 3 muscles which are lacking in chimpanzees. Humans also have thicker metacarpals with broader heads, allowing more precise grasping than the chimpanzee hand can perform. Susman posited that modern anatomy of the human opposable thumb is an evolutionary response to the requirements associated with making and handling tools and that both species were indeed toolmakers.

Transition to behavioral modernity

Further information: Behavioral modernity

Anthropologists describe modern human behavior to include cultural and behavioral traits such as specialization of tools, use of jewellery and images (such as cave drawings), organization of living space, rituals (such as grave gifts), specialized hunting techniques, exploration of less hospitable geographical areas, and barter trade networks, as well as more general traits such as language and complex symbolic thinking. Debate continues as to whether a "revolution" led to modern humans ("big bang of human consciousness"), or whether the evolution was more gradual.

Until about 50,000–40,000 years ago, the use of stone tools seems to have progressed stepwise. Each phase (H. habilis, H. ergaster, H. neanderthalensis) marked a new technology, followed by very slow development until the next phase. Currently paleoanthropologists are debating whether these Homo species possessed some or many modern human behaviors. They seem to have been culturally conservative, maintaining the same technologies and foraging patterns over very long periods.

Around 50,000 BP, human culture started to evolve more rapidly. The transition to behavioral modernity has been characterized by some as a "Great Leap Forward", or as the "Upper Palaeolithic Revolution", due to the sudden appearance in the archaeological record of distinctive signs of modern behavior and big game hunting. Evidence of behavioral modernity significantly earlier also exists from Africa, with older evidence of abstract imagery, widened subsistence strategies, more sophisticated tools and weapons, and other "modern" behaviors, and many scholars have recently argued that the transition to modernity occurred sooner than previously believed.

Other scholars consider the transition to have been more gradual, noting that some features had already appeared among archaic African Homo sapiens 300,000–200,000 years ago. Recent evidence suggests that the Australian Aboriginal population separated from the African population 75,000 years ago, and that they made a 160 km (99 mi) sea journey 60,000 years ago, which may diminish the significance of the Upper Paleolithic Revolution.

Modern humans started burying their dead, making clothing from animal hides, hunting with more sophisticated techniques (such as using pit traps or driving animals off cliffs), and cave painting. As human culture advanced, different populations innovated existing technologies: artifacts such as fish hooks, buttons, and bone needles show signs of cultural variation, which had not been seen prior to 50,000 BP. Typically, the older H. neanderthalensis populations did not vary in their technologies, although the Chatelperronian assemblages have been found to be Neanderthal imitations of H. sapiens Aurignacian technologies.

Recent and ongoing human evolution

Main article: Recent human evolution

Anatomically modern human populations continue to evolve, as they are affected by both natural selection and genetic drift. Although selection pressure on some traits, such as resistance to smallpox, has decreased in the modern age, humans are still undergoing natural selection for many other traits. Some of these are due to specific environmental pressures, while others are related to lifestyle changes since the development of agriculture (10,000 years ago), urbanization (5,000), and industrialization (250 years ago). It has been argued that human evolution has accelerated since the development of agriculture 10,000 years ago and civilization some 5,000 years ago, resulting, it is claimed, in substantial genetic differences between different current human populations, and more recent research indicates that for some traits, the developments and innovations of human culture have driven a new form of selection that coexists with, and in some cases has largely replaced, natural selection.

Reconstruction of the upper Palaeolithic human Oase 2 c. 40 000 years BP

Particularly conspicuous is variation in superficial characteristics, such as Afro-textured hair, or the recent evolution of light skin and blond hair in some populations, which are attributed to differences in climate. Particularly strong selective pressures have resulted in high-altitude adaptation in humans, with different ones in different isolated populations. Studies of the genetic basis show that some developed very recently, with Tibetans evolving over 3,000 years to have high proportions of an allele of EPAS1 that is adaptive to high altitudes.

