Humans (Homo sapiens) are a species of highly intelligent primates. They are the only extant members of the subtribe Hominina and—together with chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans—are part of the family Hominidae (the great apes, or hominids). Humans are terrestrial animals, characterized by their erect posture and bipedal locomotion; high manual dexterity and heavy tool use compared to other animals; open-ended and complex language use compared to other animal communications; larger, more complex brains than other primates; and highly advanced and organized societies.
Several early hominins used fire and occupied much of Eurasia. Early modern humans are thought to have diverged in Africa from an earlier hominin around 300,000 years ago, and the earliest fossil evidence of Homo sapiens also appeared around 300,000 years ago in Africa. Humans in Africa began to exhibit evidence of behavioral modernity at least by about 150,000–75,000 years ago and possibly earlier. In several waves of migration, H. sapiens ventured out of Africa and populated most of the world. The spread of the large and increasing population of humans has profoundly affected the biosphere and millions of species worldwide. Among the key advantages that explain this evolutionary success is the presence of a larger, well-developed brain, which enables advanced abstract reasoning, language, problem solving, sociality, and culture through social learning. Humans use tools more frequently and effectively than any other animal: they are the only extant species to build fires, cook food, clothe themselves, and create and use numerous other technologies and arts.
Humans uniquely use systems of symbolic communication such as language and art to express themselves and exchange ideas, as well as to organize themselves into purposeful groups. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship networks to political states. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together undergird human society. Curiosity and the human desire to understand and influence the environment and to explain and manipulate phenomena have motivated humanity’s development of science, philosophy, mythology, religion, and other fields of knowledge.
Though most of human existence has been sustained by hunting and gathering in band societies, many human societies transitioned to sedentary agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago, domesticating plants and animals, thus enabling the growth of civilization. These human societies subsequently expanded, establishing various forms of government and culture around the world, and unifying people within regions to form states and empires. The rapid advancement of scientific and medical understanding in the 19th and 20th centuries permitted the development of more efficient medical tools and healthier lifestyles, resulting in increased lifespans and causing the human population to rise exponentially. The global human population is about 7.8 billion in 2021.
Etymology and definition
There is some disagreement on the scientific definition of human. Some scientists date the Homo genus back only 100 000 years while others go back 11 million years and include Neanderthals, chimps and gorillas. Most say early humans first appeared between 2 – 3 million years ago. In common usage the word human generally just refers to Homo sapiens, the only extant species.
Human is a Middle English loanword from Old French humain, ultimately from Latin hūmānus, the adjectival form of homō (“man” – in the sense of humankind). The native English term man can refer to the species generally (a synonym for humanity) as well as to human males. It may also refer to individuals of either sex, though this latter form is less common in contemporary English.
The species binomial “Homo sapiens” was coined by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae. The generic name “Homo” is a learned 18th-century derivation from Latin homō, which refers to humans of either sex. The species name “sapiens” means “wise”, “sapient”, “knowledgeable” (Latin sapiens is the singular form, plural is sapientes).