Homo Sapiens

The modern man ...

Skull of a Homo sapiens The Homo sapiens, or modern man, is the last living species of the genus Homo. Last living ancestor or evolutionary side branch was probably the Homo floresiensis, and not as often suspected the Neanderthal man.

Homo sapiens (from the Latin 'homo' = human and 'sapiens' = wise) translated means "the wise man", one of Carl von Linné in Systema Naturae coined term.

Man is a mammal that belongs to the family of apes like gorilla, chimpanzee and orangutan. Next living relative is the chimpanzee. Only 1% of the genome differs in humans and chimpanzees, although the split-up occurred five million years ago. By contrast, gorillas and orangutans 'adopted' the human lineage seven or ten million years ago.

Spread of Homo sapiens

The oldest fossils of Homo sapiens come from Africa. Therefore, it can be assumed that the Homo sapiens began its 'triumphant advance' from Africa about 200,000 years ago. To enlarge the map, just click on the picture:

Interesting to Homo sapiens

Tribal history of man

The senses of man:
Seeing with the eye,
Listening with the ear,
Smell the nose,
Tasting with your mouth,

Human organs:

Pancreas, blood, urinary bladder, intestine, gallbladder, brain, skin, heart, liver, kidney, spleen, lung, thyroid

Other relevant articles on Homo sapiens:
Nutrition of man
The immune system
Fertilization, pregnancy and childbirth
Altruism and cooperation

Profile: Homo sapiens

Genus: Homo
Type: H. sapiens
Name: lat. Sapiens = wise
First record?
Period: 200,000 to Now
Height: 1.60 - 2.00m
Weight: 50 - 90kg
Coverage: worldwide
Brain volume: 1300 - 1500 cm³
Food: omnivore diet
Tool use: Yes
Upright gear: Yes

Summary

Homo sapiens is the last living member of the genus Homo. The species name comes from the Latin and means translated "the wise man".

The earliest fossil record of Homo sapiens is 200,000 years old.

Currently over 7 billion people live on Earth. Each year, 70 million people are added, which is about the same as the population of Germany.

Estimates have shown that so far about 100 billion people have lived (100,000,000,000).