The genus Homo and modern humans
Over the last two million years, our genus spread across the world, made increasingly complex tools, and eventually became us.
Early Homo
Homo habilis, about 2.4 to 1.6 million years ago, had a larger brain and is linked to Oldowan stone tools: simple flakes struck from cobbles. Homo erectus, from about 1.9 million years ago, had a body shaped much like ours, controlled fire, made Acheulean hand axes, and was the first hominin to spread out of Africa into Asia.
Neanderthals and their cousins
Neanderthals lived in Europe and western Asia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. They were adapted to cold climates, made Mousterian stone tools, cared for injured group members, and buried their dead. Genetic evidence shows that many people today carry a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA, and some carry DNA from another group, the Denisovans.
Homo sapiens
Fossils show that Homo sapiens appeared in Africa at least 300,000 years ago. Genetic studies, including mitochondrial DNA, point to an African origin for all living humans, followed by migrations out of Africa that reached Australia by around 50,000 to 65,000 years ago and the Americas later. Human variation, such as skin colour, reflects adaptation to local conditions like sunlight, not separate biological races.
Flashcard
A hominin species that spread from Africa into Asia
Check your understanding
Which hominin was the first known to spread out of Africa?