Humans (Homo sapiens, meaning 'thinking man' or 'wise man') are the most

abundant and widespread species of primates, characterized by bipedality,

hairlessness, and large, complex brains enabling the development of
advanced technology, culture, and language. Humans are highly social beings
and tend to live in complex social structures composed of many cooperating and
competing groups, from families and kinship networks to political states. Social
interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values, social
norms, and rituals, which bolster human society. Curiosity and the human desire
to understand and influence the environment have motivated humanity's
development of science, philosophy, religion, mythology and other fields of
knowledge.
Humans have a large and highly developed prefrontal cortex, the region of the
brain associated with higher cognition. They are intelligent beings, capable
of episodic memory, flexible facial expressions, self-awareness and a theory of
mind. The human mind is capable of introspection (meta-cognition),
private thought, imagination, volition and forming views on existence. Humans
can also mentally travel through time (chronesthesia) which signifies episodic
foresight.[2] These attributes have allowed great technological
advancements through reason and the transmission of knowledge to future
generations. In cultural anthropology, the cumulative preservation and
advancement of knowledge across generations is known as the Ratchet Effect.[3]
Humans are omnivorous, capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and
animal material, and have used fire to prepare and cook food since the time
of Homo erectus. They can survive for up to eight weeks without food, and three
or four days without water. Humans are generally diurnal, sleeping on average
seven to nine hours per day. Childbirth is dangerous, with a high risk of
complications and death. Both the mother and the father typically provide care
for human offspring who are helpless at birth.
Genes and the environment influence human biological
variation in appearance, physiology, immune system, mental abilities, body
size and lifespan. Though humans vary in many traits, any two humans are on
average over 99% genetically similar, with the most genetically diverse
populations from Africa. The greatest degree of genetic variation exists between
males and females. On average, males have greater body strength and females
generally have a higher body fat percentage. Females undergo menopause and
become infertile potentially decades before the end of their lives. They also have
a longer life span in almost every population around the world. The division into
male and female gender roles has varied historically, and challenges to
predominant gender norms have recurred in many societies.
Humans evolved from other hominins in Africa several million years ago.
Although some scientists equate humans with all members of the genus Homo,
in common usage it generally refers to Homo sapiens, the
only extant member. Homo sapiens emerged around 300,000 years ago and
migrated out of Africa, gradually replacing local populations of archaic humans.
Early humans were hunter-gatherers, before the invention of
agriculture and domestication of animals led to permanent settlement in
the Fertile Crescent and other cradles of civilization. As food surpluses enabled
populations to become larger and denser, forms of governance developed, the
use of writing became necessary, and a number of civilizations rose and fell.
Humans have continued to expand, with over 8.3 billion humans occupying
almost all regions of Earth in 2026. Moreover, humans have visited the Moon and
sent human-made spacecraft to other celestial bodies, becoming the first known
species to do so.
Etymology and definition
Further information: Names for the human species and Human taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus coined the name Homo sapiens

All modern humans are classified into the species Homo sapiens, coined by Carl
Linnaeus in his 1735 work Systema Naturae.[4] The generic name Homo is a
learned 18th-century derivation from Latin homō, which refers to humans of
either sex.[5][6] The word human can refer to all members of the Homo genus.
[7]
The name Homo sapiens means 'wise man' or 'knowledgeable man'. [4] There
is disagreement if certain extinct members of the genus, namely Neanderthals,
should be included as a separate species of humans or as a subspecies of H.
sapiens.[7]
Human is a loanword of Middle English from Old French humain, ultimately
from Latin hūmānus, the adjectival form of homō ('man' – in the sense of
humanity).[8] 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.[9]
Although the word animal is colloquially used as an antonym for human,[10] and
contrary to a common biological misconception, humans are animals.[11] The
word person is often used interchangeably with human, but philosophical debate
exists as to whether personhood applies to all humans or all sentient beings, and
further if a human can lose personhood (such as by going into a persistent
vegetative state) and what the beginning of human personhood is.[12]
Evolution
Main article: Human evolution
Humans belong to the biological family of apes (superfamily Hominoidea).
[13]
The lineage of apes that eventually gave rise to humans first split
from gibbons (family Hylobatidae), next orangutans (genus Pongo),
then gorillas (genus Gorilla), and finally, chimpanzees and bonobos (genus Pan).
The last split, between the human and chimpanzee–bonobo lineages, took place
around 8–4 million years ago, in the late Miocene epoch.[14][15] During this
split, chromosome 2 was formed from the joining of two other chromosomes,
leaving humans with only 23 pairs of chromosomes, compared to 24 for the
other apes.[16] Following their split with chimpanzees and bonobos,
the hominins diversified into many species and at least two distinct genera. All
but one of these lineages – representing the genus Homo and its sole extant
species Homo sapiens – are now extinct.[17]

