7 Facts About the Earliest Humans on Earth

Recorded human history is just a tiny blip on the temporal radar. The Pyramids of Giza were built around 2500 BCE, but 4,500 years ago seems like yesterday when you compare it to the 300,000 years our species, Homo sapiens, has been around. Since our earliest ancestors didn’t leave as much behind, we know very little about how they lived.
Scientists first theorized in the 19th century that humans originated in Africa, and modern genetic science has largely confirmed that to be the case, though researchers are still working to determine the exact geography. Scientists also disagree on when and how humans dispersed. One early theory suggested that our Homo sapiens ancestors started to leave Africa around 60,000 years ago. Most non-African humans today can trace their origins back to a large exodus around that time, but smaller migrations may have started much earlier. Fossil evidence shows that groups of foragers arrived in Asia around 120,000 years ago, and brought skills such as deep-sea fishing and cave art with them. Other fossil discoveries, including a 210,000-year-old skull found in Greece, suggest some humans left Africa even earlier.