Homo sapiens

Meaning of the name

Wise human

Dicovery site

Worldwide

Age

From 300,000 years ago to today

Height and weight

1.5–2.0 m, 50–100 kg (depending on sex, age and living conditions)

Brain size

~1350 cm³

Body characteristics 

High and rounded skull, relatively large brain volume, distinct chin base (unique feature of Homo sapiens), robust bones, inflexible toes, arched soles, large ankles, fully adapted to bipedal gait, with long legs and a broad, short pelvis.
Skin colour variable, from light to dark, depending on genetic predisposition and geographical origin.
Hair is relatively sparse compared to other mammals.

Cognitive and cultural characteristics

Teeth

Cheek teeth and incisors smaller than in earlier hominins.

Habitat

Africa (about 300,000 years ago), then colonised all continents.
Adaptable, from the tropics to the Arctic.

Nutrition

Omnivorous. Plant and animal food, variable depending on culture and region.

Tools

Tools were worked more carefully and precisely from flint, obsidian and quartz than in earlier cultures. There was a variety of specialised tools for specific tasks (spearheads, blades, scrapers, drills).
The Levallois technique was an advanced technique in which stones were prepared in such a way that a sharp blade could be cut off in a targeted manner. This method was efficient and made it possible to produce many tools from a single core stone.

Best known find

The oldest known fossils of anatomically modern humans were found in 1961 and come from the Jebel Irhoud site (Morocco) and are around 315,000 years old.

Special features

Homo sapiens is the only surviving species of the genus Homo.
It is known for its capacity for self-reflection and awareness of its own mortality.
Homo sapiens has a significant impact on the environment and other species (e.g. through resource exploitation and pollution). Its continued existence is threatened by disease, environmental degradation, climate change and intraspecies conflict.
Genetic variability points to mosaic evolution, in which different human characteristics such as facial features, brain size and body proportions evolved at different times and in different regions. Modern non-African humans carry about 1-3% Neanderthal DNA in their genome. Humans in Asia and Oceania have traces of Denisova DNA in their genome (a type of human represented by a phalanx and single teeth from Siberia).