Human taxonomy
Lineages Temporal range kya Habitat Adult height Cranial capacity ( cm³ ) Fossil record Discovery / publication of name
H. habilis membership in Homo uncertain Confirmed H. habilis fossils are dated to between 2.1 and 1.5 million years ago . This date range overlaps with the emergence of Homo erectus Tanzania 110-140 cm ( 3 ft 7 in - 4 ft 7 in ) 510-660 Many 1960 1964
H. rudolfensis membership in Homo uncertain 1,900 Kenya 700 2 sites 1972 1986
H. gautengensis also classified as H. habilis 1,900-600 South Africa 100 cm ( 3 ft 3 in ) 3 individuals 2010 2010
H. erectus 1,900-140 Africa , Eurasia 180 cm ( 5 ft 11 in ) 850 ( early ) - 1,100 ( late ) Many 1891 1892
H. ergaster African H. erectus 1,800-1,300 East and Southern Africa 700-850 Many 1949 1975
H. antecessor 1,200-800 Western Europe 175 cm ( 5 ft 9 in ) 1,000 2 sites 1994 1997
H. heidelbergensis early H. neanderthalensis 600-300 Europe , Africa 180 cm ( 5 ft 11 in ) 1,100-1,400 Many 1907 1908
H. cepranensis a single fossil , possibly H. erectus c. 450 Italy 1,000 1 skull cap 1994 2003
H. rhodesiensis early H. sapiens c. 300 Zambia 1,300 single or very few 1921 1921
H. naledi c. 300 South Africa 150 cm ( 4 ft 11 in ) 450 15 individuals 2013 2015
H. sapiens ( anatomically modern humans ) c. 300-present Worldwide 150-190 cm ( 4 ft 11 in - 6 ft 3 in ) 950-1,800 ( extant ) - - 1758
H. neanderthalensis 240- 40 Europe , Western Asia 170 cm ( 5 ft 7 in ) 1,200-1,900 Many 1829 1864
H. floresiensis classification uncertain 190-50 Indonesia 100 cm ( 3 ft 3 in ) 400 7 individuals 2003 2004
H. tsaichangensis possibly H. erectus c. 100 Taiwan 1 individual 2008 ( ? ) 2015
H. luzonensis c. 67 Philippines 3 individuals 2007 2019
Denisova hominin 40 Siberia 2 sites 2000 2010
Red Deer Cave people possible H. sapiens subspecies or hybrid 15-12 Southwest China Very few
Species
Main article : Homo At least a dozen species of Homo other than Homo sapiens have been proposed , with varying degrees of consensus . Homo erectus is widely recognized as the species directly ancestral to Homo sapiens . [ citation needed ] Most other proposed species are proposed as alternatively belonging to either Homo erectus or Homo sapiens as a subspecies . This concerns Homo ergaster in particular . [ 16 ] [ 17 ] One proposal divides Homo erectus into an African and an Asian variety ; the African is Homo ergaster , and the Asian is Homo erectus sensu stricto . ( Inclusion of Homo ergaster with Asian Homo erectus is Homo erectus sensu lato . ) [ 18 ] There appears to be a recent trend , with the availability of ever more difficult-to-classify fossils such as the Dmanisi skulls ( 2013 ) or Homo naledi fossils ( 2015 ) to subsume all archaic varieties under Homo erectus . [ 19 ] [ 20 ] [ 21 ]
Human taxonomy is the classification of the human species (systematic name Homo sapiens, Latin: wise man) within zoological taxonomy. The systematic genus, Homo, is designed to include both anatomically modern humans and extinct varieties of archaic humans. Current humans have been designated as subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens, differentiated, according to some from the direct ancestor, Homo sapiens idaltu (with some other research instead classifying idaltu and curent humans as belonging to the same subspecies). Since the introduction of systematic names in the 18th century, knowledge of human evolution has increased drastically, and a number of intermediate taxa have been proposed in the 20th to early 21st century. The most widely accepted taxonomy groups takes the genus Homo as originating between two and three million years ago, divided into at least two species, archaic Homo erectus and modern Homo sapiens, with about a dozen further suggestions for species without universal recognition. The genus Homo is placed in the tribe Hominini alongside Pan (chimpanzees). The two genera are estimated to have diverged over an extended time of hybridization spanning roughly 10 to 6 million years ago, with possible admixture as late as 4 million years ago. A subtribe of uncertain validity, grouping archaic pre-human or para-human species younger than the Homo-Pan split is Australopithecina (proposed in 1939). A proposal by Wood and Richmond (2000) would introduce Hominina as a subtribe alongside Australopithecina, with Homo the only known genus within Hominina. Alternatively, following Cela-Conde and Ayala (2003), the pre-human or proto-human genera of Australopithecus, Ardipithecus, Praeanthropus, and possibly Sahelanthropus may be placed on equal footing alongside the genus Homo. An even more radical view rejects the division of Pan and Homo as separate genera, which based on the Principle of Priority would imply the re-classification of chimpanzees as Homo paniscus (or similar). Prior to the current scientific classification of humans, philosophers and scientists have made various attempts to classify humans.