Other evolution is related to endemic diseases: the presence of malaria selects for sickle cell trait (the heterozygous form of sickle cell gene), while in the absence of malaria, the health effects of sickle-cell anemia select against this trait. For another example, the population at risk of the severe debilitating disease kuru has significant over-representation of an immune variant of the prion protein gene G127V versus non-immune alleles. The frequency of this genetic variant is due to the survival of immune persons. Some reported trends remain unexplained and the subject of ongoing research in the novel field of evolutionary medicine: polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) reduces fertility and thus is expected to be subject to extremely strong negative selection, but its relative commonality in human populations suggests a counteracting selection pressure. The identity of that pressure remains the subject of some debate.

Recent human evolution related to agriculture includes genetic resistance to infectious disease that has appeared in human populations by crossing the species barrier from domesticated animals, as well as changes in metabolism due to changes in diet, such as lactase persistence.

Culturally-driven evolution can defy the expectations of natural selection: while human populations experience some pressure that drives a selection for producing children at younger ages, the advent of effective contraception, higher education, and changing social norms have driven the observed selection in the opposite direction. However, culturally-driven selection need not necessarily work counter or in opposition to natural selection: some proposals to explain the high rate of recent human brain expansion indicate a kind of feedback whereupon the brain's increased social learning efficiency encourages cultural developments that in turn encourage more efficiency, which drive more complex cultural developments that demand still-greater efficiency, and so forth. Culturally-driven evolution has an advantage in that in addition to the genetic effects, it can be observed also in the archaeological record: the development of stone tools across the Palaeolithic period connects to culturally-driven cognitive development in the form of skill acquisition supported by the culture and the development of increasingly complex technologies and the cognitive ability to elaborate them.

In contemporary times, since industrialization, some trends have been observed: for instance, menopause is evolving to occur later. Other reported trends appear to include lengthening of the human reproductive period and reduction in cholesterol levels, blood glucose and blood pressure in some populations.

History of study

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of human evolution.

Before Darwin

The name Homo of the biological genus to which humans belong is Latin for 'human'. It was chosen originally by Carl Linnaeus in his classification system. The English word human is from the Latin humanus, the adjectival form of homo. The Latin homo derives from the Indo-European root *dhghem, or 'earth'. Linnaeus and other scientists of his time also considered the great apes to be the closest relatives of humans based on morphological and anatomical similarities.

Darwin

The possibility of linking humans with earlier apes by descent became clear only after 1859 with the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, in which he argued for the idea of the evolution of new species from earlier ones. Darwin's book did not address the question of human evolution, saying only that "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history."

The first debates about the nature of human evolution arose between Thomas Henry Huxley and Richard Owen. Huxley argued for human evolution from apes by illustrating many of the similarities and differences between humans and other apes, and did so particularly in his 1863 book Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature. Many of Darwin's early supporters (such as Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Lyell) did not initially agree that the origin of the mental capacities and the moral sensibilities of humans could be explained by natural selection, though this later changed. Darwin applied the theory of evolution and sexual selection to humans in his 1871 book The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.

First fossils

A major problem in the 19th century was the lack of fossil intermediaries. Neanderthal remains were discovered in a limestone quarry in 1856, three years before the publication of On the Origin of Species, and Neanderthal fossils had been discovered in Gibraltar even earlier, but it was originally claimed that these were the remains of a modern human who had suffered some kind of illness. Despite the 1891 discovery by Eugène Dubois of what is now called Homo erectus at Trinil, Java, it was only in the 1920s when such fossils were discovered in Africa, that intermediate species began to accumulate. In 1925, Raymond Dart described Australopithecus africanus. The type specimen was the Taung Child, an australopithecine infant which was discovered in a cave. The child's remains were a remarkably well-preserved tiny skull and an endocast of the brain.

Although the brain was small (410 cm), its shape was rounded, unlike that of chimpanzees and gorillas, and more like a modern human brain. Also, the specimen showed short canine teeth, and the position of the foramen magnum (the hole in the skull where the spine enters) was evidence of bipedal locomotion. All of these traits convinced Dart that the Taung Child was a bipedal human ancestor, a transitional form between apes and humans.

