When exactly did modern humans originate?

Question

When exactly did the human species become "people"?

Answer 1

First modern humans exibiting modern behavior and abstract thinking appeared 80,000 years ago.(art, math (geometry))

A) 130,000 years ago, is when we started to appear.

B) People started acting in a cognitively "modern" way circa 80,000 years ago circa south africa, in blombos cave. (fishing, abstract thought, geometric designs, etc.)

[*] austrailian ancestors sailed there 60,000 years ago, if I'm correct.

[*] Circa present-day Nigeria, and not too much later circa modern Japan, the first ceramics were made, 100,000 years ago.

[*] european and american [natives] were using tools 40,000 years ago. Well americans later, after the Bering straight.

You get the picture. We're the young species, but very old.

Source(s):

Research of modern day science articles and events.

Hold up, I'll search... here's one:

http://www.trussel.com/prehist/news277.h...

Answer 2

I think that your answer depends on what your definition of "people" is, Michael.  Most of the folks here have hit upon a variety of factors for you to choose from.

Answer 3

The most decisive mutations, which characterize modern humans,

occurred at about 60,000 years bp, in or near modern-day Ethiopia.

Answer 4

Roughly 4.5 to 5 million years ago.

Answer 5

we haven't yet...my thinking is that people don't kill each other...

Answer 6

We see Anatomically Modern Humans appear possibly as early as 200,000 years ago. They are certainly around when the Neaderthals vanish around 40,000 years ago. Note that a generally accepted date for first migration to Australia is at 60,000 years ago, so I'd say we definitely had modern humans by then.

Answer 7

I believe we're still working on completing the effort.

Answer 8

Well the Homo sapiens sapiens or modern humans are seen around 200,000 years ago.

About 40,000 years ago Cro Magnon tools appeared and we call people of around that time Cro Magnon, even though they are still H.sapiens, like us.

There is a group called H.sapiens or H. heidlbergensis or archaic humans who were seen around 500,000years ago which had features of both H.sapiens spaiens (us) and the more primative H.erectus..but graudally look more like us around 200,000 years ago (with further changes  following)

Answer 9

2,5 million years ago