Early Hominids

Sahelanthropus tchadensis (7 million BCE)

70,000 BCE

Sahelanthropus tchadensis is an extinct hominid species that lived in West-Central Africa between 7 and 6 million years ago. The species was discovered in 2001 and announced in 2002. The name Sahelanthropus tchadensis comes from the area where the fossils were found and the Greek word for "man".

Orrorin tungenesis (6.2 million BCE)

62,000 BCE

Orrorin tugenensis is an extinct genus of primate that lived around 6 million years ago. It is considered one of the earliest hominins, along with Sahelanthropus tchadensis and Ardipithecus.

Sahelanthropus tchadensis End (6 million BCE)

60,000 BCE

Ardipithecus ramidus (5.8 million BCE)

58,000 BCE

Ardipithecus ramidus, nicknamed "Ardi", is an early human species that lived in Eastern Africa about 4.4 million years ago. The name comes from the Afar language, where "ardi" means "ground" or "floor", "pithecus" is Latinized Greek for "ape", and "ramid" means "root". Ardi may have gone extinct due to a drier climate that reduced its habitat and made it easier for other species to survive. Alternatively, it may have evolved into the australopithecines, which are thought to have become humans.

Orrorin tungenesis End (5.8 million BCE)

58,000 BCE

Ardipithecus kadabba (5.77 million BCE)

57,700 BCE

Ardipithecus kadabba is the scientific classification given to fossil remains "known only from teeth and bits and pieces of skeletal bones", originally estimated to be 5.8 to 5.2 million years old, and later revised to 5.77 to 5.54 million years old. the only known differentiation between A. ramidus and A. kadabba is from dental characteristics.

Ardipithecus kadabba End (5.2 million BCE)

52,000 BCE

Ardipithicus ramidus End (4.4 million BCE)

44,000 BCE

Australopithecus bahrelghazali (4.4 million BCE)

44,000 BCE

The genus name Australopithecus means ‘southern ape’. The species name is derived from the location where the fossils were found - Bahr el Ghazal in Chad. Fossils are dated to about 3.6 million years old using beryllium-based radiometric dating, published in 2008. Ascertaining the distribution of this species is difficult as only four fossils have been found, all from nearby sites in Central Chad in Africa. They lived from 4.4 - 1.4 million years ago.

Australopithecus anamensis (4.2 million BCE)

42,000 BCE

Australopithecus anamensis is a hominid species that lived in Eastern Africa between 4.2 and 3.8 million years ago. It is the oldest known Australopithecus species and is widely considered the ancestor of Australopithecus afarensis, also known as "Lucy".

Australopithecus afarensis (3.9 million BCE)

39,000 BCE

Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct species of human ancestor that lived in East Africa from about 3.9–2.9 million years ago. The species is also known as "Lucy's species" and is considered a direct ancestor of humans and other species.

Australopithecus anamensis End (3.8 million BCE)

38,000 BCE

Kenyanthropus platyops (3.5 million BCE)

35,000 BCE

Kenyanthropus is an extinct hominin genus that lived in Kenya between 3.5 and 3.2 million years ago. The name Kenyanthropus platyops means "the flat-faced man from Kenya".

Australopithecus africanus (3.3 million BCE)

33,000 BCE

Australopithecus africanus is an extinct species of hominid that lived in southern Africa between 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago. The name "Australopithecus" means "southern ape" and "africanus" is a Latinized form of the word "Africa".

Kenyanthropus platyops End (3.2 million BCE)

32,000 BCE

Australopithecus afarensis End (2.9 million BCE)

29,000 BCE

Homo habilis (2.8 million BCE)

28,000 BCE

Homo habilis is an extinct species of archaic human that lived in East and South Africa between 2.8 million and 1.65 million years ago. The name Homo habilis comes from the Latin words homo meaning "human" or "man" and habilis meaning "handy" or "skillful".