The East African fossils

Fossil hominid evolution display at The Museum of Osteology, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US

During the 1960s and 1970s, hundreds of fossils were found in East Africa in the regions of the Olduvai Gorge and Lake Turkana. These searches were carried out by the Leakey family, with Louis Leakey and his wife Mary Leakey, and later their son Richard and daughter-in-law Meave, fossil hunters and paleoanthropologists. From the fossil beds of Olduvai and Lake Turkana they amassed specimens of the early hominins: the australopithecines and Homo species, and even H. erectus.

These finds cemented Africa as the cradle of humankind. In the late 1970s and the 1980s, Ethiopia emerged as the new hot spot of paleoanthropology after "Lucy", the most complete fossil member of the species Australopithecus afarensis, was found in 1974 by Donald Johanson near Hadar in the desertic Afar Triangle region of northern Ethiopia. Although the specimen had a small brain, the pelvis and leg bones were almost identical in function to those of modern humans, showing with certainty that these hominins had walked erect. Lucy was classified as a new species, Australopithecus afarensis, which is thought to be more closely related to the genus Homo as a direct ancestor, or as a close relative of an unknown ancestor, than any other known hominid or hominin from this early time range. (The specimen was nicknamed "Lucy" after the Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", which was played loudly and repeatedly in the camp during the excavations.) The Afar Triangle area would later yield discovery of many more hominin fossils, particularly those uncovered or described by teams headed by Tim D. White in the 1990s, including Ardipithecus ramidus and A. kadabba.

In 2013, fossil skeletons of Homo naledi, an extinct species of hominin assigned (provisionally) to the genus Homo, were found in the Rising Star Cave system, a site in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind region in Gauteng province near Johannesburg. As of September 2015, fossils of at least fifteen individuals, amounting to 1,550 specimens, have been excavated from the cave. The species is characterized by a body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations, a smaller endocranial volume similar to Australopithecus, and a cranial morphology (skull shape) similar to early Homo species. The skeletal anatomy combines primitive features known from australopithecines with features known from early hominins. The individuals show signs of having been deliberately disposed of within the cave near the time of death. The fossils were dated close to 250,000 years ago, and thus are not ancestral but contemporary with the first appearance of larger-brained anatomically modern humans.

The genetic revolution

The genetic revolution in studies of human evolution started when Vincent Sarich and Allan Wilson measured the strength of immunological cross-reactions of blood serum albumin between pairs of creatures, including humans and African apes (chimpanzees and gorillas). The strength of the reaction could be expressed numerically as an immunological distance, which was in turn proportional to the number of amino acid differences between homologous proteins in different species. By constructing a calibration curve of the ID of species' pairs with known divergence times in the fossil record, the data could be used as a molecular clock to estimate the times of divergence of pairs with poorer or unknown fossil records.

In their seminal 1967 paper in Science, Sarich and Wilson estimated the divergence time of humans and apes as four to five million years ago, at a time when standard interpretations of the fossil record gave this divergence as at least 10 to as much as 30 million years. Subsequent fossil discoveries, notably "Lucy", and reinterpretation of older fossil materials, notably Ramapithecus, showed the younger estimates to be correct and validated the albumin method.

Progress in DNA sequencing, specifically mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and then Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) advanced the understanding of human origins. Application of the molecular clock principle revolutionized the study of molecular evolution.

On the basis of a separation from the orangutan between 10 and 20 million years ago, earlier studies of the molecular clock suggested that there were about 76 mutations per generation that were not inherited by human children from their parents; this evidence supported the divergence time between hominins and chimpanzees noted above. However, a 2012 study in Iceland of 78 children and their parents suggests a mutation rate of only 36 mutations per generation; this datum extends the separation between humans and chimpanzees to an earlier period greater than 7 million years ago (Ma). Additional research with 226 offspring of wild chimpanzee populations in eight locations suggests that chimpanzees reproduce at age 26.5 years on average; which suggests the human divergence from chimpanzees occurred between 7 and 13 mya. And these data suggest that Ardipithecus (4.5 Ma), Orrorin (6 Ma) and Sahelanthropus (7 Ma) all may be on the hominid lineage, and even that the separation may have occurred outside the East African Rift region.

