Natural World
When did Homo sapiens first appear?
Approximately 300000 BC
Homo sapiens appeared approximately 300000 BC in Africa.
1 BC · 1 AD
Estimated range: 320000 BC to 280000 BC
Context
What happened?
Fossils from sites including Jebel Irhoud in Morocco show combinations of features associated with early Homo sapiens. Human evolution was a branching process across African populations, so the emergence of our species cannot be reduced to one individual or exact year.
Significance
Why it matters
These finds extend the known history of our species deep into the Middle Pleistocene and support a broad African origin. They also show why evolutionary dates are best treated as evidence-based ranges that can change when new fossils are discovered.
Further reading
Sources
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