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The last common ancestor between humans and other apes possibly had a similar method of locomotion. 12-8 Ma The clade currently represented by humans and the genus Pan (chimpanzees and bonobos) splits from the ancestors of the gorillas between c. 12 to 8 Ma. [31] 8-6 Ma Sahelanthropus tchadensis
At long irregular intervals, Earth's biosphere suffers a catastrophic die-off, a mass extinction, [9] often comprising an accumulation of smaller extinction events over a relatively brief period. [10] The first known mass extinction was the Great Oxidation Event 2.4 billion years ago, which killed most of the planet's obligate anaerobes.
[84] [85] [86] 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. [87]
The study of human history has a long tradition and early precursors were already practiced in the ancient period as attempts to provide comprehensive accounts of the history of the world. [ ab ] Most research before the 20th century focused on histories of individual communities and societies after the prehistoric period.
The expansion of modern human population is thought to have begun 45,000 years ago, and it may have taken 15,000–20,000 years for Europe to be colonized. [107] [108] During this time, the Neanderthals were slowly being displaced.
Homo (from Latin homÅ ' human ') is a genus of great ape (family Hominidae) that emerged from the genus Australopithecus and encompasses only a single extant species, Homo sapiens (modern humans), along with a number of extinct species (collectively called archaic humans) classified as either ancestral or closely related to modern humans; these include Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis.
This timeline of prehistory covers the time from the appearance of Homo sapiens approximately 315,000 years ago in Africa to the invention of writing, over 5,000 years ago, with the earliest records going back to 3,200 BC. Prehistory covers the time from the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) to the beginning of ancient history.
Human traits that emerged recently include the ability to free-dive for long periods of time, [11] adaptations for living in high altitudes where oxygen concentrations are low, [2] resistance to contagious diseases (such as malaria), [12] light skin, [13] blue eyes, [14] lactase persistence (or the ability to digest milk after weaning), [15 ...