Furthermore, analysis of the two species' genes in 2006 provides evidence that after human ancestors had started to diverge from chimpanzees, interspecies mating between "proto-human" and "proto-chimpanzees" nonetheless occurred regularly enough to change certain genes in the new gene pool:

A new comparison of the human and chimpanzee genomes suggests that after the two lineages separated, they may have begun interbreeding... A principal finding is that the X chromosomes of humans and chimpanzees appear to have diverged about 1.2 million years more recently than the other chromosomes.

The research suggests:

There were in fact two splits between the human and chimpanzee lineages, with the first being followed by interbreeding between the two populations and then a second split. The suggestion of a hybridization has startled paleoanthropologists, who nonetheless are treating the new genetic data seriously.

The quest for the earliest hominin

In the 1990s, several teams of paleoanthropologists were working throughout Africa looking for evidence of the earliest divergence of the hominin lineage from the great apes. In 1994, Meave Leakey discovered Australopithecus anamensis. The find was overshadowed by Tim D. White's 1995 discovery of Ardipithecus ramidus, which pushed back the fossil record to 4.2 million years ago.

In 2000, Martin Pickford and Brigitte Senut discovered, in the Tugen Hills of Kenya, a 6-million-year-old bipedal hominin which they named Orrorin tugenensis. And in 2001, a team led by Michel Brunet discovered the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis which was dated as 7.2 million years ago, and which Brunet argued was a bipedal, and therefore a hominid—that is, a hominin (cf Hominidae; terms "hominids" and hominins).

Human dispersal

See also: Early human migrations, Recent African origin of modern humans, Multiregional origin of modern humans, and Archaic humans in Southeast Asia Map with arrows emanating from Africa, across Eurasia, to Australia and the Americas.A global mapping model of human migration, based from divergence of the mitochondrial DNA (which indicates the matrilineage). Timescale (ka) indicated by colours.Trellis of intermingling populations for the last two million years.A "trellis" (as Milford H. Wolpoff called it) that emphasizes back-and-forth gene flow among geographic regionsDifferent models for the beginning of the present human species

Anthropologists in the 1980s were divided regarding some details of reproductive barriers and migratory dispersals of the genus Homo. Subsequently, genetics has been used to investigate and resolve these issues. According to the Sahara pump theory evidence suggests that the genus Homo have migrated out of Africa at least three and possibly four times (e.g. Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis and two or three times for Homo sapiens). Recent evidence suggests these dispersals are closely related to fluctuating periods of climate change.

Recent evidence suggests that humans may have left Africa half a million years earlier than previously thought. A joint Franco-Indian team has found human artifacts in the Siwalk Hills north of New Delhi dating back at least 2.6 million years. This is earlier than the previous earliest finding of genus Homo at Dmanisi, in Georgia, dating to 1.85 million years. Although controversial, tools found at a Chinese cave strengthen the case that humans used tools as far back as 2.48 million years ago. This suggests that the Asian "Chopper" tool tradition, found in Java and northern China may have left Africa before the appearance of the Acheulian hand axe.

Dispersal of modern Homo sapiens

Up until the genetic evidence became available, there were two dominant models for the dispersal of modern humans. The multiregional hypothesis proposed that the genus Homo contained only a single interconnected population as it does today (not separate species), and that its evolution took place worldwide continuously over the last couple of million years. This model was proposed in 1988 by Milford H. Wolpoff. In contrast, the "out of Africa" model proposed that modern H. sapiens speciated in Africa recently (that is, approximately 200,000 years ago) and the subsequent migration through Eurasia resulted in the nearly complete replacement of other Homo species. This model has been developed by Chris Stringer and Peter Andrews.

Sequencing mtDNA and Y-DNA sampled from a wide range of indigenous populations revealed ancestral information relating to both male and female genetic heritage, and strengthened the "out of Africa" theory and weakened the views of multiregional evolutionism. Aligned in genetic tree differences were interpreted as supportive of a recent single origin.

"Out of Africa" has thus gained much support from research using female mitochondrial DNA and the male Y chromosome. After analysing genealogy trees constructed using 133 types of mtDNA, researchers concluded that all were descended from a female African progenitor, dubbed Mitochondrial Eve. "Out of Africa" is also supported by the fact that mitochondrial genetic diversity is highest among African populations.

