Homo SapiensThe early Homo Sapiens
· Homo Sapiens have only been around for the last 2.5 million years.
· The early fossils were found in Africa and it is believed that most of the Homo Sapien evolution occurred in Africa
· The first Homo Sapiens migrated out of Africa between 1.8 – 2 million years ago and went to Asia.
· The early Homo Sapiens co-existed with Neanderthals for around 2.1 million years and they bred together as well.
Migration of the Homo Sapiens
· Early humans first migrated out of Africa, through the Middle East, and into Asia probably between 2 million and 1.8 million years ago.
· They entered Europe later, between 1.5 million and 1 million years ago.
· Modern humans populated the rest of the world much later – people first reached Australia through Indonesia only 600,000 years ago and the Americas through Alaska and Russia around 300,000 years ago.
Fun Facts
· Between birth and death, the Homo Sapien body goes from having 300 bones, to just 206.
· There are more than 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the Homo Sapien body.
· While awake, the Homo Sapien brain produces enough electricity to light a lightbulb.
· In camera terms, the Homo Sapien eye is about 576 megapixels.
Distinctive Features
· Humans have a distinctively long thumb and an abilitlity to easily touch the other fingers which allows for easy manipulation of objects of various shapes and sizes.
· The larynx sits lower in the throat of Humans which enables speech. We also possess a descended hyoid bone which is uniquely not connected to any other bone in the body which allows us to articulate words.
· Humans are unique in Primates as walking upright is our main form of transportation which frees up our hands to use tools.
· Humans spend a long time in the care of their parents compared to other Primates. This is because by doing this our brains can develop better and to a larger size.
Tools
· Humans use and have used tools for thousands of years. The earliest tools were made from stone and were used as hammers and some had sharp edges and were used for cutting things.
· After this, wood was able to be cut down and used for handles of spears of axes with stone as the main part that inflicted damage. These were used for hunting and have been used for 1.8 million years.
· After refining these tools until they were capable of killing anything and cutting down many different things, not to mention as protection, there was a leap in evolution.
· About 11,000 years ago, after proper civilization was formed, metal was discovered. Although this had to be processed in furnaces, it was much stronger, and durable compared to stone, so the Greeks and Romans started using metal for their tools – only Copper though.
· Now there are 118 known elements and many other materials that are used by humans to make millions of tools.
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Basic Fact File
· Average Height – Male: 1.7m
· Average Height – Female: 1.6m
· Average Weight – Male: 78kg
· Average Weight – Female: 68kg
· Current Population: 7.2 billion
· Skull Volume: 1300cm3
