Anthropologist believed that the ancestors of modern human beings developed in Africa. The earliest true hominid or precursor to human is probably Australopithecus who lived in open wood lands rather than forests like the apes. The earliest known species is Australopithecus afarensis of Africa who lived about four to three million years ago.
A descendant Australopithecus africanus appeared about three and half to two and half million years ago and maybe ancestral to both humans and later Australopithecus.
The earliest human species Homo habilis emerged about two to one and half million years ago. Australopithecus robustus and boisei descendants of afarensis lived during the same era as Homo habilis that probably became extinct. A significant ancestor was Homo erectus. About 1.6 million years ago who had a larger brain, a smaller jaw and teeth had developed a hand axe and knew how to make fire.
Homo erectus was probably the first to move out of Africa evolved and adaptable enough to survive very different environments. During the period of about 1 million to half a million years ago, Homo erectus moved north to the warmer parts of what is now Europe and East to Asia.
Homo erectus migrated as far as China and Indonesia where evidence of his presence has been found by modern paleontologists. As early man evolved he also moved from about 500,000 to 30,000 years ago, they were migrations across Asia and a land bridge that led to North America.
During this time Homo sapiens appeared about 250,000 years ago, evolved to a brain size close to modern man and capable of adapting to challenging conditions yet still retaining a large face and big teeth like Homo erectus.
Further migrations from about 30,000 to 10,000 years ago brought man to Australia and from Asia to the other side of the world to an emerging land bridge to North American and down to South America.
Modern human beings Homo sapiens sapiens probably appeared around 40,000 years ago with the bone structure almost identical to people today.
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