When you visit a natural history museum, you’ll likely come across some exhibits devoted to the history of humans and how they evolved. The first humans who walked on the earth looked quite different from the humans who walk around today. Though some humans were on the planet up to six million years ago, the ones closely related to use were on the earth around 200,000 years ago. To get an idea of how humans evolved, you can use the following timeline. It shows you the first artifacts discovered and how humans changed at different points.
Homo Sapiens
The history of humans dates back to sometime between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago. Archaeologists working in Morocco found a jawbone that dates to this era. It also matched similar bones found in other regions. Some evidence indicates that humans lived in parts of modern-day Greece, Europe and Israel. Archaeologists in Israel found a Homo Sapien jawbone that was more than 175,000 years old, which makes it the oldest bone found on the continent. Some of the humans who lived in Ethiopia at that time used rituals when burying their dead.
Modern Humans
Archaeologists use the term modern humans to describe the evolution that led to the humans who are now on earth. This change occurred during the Pleistocene period, which lasted until around 12,000 years ago. They found artifacts and evidence that showed people began using implements for cooking during this period and that they wore basic clothing. That clothing was typically made from animal hides. Humans who lived during this era later became Homo Erectus. This was when they left Africa and traveled to other continents and when they began using fire.
Did Humans Live with Dinosaurs?
Between cartoons like “The Flintstones” and shows such as “Living in the Land of the Lost,” you might think that dinosaurs wandered the earth at the same time as humans. You may even imagine yourself training a small dinosaur and keeping it as a pet. The sad fact is that humans and dinosaurs never coexisted. Dinosaurs lived more than 60 million years ago and were later wiped out. Some of the small creatures that did survive evolved. Some research shows birds evolved from early dinosaurs. Dinosaurs walked the earth for more than 160 million years before their extinction.
Great Migration
Though humans lived in Africa for many years, the Great Migration occurred when they left that continent and moved to other parts of the world. This may explain how humans evolved too. Their bodies needed to change and adjust to compensate for their new living situations. Those who survived fell into two categories: Homo Erectus and Neanderthals. Neanderthals shared some similarities with modern humans, including pelvis that housed their genitals and a rib cage in the center of their chests with a sternum. Though Neanderthals did evolve, they later became extinct and wiped out by Homo Sapiens.
Beyond Africa
Following the Great Migration, humans first moved to India and settled there. They would then move to parts of Asia and eventually Europe. Archaeologists found some evidence that humans lived in Australia more than 50,000 years ago too. Most moved to new locations via land bridges. Land bridges occurred as glaciers slowly moved, which caused landmasses to shift. A few colonies in Asia are more than 14,000 years old.
Leaving the Earth
The Space Race refers to the race between the United States and the Soviet Union on which country would get into space first. Though the United States sent fruit flies into space, the Soviet Union later sent dogs into space and had the first dog put into orbit. The Soviet Union also put the first man into space, an astronaut named Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin who spent 89 minutes in a capsule in space. America seemingly won the Space Race after Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Ten other men would follow in their footsteps and walk on the moon.
Humans on Earth
Humans evolved during their time on earth as they learned how to handle simple and complex tasks. Though you may share some genes with those old ancestors, you look different than the humans who were originally on the earth.