Lesson 2: Humans Spread out

Neanderthals, a group of larger-brained hominins, lived in Europe and Asia starting 230,000 years ago. They were skilled hunters and were likely the first hominins to bury their dead. For thousands of years, they coexisted with the newly arrived Homo sapiens. However, modern humans had key advantages. By 28,000 years ago, Neanderthals had disappeared, possibly outcompeted by or absorbed into the growing populations of modern humans who spread across their territories.

Around 70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens developed a powerful new tool: complex language. This skill gave them a critical advantage over other hominins like the Neanderthals. It allowed them to:

• Organize complex hunting strategies.
• Warn each other of dangers effectively.
• Pass knowledge and skills to their children.

This ability to cooperate and share information was a key reason they survived and thrived, as you'll see in their migration patterns.

Most scientists believe modern humans first appeared in Africa. From there, they began a great migration across the globe. This “out of Africa” theory is supported by key evidence:

• Fossil skulls from Africa match those found in Europe from the same period.
• Genetic studies show the greatest human diversity in Africa.

This suggests that groups branched off as they moved, gradually populating the rest of the world and replacing older hominin groups.

The last great Ice Age, which began about 70,000 years ago, presented a huge challenge. As glaciers spread, people adapted to the intense cold. They learned to build warm shelters, like huts made from mammoth bones and animal skins. The freezing of so much water lowered sea levels, creating land bridges that connected continents. This environmental change allowed both animals and the humans who hunted them to migrate to new lands like North America.

To better handle challenges, early humans began forming larger communities of 25 to 50 people. This social adaptation offered major benefits. In groups, hunters could work together to take down large prey like mammoths. They could also defend themselves more effectively from attacks. These growing communities created networks that allowed them to trade valuable items and, more importantly, share vital information for survival. This was an advanced form of cooperation.