Homo sapiens emerges
Our own species appears in Africa
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The finds at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco pushed the species' origin back roughly 100,000 years and away from the idea of a single East African cradle; the picture today is a pan-African process with several populations exchanging genes. Anatomically modern traits — a high forehead, small face, rounded braincase — came before the full cognitive toolkit. We shared the planet with at least four other human species, and still carry Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA.
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About 300,000 years ago there were people in Africa who looked much like us. They made tools, painted their bodies and talked to each other. They were not alone: at the same time Neanderthals lived in Europe and other human species in Asia.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org