A broad study of African genetic diversity, headed by Sarah Tishkoff, found the San people had the greatest genetic diversity among the 113 distinct populations sampled, making them one of 14 "ancestral population clusters". The research also located a possible origin of modern human migration in southwestern Africa, near the coastal border of Namibia and Angola. The fossil evidence was insufficient for archaeologist Richard Leakey to resolve the debate about exactly where in Africa modern humans first appeared. Studies of haplogroups in Y-chromosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA have largely supported a recent African origin. All the evidence from autosomal DNA also predominantly supports a Recent African origin. However, evidence for archaic admixture in modern humans, both in Africa and later, throughout Eurasia has recently been suggested by a number of studies.

Recent sequencing of Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes shows that some admixture with these populations has occurred. All modern human groups outside Africa have 1–4% or (according to more recent research) about 1.5–2.6% Neanderthal alleles in their genome, and some Melanesians have an additional 4–6% of Denisovan alleles. These new results do not contradict the "out of Africa" model, except in its strictest interpretation, although they make the situation more complex. After recovery from a genetic bottleneck that some researchers speculate might be linked to the Toba supervolcano catastrophe, a fairly small group left Africa and interbred with Neanderthals, probably in the Middle East, on the Eurasian steppe or even in North Africa before their departure. Their still predominantly African descendants spread to populate the world. A fraction in turn interbred with Denisovans, probably in southeastern Asia, before populating Melanesia. HLA haplotypes of Neanderthal and Denisova origin have been identified in modern Eurasian and Oceanian populations. The Denisovan EPAS1 gene has also been found in Tibetan populations. Studies of the human genome using machine learning have identified additional genetic contributions in Eurasians from an "unknown" ancestral population potentially related to the Neanderthal-Denisovan lineage.

A map of early human migrations

There are still differing theories on whether there was a single exodus from Africa or several. A multiple dispersal model involves the Southern Dispersal theory, which has gained support in recent years from genetic, linguistic and archaeological evidence. In this theory, there was a coastal dispersal of modern humans from the Horn of Africa crossing the Bab el Mandib to Yemen at a lower sea level around 70,000 years ago. This group helped to populate Southeast Asia and Oceania, explaining the discovery of early human sites in these areas much earlier than those in the Levant. This group seems to have been dependent upon marine resources for their survival.

Stephen Oppenheimer has proposed a second wave of humans may have later dispersed through the Persian Gulf oases, and the Zagros mountains into the Middle East. Alternatively it may have come across the Sinai Peninsula into Asia, from shortly after 50,000 yrs BP, resulting in the bulk of the human populations of Eurasia. It has been suggested that this second group possibly possessed a more sophisticated "big game hunting" tool technology and was less dependent on coastal food sources than the original group. Much of the evidence for the first group's expansion would have been destroyed by the rising sea levels at the end of each glacial maximum. The multiple dispersal model is contradicted by studies indicating that the populations of Eurasia and the populations of Southeast Asia and Oceania are all descended from the same mitochondrial DNA L3 lineages, which support a single migration out of Africa that gave rise to all non-African populations.

On the basis of the early date of Badoshan Iranian Aurignacian, Oppenheimer suggests that this second dispersal may have occurred with a pluvial period about 50,000 years before the present, with modern human big-game hunting cultures spreading up the Zagros Mountains, carrying modern human genomes from Oman, throughout the Persian Gulf, northward into Armenia and Anatolia, with a variant travelling south into Israel and to Cyrenicia.

Recent genetic evidence suggests that all modern non-African populations, including those of Eurasia and Oceania, are descended from a single wave that left Africa between 65,000 and 50,000 years ago.

Evidence

The evidence on which scientific accounts of human evolution are based comes from many fields of natural science. The main source of knowledge about the evolutionary process has traditionally been the fossil record, but since the development of genetics beginning in the 1970s, DNA analysis has come to occupy a place of comparable importance. The studies of ontogeny, phylogeny and especially evolutionary developmental biology of both vertebrates and invertebrates offer considerable insight into the evolution of all life, including how humans evolved. The specific study of the origin and life of humans is anthropology, particularly paleoanthropology which focuses on the study of human prehistory.