Reconstruction of Lucy, the first Australopithecus

afarensis skeleton found
The genus Homo evolved from Australopithecus.[18][19] Though fossils from the
transition are scarce, the earliest members of Homo share several key traits
with Australopithecus.[20][21] Due to the scant available evidence, the time of the
divergence to the genus Homo does not have a consensus.[22] Some studies
using molecular clock techniques estimate the Homo genus appeared 4.30–
2.56 million years ago,[23] while others contest that some early Homo species are
incorrectly included in the genus and therefore put this estimate at about 1.87
million years ago.[22]
The earliest record of Homo is the 2.8 million-year-old specimen LD 350-
1 from Ethiopia, and the earliest named species are Homo habilis and Homo
rudolfensis which evolved by 2.3 million years ago. [21] H. erectus (the African
variant is sometimes called H. ergaster) evolved 2 million years ago and was the
first archaic human species to leave Africa and disperse across Eurasia. [24] H.
erectus also was the first to evolve a characteristically human body plan. Homo
sapiens emerged in Africa at least 300,000 years ago from a species commonly
designated as either H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis, the descendants of H.
erectus that remained in Africa.[25] H. sapiens migrated out of the continent,
gradually replacing or interbreeding with local populations of archaic humans. [26]
[27][28]
Humans began exhibiting behavioral modernity about 160,000–70,000
years ago,[29] and possibly earlier.[30] This development was likely selected
amidst natural climate change in Middle to Late Pleistocene Africa.[31]
The "out of Africa" migration took place in at least two waves, the first around
130,000 to 100,000 years ago, the second (Southern Dispersal) around 70,000 to
50,000 years ago.[32][33] H. sapiens proceeded to colonize all the continents and
larger islands except Antarctica, arriving in Eurasia 125,000 years ago,[34]
[35]
Australia around 65,000 years ago,[36] the Americas around 15,000 years ago,
and remote islands such as Hawaii, Easter Island, Madagascar, and New
Zealand in the years 300 to 1280 CE.[37][38]
Human evolution was not a simple linear or branched progression but
involved interbreeding between related species.[39][40][41] Genomic research has
shown that hybridization between substantially diverged lineages was common
in human evolution.[42] DNA evidence suggests that several genes of Neanderthal
origin are present among all non sub-Saharan-African populations, and
Neanderthals and other hominins, such as Denisovans, may have contributed up
to 6% of their genome to present-day non sub-Saharan-African humans. [39][43][44]
Human evolution is characterized by a number
of morphological, developmental, physiological, and behavioral changes that
have taken place since the split between the last common ancestor of humans
and chimpanzees. The most significant of these adaptations are hairlessness,
[45]
obligate bipedalism, increased brain size and decreased sexual
dimorphism (neoteny). The relationship between all these changes is the subject
of ongoing debate.[46]

Hominoidea (
hominoids, a Hylobatidae (gibbons)
pes)

Hominidae (hominids, gr Ponginae Pongo (orangut

eat apes) ans) Pongo abelii

Pongo tapanu

Pongo pygma

Homininae (homi Gorillini Gorilla

nines) as)
History
Main article: Human history
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistory

