People

Basic Information

This site tells the story of the history of the universe. Click Earlier and Later to follow the story. Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand.

Some people find it hard to accept that humans have evolved from animals. Yet there are many facts leading to that idea. Human cells are eukaryotic, the same as animal cells. Our chromosomes and genes are almost identical to some of the apes. So are our tissues and organs. Fossil bones have been found, showing how people evolved.
The main difference between people and other animals is their ability to think, which comes from the large size of their brain, and their use of language.

Modern people (Homo Sapiens) seem to have evolved in Africa about 100 thousand years ago (although the date is far from clear) and lived there while the Neanderthals were spreading around the world.
An interglacial (warm period) began 35 thousand years ago. Then modern people came out of Africa and spread. Within a few thousand years they replaced the Neanderthals in Europe and Asia. Then about 25 thousand years ago the weather turned cold again and a glacial began. During the glacial, people improved the tools used by Neanderthals, developing specialized tools for different jobs.
But the thing which really set them apart from Neanderthals was their use of art and decoration. Cave paintings, beads, clay statuettes, carvings on the handles of tools, all show a more developed sense of art than Neanderthals ever did.

Many animals were hunted to extinction and people spread around the world.
The weather turned warm 11 thousand years ago and the present interglacial began. Many of the glaciers melted, it rained heavily, and the oceans rose 100 meters. New animals and plants replaced the old. People took up two different ways of life: Nomads and farmers.

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Earlier 100 Thousand Years ago Later

Human Environment > People

Basic Information