7. Pre-modern Homo

Abstract

So when and where in human evolutionary history do we see the earliest evidence of creatures that are more like modern humans? ‘Pre-modern Homo’ considers the species that many hominins researchers are comfortable with recognizing as members of the genus Homo. It looks at the earliest fossil evidence of pre-modern Homo from Africa, and then follows Homo as it moves out of Africa into the rest of the Old World. It begins with Homo ergaster, dated to around 2 mya, and then moves on to Homo erectus, which was found in sites in Africa, China, and Indonesia. Other pre-modern Homo species include Homo heidelbergensis; Homo naledi; Homo floresiensis; and Homo neanderthalensis.