Overview of the peopling of

the world by early human migration during the Upper Paleolithic, following
the Southern Dispersal paradigm
Until about 12,000 years ago, all humans lived as hunter-gatherers.[47]
[48]
The Neolithic Revolution (the invention of agriculture) first took
place in Southwest Asia and spread through large parts of the Old World over the
following millennia.[49] It also occurred independently in Mesoamerica (about
6,000 years ago),[50] China,[51][52] Papua New Guinea,[53] and the Sahel and West
Savanna regions of Africa.[54][55][56]
The formation of permanent human settlements, the domestication of animals
and the use of metal tools was followed by permanent food surplus, for the first
time in history. Agriculture and sedentary lifestyle led to the emergence of early
civilizations.[57][58][59]
Ancient
Main article: Ancient history
 Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
An urban revolution took place in the 4th millennium BCE with the development
of city-states, particularly Sumerian cities located in Mesopotamia.[60] It was in
these cities that the earliest known form of writing, cuneiform script, appeared
around 3000 BCE.[61] Other major civilizations to develop around this time
were Ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley Civilization.[62] They eventually traded
with each other and invented technology such as wheels, plows and sails. [63][64][65]
[66]
Emerging by 3000 BCE, the Caral–Supe civilization is the oldest complex
civilization in the Americas.[67] Astronomy and mathematics were also developed
and the Great Pyramid of Giza was built.[68][69][70] There is evidence of a severe
drought lasting about a hundred years that may have caused the decline of
these civilizations,[71] with new ones appearing in the
aftermath. Babylonians came to dominate Mesopotamia while others, [72] such as
the Poverty Point culture, Minoans and the Shang dynasty, rose to prominence in
new areas.[73][74][75] The Late Bronze Age collapse around 1200 BCE resulted in the
disappearance of a number of civilizations and the beginning of the Greek Dark
Ages.[76][77] During this period iron started replacing bronze, leading to the Iron
Age.[78]
In the 5th century BCE, history started being recorded as a discipline, which
provided a much clearer picture of life at the time. [79] Between the 8th and 6th
century BCE, Europe entered the classical antiquity age, a period when ancient
Greece and ancient Rome flourished.[80][81] Around this time other civilizations
also came to prominence. The Maya civilization started to build cities and
create complex calendars.[82][83] In Africa, the Kingdom of Aksum overtook the
declining Kingdom of Kush and facilitated trade between India and the
Mediterranean.[84] In West Asia, the Achaemenid Empire's system of centralized
governance became the precursor to many later empires, [85] while the Gupta
Empire in India and the Han dynasty in China have been described as golden
ages in their respective regions.[86][87]
Post-classical
Main article: Post-classical history
 Medieval French manuscript illustration of the
three classes of medieval society from the 13th-century Li Livres dou Santé
Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Europe entered
the Middle Ages.[88] During this period, Christianity and the Church would act as a
source of authority and education. [89] In the Middle East, Islam became the
prominent religion and expanded into North Africa. It led to an Islamic Golden
Age, inspiring achievements in architecture, the revival of old advances in
science and technology, and the formation of a distinct way of life. [90]
[91]
The Christian and Islamic worlds would eventually clash, with the Kingdom of
England, the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire declaring a series
of holy wars to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims.[92]
In the Americas, between 200 and 900 CE Mesoamerica was in its Classic Period,
[93]
while further north, complex Mississippian societies would arise starting
around 800 CE.[94] The Mongol Empire would conquer much of Eurasia in the 13th
and 14th centuries.[95] Over this same time period, the Mali Empire in Africa grew
to be the largest empire on the continent, stretching from Senegambia to Ivory
Coast.[96] Oceania would see the rise of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire which expanded
across many islands in the South Pacific. [97] By the late 15th century,
the Aztecs and Inca had become the dominant power in Mesoamerica and
the Andes, respectively.[98]
Modern
Main articles: Modern era, Early modern period, Late modern period,
and Contemporary history
The early modern period in Europe and the Near East (c. 1450–1800) began with
the final defeat of the Byzantine Empire, and the rise of the Ottoman Empire.
[99]
Meanwhile, Japan entered the Edo period,[100] the Qing dynasty rose in
China[101] and the Mughal Empire ruled much of India.[102] Europe underwent
the Renaissance, starting in the 15th century,[103] and the Age of Discovery began
with the exploring and colonizing of new regions.[104] This included
the colonization of the Americas[105] and the Columbian Exchange.[106] This
expansion led to the Atlantic slave trade[107] and the genocide of the Americas'
indigenous peoples.[108] This period also marked the Scientific Revolution, with
great advances in mathematics, mechanics, astronomy and physiology.[109]
 Buzz Aldrin on the Moon during the 1969 Apollo
11 mission, as he and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to set foot on
another celestial body.
The late modern period (1800–present) saw the Industrial and Technological
Revolution bring such discoveries as imaging technology, major innovations in
transport, and energy development.[110] Influenced by Enlightenment ideals, the
Americas and Europe experienced a period of political revolutions known as
the Age of Revolution.[111] The Napoleonic Wars raged through Europe in the early
1800s,[112] Spain lost most of its colonies in the New World,[113] while Europeans
continued expansion into Africa – where European control went from 10% to
almost 90% in less than 50 years[114] – and Oceania.[115] In the 19th century,
the British Empire expanded to become the world's largest empire.[116]
A tenuous balance of power among European nations collapsed in 1914 with the
outbreak of the First World War, one of the deadliest conflicts in history. [117] In the
1930s, a worldwide economic crisis led to the rise of authoritarian regimes and
a Second World War, involving almost all of the world's countries.[118] The war's
destruction led to the collapse of most global empires, leading to widespread
decolonization.
Following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945, the United
States[119] and the Soviet Union emerged as the remaining global superpowers.
This led to a Cold War that saw a struggle for global influence, including
a nuclear arms race and a space race, ending in the collapse of the Soviet Union.
[120][121]
The current Information Age, spurred by the development of
the Internet and artificial intelligence systems, sees the world becoming
increasingly globalized and interconnected.[122]
Habitat and population
Further information: Human geography and Demography