Evidence from genetics

Main articles: Human evolutionary genetics and Human genetic variation
Family tree showing the extant hominoids: humans (genus Homo), chimpanzees and bonobos (genus Pan), gorillas (genus Gorilla), orangutans (genus Pongo), and gibbons (four genera of the family Hylobatidae: Hylobates, Hoolock, Nomascus, and Symphalangus). All except gibbons are hominids.

The closest living relatives of humans are bonobos and chimpanzees (both genus Pan) and gorillas (genus Gorilla). With the sequencing of both the human and chimpanzee genome, as of 2012 estimates of the similarity between their DNA sequences range between 95% and 99%. It is also noteworthy that mice share around 97.5% of their working DNA with humans. By using the technique called the molecular clock which estimates the time required for the number of divergent mutations to accumulate between two lineages, the approximate date for the split between lineages can be calculated.

The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and then the orangutans (genus Pongo) were the first groups to split from the line leading to the hominins, including humans—followed by gorillas (genus Gorilla), and, ultimately, by the chimpanzees (genus Pan). The splitting date between hominin and chimpanzee lineages is placed by some between 4 to 8 million years ago, that is, during the Late Miocene. Speciation, however, appears to have been unusually drawn out. Initial divergence occurred sometime between 7 to 13 million years ago, but ongoing hybridization blurred the separation and delayed complete separation during several millions of years. Patterson (2006) dated the final divergence at 5 to 6 million years ago.

Genetic evidence has also been employed to compare species within the genus Homo, investigating gene flow between early modern humans and Neanderthals, and to enhance the understanding of the early human migration patterns and splitting dates. By comparing the parts of the genome that are not under natural selection and which therefore accumulate mutations at a fairly steady rate, it is possible to reconstruct a genetic tree incorporating the entire human species since the last shared ancestor.

Each time a certain mutation (single-nucleotide polymorphism) appears in an individual and is passed on to his or her descendants, a haplogroup is formed including all of the descendants of the individual who will also carry that mutation. By comparing mitochondrial DNA which is inherited only from the mother, geneticists have concluded that the last female common ancestor whose genetic marker is found in all modern humans, the so-called mitochondrial Eve, must have lived around 200,000 years ago.

Human evolutionary genetics studies how human genomes differ among individuals, the evolutionary past that gave rise to them, and their current effects. Differences between genomes have anthropological, medical and forensic implications and applications. Genetic data can provide important insight into human evolution.

In May 2023, scientists reported a more complicated pathway of human evolution than previously understood. According to the studies, humans evolved from different places and times in Africa, instead of from a single location and period of time.


Evidence from the fossil record

Replica of fossil skull of H. habilis. Fossil number KNM ER 1813, found at Koobi Fora, Kenya.
Replica of fossil skull of H. ergaster (African H. erectus). Fossil number Khm-Heu 3733 discovered in 1975 in Kenya.

There is little fossil evidence for the divergence of the gorilla, chimpanzee and hominin lineages. The earliest fossils that have been proposed as members of the hominin lineage are Sahelanthropus tchadensis dating from 7 million years ago, Orrorin tugenensis dating from 5.7 million years ago, and Ardipithecus kadabba dating to 5.6 million years ago. Each of these have been argued to be a bipedal ancestor of later hominins but, in each case, the claims have been contested. It is also possible that one or more of these species are ancestors of another branch of African apes, or that they represent a shared ancestor between hominins and other apes.

The question then of the relationship between these early fossil species and the hominin lineage is still to be resolved. From these early species, the australopithecines arose around 4 million years ago and diverged into robust (also called Paranthropus) and gracile branches, one of which (possibly A. garhi) probably went on to become ancestors of the genus Homo. The australopithecine species that is best represented in the fossil record is Australopithecus afarensis with more than 100 fossil individuals represented, found from Northern Ethiopia (such as the famous "Lucy"), to Kenya, and South Africa. Fossils of robust australopithecines such as A. robustus (or alternatively Paranthropus robustus) and A./P. boisei are particularly abundant in South Africa at sites such as Kromdraai and Swartkrans, and around Lake Turkana in Kenya.

