7 Facts About the Earliest Humans on Earth
Recorded human history is just a tiny blip on the temporal radar. The Pyramids of Giza were built around 2500 BCE, but 4,500 years ago seems like yesterday when you compare it to the 300,000 years our species, Homo sapiens, has been around. Since our earliest ancestors didn’t leave as much behind, we know very little about how they lived.
“Human,” however, is a genus, not a species, and the history of humanity includes much more than sapiens. With new genetic research, we’re learning more about our ancestry all the time — but much of what we learn just raises even more questions. How closely related are we to Neanderthals? When did humans start making art? What were our ancestors’ day-to-day lives like? Pique your curiosity with these seven facts about the very earliest humans on Earth.
The Earliest Homo Sapiens Were From Africa
Scientists first theorized in the 19th century that humans originated in Africa, and modern genetic science has largely confirmed that to be the case, though researchers are still working to determine the exact geography. Scientists also disagree on when and how humans dispersed. One early theory suggested that our Homo sapiens ancestors started to leave Africa around 60,000 years ago. Most non-African humans today can trace their origins back to a large exodus around that time, but smaller migrations may have started much earlier. Fossil evidence shows that groups of foragers arrived in Asia around 120,000 years ago, and brought skills such as deep-sea fishing and cave art with them. Other fossil discoveries, including a 210,000-year-old skull found in Greece, suggest some humans left Africa even earlier.
Early Human Species Mated With One Another Frequently
Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans — the latter of which is an early human species discovered in 2008 — share a common ancestor, Homo heidelbergensis. This species also probably came from Africa, but had reached modern-day Israel more than 700,000 years ago. It has been theorized that when one group of Homo heidelbergensis left Africa more than 400,000 years ago, some moved west to Europe and evolved into Neanderthals; others moved east to Asia and became Denisovans. Those who stayed in Africa evolved into Homo sapiens.
When Homo sapiens eventually left Africa, they encountered Neanderthals and Denisovans and started reproducing, and Denisovans and Neanderthals mated with one another, too. Those two species are now extinct, but they live on in modern human DNA, which contains a significant amount of both — most non-Africans are between 1% and 4% Neanderthal, and many people with Southeast Asian and Pacific Island heritage are up to 5% Denisovan. Recent research shows that people of African descent have some Neanderthal DNA, too, likely a result of back-and-forth migration.
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Paleolithic People Nurtured Their Pets
Scientists are still puzzled about when and how humans first befriended dogs, but we know it was a very long time ago. One of the earliest pet puppers lived 14,000 years ago in modern-day Germany — and it wasn’t even a working dog, demonstrating a close bond based more on affection than function.
In 2018, researchers analyzed a Paleolithic grave that contained two humans and two dogs. The younger of the two dogs was around 27 weeks old (a little over 6 months) when it died, and it showed evidence of an illness that suggests it wouldn’t have even lived that long without human intervention. Puppies are vulnerable to a serious illness called canine distemper, which is almost always fatal if untreated. The dog in the grave showed a serious case of distemper that developed when it was just 3 or 4 months old, yet it went on to live another two to three months. The discovery implies a nurturing, loving relationship with dogs that stretches back thousands of years.
Mesolithic People May Have Taken Camping Trips
Just as modern humans occasionally like a change of scenery, Mesolithic people in Scotland ventured out on short trips — though more likely for hunting purposes than sightseeing and leisure. A campsite uncovered on the Mar Lodge Estate historic site in the Scottish Highlands seemed designed for one single short-term stay. Archaeologists found evidence of a campfire and limited tool-making, and believe a very small group of people stayed here one time for only a day or two. A similar site was discovered in Nairn, Scotland, about 45 miles away, in 2011. Another excavation in the Mar Lodge Estate site found a longer-term Mesolithic settlement, but archaeologists don’t think it was used year-round because of harsh winter conditions.
Some Neolithic People Lived in Urban Environments
It’s easy to imagine early hominids spreading out or just grabbing the nearest cave, but at least one group of humans from the Neolithic era built pretty close quarters around 9,000 years ago. In Çatalhöyük, located in central Turkey, early people built mud-brick houses up against each other and on top of each other; researchers believe the site could have as many as 16 layers of homes. Each home had a hearth, oven, and platforms that were likely used for sleeping. The settlement didn’t have streets, so people traveled on the roof, which is also where they entered their homes. Residents kept their homes tidy, and dumped their trash in small open areas between buildings. Cemeteries were also part of these vertical cities; people buried their dead beneath the floor.
Humans Have Been Making Art for More Than 40,000 Years
Southeast Asia is home to some incredibly ancient cave art, including the oldest known figurative drawings — art that depicts a specific form instead of just being abstract. One cave painting in Borneo depicting a four-legged animal dates back at least 40,000 years, but potentially as many as 52,000 years. Scientists suspect it’s a banteng, a species of cattle that still exists both in captivity and the wild. Another painting, from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, at least 44,000 years old, shows a buffalo being hunted by half-human, half-animal creatures. A cave painting of a Sulawesi warty pig is at least 45,500 years old. Abstract art, meanwhile, goes back even further. Cave art on the Iberian Peninsula in Spain, potentially made by Neanderthals, is at least 64,000 years old.
We’re Still Discovering New Human Species
In the last 150 years, scientists identified some very early human species. Homo habilis, for instance, discovered in 1960, lived between 2.4 million and 1.4 million years ago. Homo rudolfensis, discovered in 1986, lived between 1.9 million and 1.8 million years ago. And Homo erectus, discovered in 1890, lived between 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago. In more recent years, genetic research has turned up other previously unknown species that we are still learning about. Scientists discovered the Denisovans in 2008 as a separate species based on genetic sequencing of fossils. Other species of ancient humans have only been found in the genome. One human species started breeding with Homo sapiens around 43,000 years ago. Some are much, much older: When Neanderthals and Denisovans first reached Europe and Asia hundreds of thousands of years ago, so-called “super archaics” were already there. Neanderthals and Denisovans mated with them and eventually replaced them, just as modern humans would eventually do to Neanderthals and Denisovans.