Population statistics[a]
 Choropleth map showing Population
density (people per square kilometer)
estimates by 30 arc-second grid in 2020

World ≈ 8.3 billion

populatio
n

Populatio 16/km2 (42/sq mi) by total area

n density 55/km2 (143/sq mi) by land area

Largest Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, São

cities[b] Paulo, Mexico
City, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Dhak
a, Osaka

Early human settlements were dependent on proximity to water and – depending

on the lifestyle – other natural resources used for subsistence, such as
populations of animal prey for hunting and arable land for growing crops and
grazing livestock.[126] Modern humans, however, have a great capacity for
altering their habitats by means of technology, irrigation, urban planning,
construction, deforestation and desertification.[127] Human settlements continue
to be vulnerable to natural disasters, especially those placed in hazardous
locations and with low quality of construction. [128] Grouping and deliberate habitat
alteration is often done with the goals of providing protection, accumulating
comforts or material wealth, expanding the available food, improving aesthetics,
increasing knowledge or enhancing the exchange of resources. [129]
Humans are one of the most adaptable species, despite having a low or narrow
tolerance for many of the Earth's extreme environments. [130] Currently the
species is present in all eight biogeographical realms, although their presence in
the Antarctic realm is limited to research stations and annually there is a
population decline in the winter months of this realm. [131] Humans have had a
dramatic effect on the environment. Human population
growth, industrialization, land development, overconsumption and combustion
of fossil fuels have led to environmental destruction and pollution that
significantly contributes to the ongoing mass extinction of other forms of life.[132]
[133]

Within the last century, humans have also explored the deep sea and outer
space. Human habitation within these hostile environments is restrictive and
expensive, typically limited in duration, and restricted to scientific, military,
or industrial expeditions.[134] Humans have visited the Moon and made their
presence known on other celestial bodies through human-made robotic
spacecraft.[135][136][137] Since 2000, there has been continuous human presence in
space through habitation on the International Space Station.[138]
By using advanced tools and clothing, humans have been able to extend their
tolerance to a wide variety of temperatures, humidities, and altitudes.[130][139] As a
result, humans are a cosmopolitan species found in almost all regions of the
world, including tropical rainforest, arid desert, extremely cold arctic regions,
and heavily polluted cities; in comparison, most other species are confined to a
few geographical areas by their limited adaptability. [140] The human population is
not, however, uniformly distributed on the Earth's surface, because the
population density varies from one region to another, and large stretches of
surface are almost completely uninhabited, like Antarctica and vast swathes of
the ocean.[130][141] Most humans (61%) live in Asia; the remainder live in the
Americas (14%), Africa (14%), Europe (11%), and Oceania (0.5%). [142]

Humans and their

domesticated animals represent 96% of all mammalian biomass on Earth,
whereas all wild mammals represent only 4%. [143]
Estimates of the population at the time agriculture emerged in around 10,000 BC
have ranged between 1 million and 15 million. [144][145] Around 50–60 million
people lived in the combined eastern and western Roman Empire in the 4th
century AD.[146] Bubonic plagues, first recorded in the 6th century AD, reduced
the population by 50%, with the Black Death killing 75–200 million people
in Eurasia and North Africa alone.[147] Human population is believed to have
reached one billion in 1800. It has since then increased exponentially, reaching
two billion in 1930 and three billion in 1960, four in 1975, five in 1987 and six
billion in 1999.[148] It passed seven billion in 2011[149] and passed eight billion in
November 2022.[150] It took over two million years of human
prehistory and history for the human population to reach one billion and only 207
years more to grow to 7 billion.[151] The combined biomass of the carbon of all the
humans on Earth in 2018 was estimated at 60 million tons, about 10 times larger
than that of all non-domesticated mammals. [143]
In 2018, 4.2 billion humans (55%) lived in urban areas, up from 751 million in
1950.[152] The most urbanized regions are Northern America (82%), Latin America
(81%), Europe (74%) and Oceania (68%), with Africa and Asia having nearly 90%
of the world's 3.4 billion rural population. [152] Problems for humans living in cities
include various forms of pollution and crime,[153] especially in inner city and
suburban slums.