Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology pp 1–5Cite as

Homo Sapiens

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 123 Accesses

Introduction

Homo sapiens is the species commonly referred to as humans. The species evolved in Africa more than 300,000 years ago and is the only living representative of the genus Homo. Humans have a gracile body build compared to earlier members of the genus Homo. All humans have a chin and a large brain that is highly developed. This brain allowed for the evolution of behavioral modernity and for continuous social and technological innovations to take place that allow Homo sapiens to survive in all habitats.

Definition

Homo sapiens (Linnæus 1758). Species to which all living modern humans belong. While fossils closely resembling living humans are often referred to as “anatomically modern Homo sapiens,” earlier members of the lineage are sometimes termed “archaic Homo sapiens.”

Key Issues/Current Debates/Future Directions/Examples

Morphology

Homo sapiens around the world share a number of derived characteristics (Lieberman 2008). These features were not present in previous hominins...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Benazzi, S., K. Douka, C. Fornai, C.C. Bauer, O. Kullmer, J. Svoboda, I. Pap, F. Mallegni, P. Bayle, M. Coquerelle, S. Condemi, A. Ronchitelli, K. Harvati, and G.W. Weber. 2011. Early dispersal of modern humans in Europe and implications for Neanderthal behaviour. Nature 479 (7374): 525–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J.G., Z. Assefa, F.H. Brown, and J.J. Shea. 2008. Paleoanthropology of the Kibish Formation, southern Ethiopia: introduction. Journal of Human Evolution 55 (3): 360–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbons, A. 2007. Coastal artifacts suggest early beginnings for modern behavior. Science 318 (5849): 377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henshilwood, C.S., F. d'Errico, K.L. van Niekerk, Y. Coquinot, Z. Jacobs, S.-E. Lauritzen, M. Menu, and R. García-Moreno. 2011. A 100,000-year-old ochre-processing workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Science 334 (6053): 219–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higham, T.F.G., T. Compton, C. Stringer, R. Jacobi, B. Shapiro, E. Trinkaus, B. Chandler, F. Gröning, C. Collins, S. Hillson, P. O’Higgins, C. Fitz Gerald, and M. Fagan. 2011. The earliest evidence for anatomically modern humans in northwestern Europe. Nature 479 (7374): 521–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holliday, T.W. 1997. Body proportions in late Pleistocene Europe and modern human origins. Journal of Human Evolution 32 (5): 423–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hublin, J.J., A. Ben-Ncer, S.E. Bailey, S.E. Freidline, S. Neubauer, M.M. Skinner, I. Bergmann, A. Le Cabec, S. Benazzi, K. Harvati, and P. Gunz. 2017. New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens. Nature 546 (7657): 289–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, R.G. 2009. The human career. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, D.E. 2008. Speculations about the selective basis for modern human craniofacial form. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews 17 (1): 55–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linnæus, C. 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata [1–4], 1–824. Holmiæ: Salvius.

    Google Scholar 

  • McBrearty, S., and A.S. Brooks. 2000. The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior. Journal of Human Evolution 39 (5): 453–563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T.M., P. Tafforeau, D.J. Reid, J. Pouech, V. Lazzari, J.P. Zermeno, D. Guatelli-Steinberg, A.J. Olejniczak, A. Hoffman, J. Radovcic, M. Makaremi, M. Toussaint, C. Stringer, and J.-J. Hublin. 2010. Dental evidence for ontogenetic differences between modern humans and Neanderthals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107 (49): 20923–20928.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stringer, C., and J. Galway-Witham. 2017. Palaeoanthropology: on the origin of our species. Nature 546 (7657): 212–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium. 2005. Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome. Nature 437 (7 055): 69–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Further Reading

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Origins Research Group, Earth Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, UK

    Isabelle De Groote & Chris Stringer

  2. Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Isabelle De Groote

Authors
  1. Isabelle De Groote
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chris Stringer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isabelle De Groote .

Section Editor information

  1. Department of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Chen Shen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

De Groote, I., Stringer, C. (2018). Homo Sapiens . In: Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_693-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_693-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51726-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51726-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference HistoryReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation