Evolution Neanderthals Homo Sapiens Fossils Science Anthropology Biology

Description: About 100,000 years ago, a diverse group of hominids, or humanlike species, occupied Earth. By 30,000 years ago, however, only Homo sapiens—the most modern species—remained. One of the most hotly debated issues in paleoanthropology, the study of human origins, focuses on how Homo sapiens evolved to outlive the other hominids.The current best explanation for the beginning of modern humans is the Out of Africa model. This holds that Homo sapiens arose in Africa & gradually replaced hominid species in the other parts of the world to which they migrated. To address the question of why our species survived, paleoanthropologists make certain assumptions about lifestyle & behavior based on fossil evidence.