The earliest member of the genus Homo is Homo habilis which evolved around 2.8 million years ago. H. habilis is the first species for which we have positive evidence of the use of stone tools. They developed the Oldowan lithic technology, named after the Olduvai Gorge in which the first specimens were found. Some scientists consider Homo rudolfensis, a larger bodied group of fossils with similar morphology to the original H. habilis fossils, to be a separate species, while others consider them to be part of H. habilis—simply representing intraspecies variation, or perhaps even sexual dimorphism. The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee, and their main adaptation was bipedalism as an adaptation to terrestrial living.

During the next million years, a process of encephalization began and, by the arrival (about 1.9 million years ago) of H. erectus in the fossil record, cranial capacity had doubled. H. erectus were the first of the hominins to emigrate from Africa, and, from 1.8 to 1.3 million years ago, this species spread through Africa, Asia, and Europe. One population of H. erectus, also sometimes classified as separate species H. ergaster, remained in Africa and evolved into H. sapiens. It is believed that H. erectus and H. ergaster were the first to use fire and complex tools. In Eurasia, H. erectus evolved into species such as H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis and H. neanderthalensis. The earliest fossils of anatomically modern humans are from the Middle Paleolithic, about 300–200,000 years ago such as the Herto and Omo remains of Ethiopia, Jebel Irhoud remains of Morocco, and Florisbad remains of South Africa; later fossils from the Skhul Cave in Israel and Southern Europe begin around 90,000 years ago (0.09 million years ago).

As modern humans spread out from Africa, they encountered other hominins such as H. neanderthalensis and the Denisovans, who may have evolved from populations of H. erectus that had left Africa around 2 million years ago. The nature of interaction between early humans and these sister species has been a long-standing source of controversy, the question being whether humans replaced these earlier species or whether they were in fact similar enough to interbreed, in which case these earlier populations may have contributed genetic material to modern humans.

This migration out of Africa is estimated to have begun about 70–50,000 years BP and modern humans subsequently spread globally, replacing earlier hominins either through competition or hybridization. They inhabited Eurasia and Oceania by 40,000 years BP, and the Americas by at least 14,500 years BP.

Inter-species breeding

Further information: Interbreeding between archaic and modern humans
A model of the evolution of the genus Homo over the last 2 million years (vertical axis). The rapid "Out of Africa" expansion of H. sapiens is indicated at the top of the diagram, with admixture indicated with Neanderthals, Denisovans, and unspecified archaic African hominins.

The hypothesis of interbreeding, also known as hybridization, admixture or hybrid-origin theory, has been discussed ever since the discovery of Neanderthal remains in the 19th century. The linear view of human evolution began to be abandoned in the 1970s as different species of humans were discovered that made the linear concept increasingly unlikely. In the 21st century with the advent of molecular biology techniques and computerization, whole-genome sequencing of Neanderthal and human genome were performed, confirming recent admixture between different human species. In 2010, evidence based on molecular biology was published, revealing unambiguous examples of interbreeding between archaic and modern humans during the Middle Paleolithic and early Upper Paleolithic. It has been demonstrated that interbreeding happened in several independent events that included Neanderthals and Denisovans, as well as several unidentified hominins. Today, approximately 2% of DNA from all non-African populations (including Europeans, Asians, and Oceanians) is Neanderthal, with traces of Denisovan heritage. Also, 4–6% of modern Melanesian genetics are Denisovan. Comparisons of the human genome to the genomes of Neandertals, Denisovans and apes can help identify features that set modern humans apart from other hominin species. In a 2016 comparative genomics study, a Harvard Medical School/UCLA research team made a world map on the distribution and made some predictions about where Denisovan and Neanderthal genes may be impacting modern human biology.

For example, comparative studies in the mid-2010s found several traits related to neurological, immunological, developmental, and metabolic phenotypes, that were developed by archaic humans to European and Asian environments and inherited to modern humans through admixture with local hominins.

