Homo sapiens is the binomial, or scientific name, used to classify the human species. It is the ancestor of modern man. In fact, our species, Homo sapiens sapiens, is a subspecies of Homo sapiens.
The species is believed to Homo sapiens emerged between 350 to 200 thousand years back in Africa. Some fossils contribute to the hypothesis of the origin of modern man in this period, such as the skull of omg, an artifact found in Ethiopia 195,000 years ago, and part of a skeleton, also in Africa, 200,000 years ago.
O Homo sapiens and a close relative of modern man, the Homo neanderthalensis, lived in Europe and Asia between 100 and 30 thousand years ago.
A study published in Journal of Human Evolution demonstrates that the species Homo sapiens derived from the species of hominid called Homo erectus.
Classification of Homo sapiens
Humans, like other living things, are classified by the rules of taxonomy (the science of classification). Thus, they have hierarchy and kinship relationships with other organisms (systematics and phylogeny).
| Kingdom | Animal |
| Phylum | strings |
| Class | mammals |
| Order | Primates |
| Suborder | anthropoid |
| Family | Hominidae |
| Genre | Homo |
| Species | Homo sapiens |
You Homo sapiens are closely related to the apes, therefore, they share with them similar classification in terms of order and family. Chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans have a common ancestry with humans. Studies show that chimpanzees and bonobos share about 98.7% of the same DNA than ours.
Know more: biological classification
Evolution of Homo sapiens
The evolution of the human species is the subject of much debate in the scientific world and with each discovery new interpretations are suggested. However, it can be said that the species Homo sapiens arose from another group of hominids that lived in almost the entire African continent, the homo erectus.
There are about 1.8 or 2 million of years, the species homo erectus migrated from Africa to Asia, Europe and Oceania.
For some scientists, species homo ergaster (Africa), Homo predecessor and Homo heidelbergensis (both in Europe) are different names for the species Homo erectus. This confusion is due to subtle changes between fossils, hence the divergence in nomenclature.
Studies published in nature and Evolutionary Anthropology point out that between 765 and 550 thousand years, O homo erectus originated the Homo sapiens in Africa and the Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and the Middle East.
This means that the evolutionary line of the Homo sapiens is different from Homo neanderthalensis. This argument ends the hypothesis that the Homo sapiens sapiens originated from Neanderthal Man.
However, genetic tests point to the presence of genes from Neanderthal Man in Modern Man, about 1 to 4%, in populations of Europe, Asia and Oceania. This suggests that both species have mated and had fertile offspring in the past.
Know more: Human evolution
Characteristics of Homo sapiens
The individuals of the species Homo sapiens they were tall, with darker skin coloring, as they lived in tropical regions of Africa. They had lighter bodies with less expressive musculature than the Homo neanderthalensis and skull with large internal capacity, approx. 1,350 cm3, to accommodate a more developed brain.
With a more sophisticated brain, Homo sapiens created culture, art, formed society and abstract thought. Symbology, cave paintings and other cultural features appear, according to fossil records, in Africa for at least 70 thousand years and in Europe there is 40 thousand years.
Know more: Homo sapiens sapiens
Bibliographic references
CORDEIRO, A. R. Genesis of human life. Science and Culture Magazine, v. 60, p. 60–62, 2008.
DA-GLORIA, P. Evolution of human life history. Science & Environment, v. 48, p. 1–16, 2017.
DOS SANTOS, L. G.; SANTOS, R. DA S. The use of mitochondrial DNA to elucidate the processes of evolution and human genetic variability. Know Science Center, v. 8, no. 15, p. 1720–1729, 2012.
MARTIN LOECHES, M.; CASADO MARTÍNEZ, P.; SEL DE FELIPE, A. The evolution of the brain in the Homo genus: the neurobiology that makes us different. Neurology Journal, v. 46, no. 12, p. 731, 2008.
- Human evolution
- Homo sapiens sapiens
- Man in Prehistory
- 15 Questions about Prehistory (with commented answer)
- Exercises on evolution
- Evolutionism
- Prehistory
- What is taxonomy and how is biological classification done?