Although the narratives of human evolution are often contentious, several discoveries since 2010 show that human evolution should not be seen as a simple linear or branched progression, but a mix of related species. In fact, genomic research has shown that hybridization between substantially diverged lineages is the rule, not the exception, in human evolution. Furthermore, it is argued that hybridization was an essential creative force in the emergence of modern humans.

Stone tools

Main article: Stone tool

Stone tools are first attested around 2.6 million years ago, when hominins in Eastern Africa used so-called core tools, choppers made out of round cores that had been split by simple strikes. This marks the beginning of the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age; its end is taken to be the end of the last Ice Age, around 10,000 years ago. The Paleolithic is subdivided into the Lower Paleolithic (Early Stone Age), ending around 350,000–300,000 years ago, the Middle Paleolithic (Middle Stone Age), until 50,000–30,000 years ago, and the Upper Paleolithic, (Late Stone Age), 50,000–10,000 years ago.

Archaeologists working in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya have discovered the oldest known stone tools in the world. Dated to around 3.3 million years ago, the implements are some 700,000 years older than stone tools from Ethiopia that previously held this distinction.

The period from 700,000 to 300,000 years ago is also known as the Acheulean, when H. ergaster (or erectus) made large stone hand axes out of flint and quartzite, at first quite rough (Early Acheulian), later "retouched" by additional, more-subtle strikes at the sides of the flakes. After 350,000 BP the more refined so-called Levallois technique was developed, a series of consecutive strikes, by which scrapers, slicers ("racloirs"), needles, and flattened needles were made. Finally, after about 50,000 BP, ever more refined and specialized flint tools were made by the Neanderthals and the immigrant Cro-Magnons (knives, blades, skimmers). Bone tools were also made by H. sapiens in Africa by 90,000–70,000 years ago and are also known from early H. sapiens sites in Eurasia by about 50,000 years ago.

Species list

See also: List of Homo species

This list is in chronological order across the table by genus. Some species/subspecies names are well-established, and some are less established – especially in genus Homo. Please see articles for more information.

Sahelanthropus Homo (humans)
S. tchadensis H. gautengensis
Orrorin H. habilis
O. tugenensis H. rudolfensis
Ardipithecus H. floresiensis
A. kadabba H. ergaster
A. ramidus H. erectus
Australopithecus H. e. georgicus
A. anamensis H. cepranensis
A. afarensis H. antecessor
A. bahrelghazali  H. heidelbergensis
A. africanus H. rhodesiensis
A. garhi H. naledi
A. sediba H. helmei
Kenyanthropus H. neanderthalensis
K. platyops H. sapiens
Paranthropus H. s. idaltu
P. aethiopicus H. s. sapiens (early)
P. boisei H. s. sapiens (modern)
P. robustus

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The conventional estimate on the age of H. habilis is at roughly 2.1 to 2.3 million years. Suggestions for pushing back the age to 2.8 Mya were made in 2015 based on the discovery of a jawbone.
  2. Not to be confused with Pongidae, an obsolete family which grouped together orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees to separate them from humans
  3. There is no general agreement on the line of special descent of H. sapiens from H. erectus. Some of the species depicted in the image may not actually represent a direct evolutionary ancestor to H. sapiens, and may not directly derive from one another, namely:
    • H. heidelbergensis likely did not descend from H. antecessor.
    • H. heidelbergensis is likely not an ancestor to H. sapiens, nor is H. antecessor.
    • H. ergaster is often considered the next evolutionary ancestor to H. sapiens following H. erectus, however, there is considerable uncertainty as to the accuracy of classifying it as a separate species from H. erectus at all.
  4. H. erectus in the narrow sense (the Asian species) was extinct by 140,000 years ago, Homo erectus soloensis, found in Java, is considered the latest known survival of H. erectus. Formerly dated to as late as 50,000 to 40,000 years ago, a 2011 study pushed back the date of its extinction of H. e. soloensis to 143,000 years ago at the latest, more likely before 550,000 years ago.
  5. The Latin word which refers to adult males only is vir
  6. See the Binomial nomenclature and Systema Naturae articles.

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