Parenthropus aethiopicus (2.7 million BCE)

27,000 BCE

Discovered in 1985 in Kenya, it is known only from one major specimen, the Black Skull, plus a few bone fragments. Its huge eye sockets and large sagittal crest are its striking features. The brain is very small and its teeth are very large. The massive cheekbones and muscle attachments on the skull indicate a powerful chewing adaptation characteristic of most australopithecines. The back parts of the skull resemble the same features in A. afarensis. In most other respects it resembles A. boisei

Australopithecus garhi (2.6 million BCE)

26,000 BCE

The species name means “surprise” in the Afar language. Crude stone tools made of volcanic rock were found in the discovery site at Gona in Ethiopia and represent the oldest tools known—approximately 2.6 million years old. While most australopithecine species were specialized plant-eaters, this one was an omnivore like ourselves. If it ate meat and made stone tools to butcher game, this is a creature who was occupying the same niche in the environment, and region, as our earliest ancestors.

Australopithecus garhi End (2.5 million BCE)

25,000 BCE

Paranthropus boisei (2.3 million BCE)

23,000 BCE

Paranthropus boisei is a species of hominid that lived in Africa between 1.0 and 2.3 million years ago. It is part of the genus Paranthropus, which also includes Paranthropus robustus and Paranthropus aethiopicus. These species are known as the "robusts" because of their large jaws and molar teeth.

Homo rudolfensis (2.3 million BCE)

23,000 BCE

Homo rudolfensis is an extinct species of archaic human that lived in East Africa around 2 million years ago. The species was named in 1986 by Russian scientist V.P. Alexeev.

Paranthropus robustus (2.27 million BCE)

22,700 BCE

Paranthropus robustus is a species of robust australopithecine from the Early and possibly Middle Pleistocene of the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, about 2.27 to 0.87 million years ago. It has been identified in Kromdraai, Swartkrans, Sterkfontein, Gondolin, Cooper's, and Drimolen Caves.

Australopithecus africanus End (2.1 million BCE)

21,000 BCE

Homo erectus (2 million BCE)

20,000 BCE

Homo erectus is an extinct species of archaic human that lived from about 2 million to 250,000 years ago. They are considered to be one of the earliest species in the human lineage to have many human-like qualities. H. erectus is also referred to as Upright Man.

Australopithecus sediba (1.98 million BCE)

19,800 BCE

Australopithecus sediba (Au. sediba) is an extinct hominin species that lived in South Africa between 1.977 and 1.98 million years ago. The name "Australopithecus" means "southern ape" and "sediba" means "fountain" or "wellspring" in the seSotho language.

Australopithecus sediba End (1.977 million BCE)

19,770 BCE

Homo ergaster (1.9 million BCE)

19,000 BCE

Homo ergaster is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans that lived in Africa between 1.5 and 1.9 million years ago. They were the first human ancestors to have more modern human-like features.

Paranthropus aethiopicus End (1.9 million BCE)

19,000 BCE

Homo rudolfensis End (1.9 million BCE)

19,000 BCE

Homo georgicus (1.8 million BCE)

18,000 BCE

Homo georgicus “man from Georgia”, is an early hominid discovered by Georgian scientist David Lorkkipanidze made a series of spectacular finds of early hominids far outside of eastern, southern, or even central Africa—and dating to approximately 1.8 million years ago. There are not enough fossils to support an estimated range for this species.

Homo habilis Ends (1.65 million BCE)

16,500 BCE

Homo ergaster End (1.5 million BCE)

15,000 BCE

Australopithecus bahrelghazali End (1.4 million BCE)

14,000 BCE

Paranthropus boisei End (1 million BCE)

10,000 BCE

Paranthropus robustus End (870,000 BCE)

8700 BCE

Homo antecessor (800,000 BCE)

8000 BCE

Homo heidelbergensis (700,000 BCE)

7000 BCE

Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that existed during the Middle Pleistocene. It was subsumed as a subspecies of H. erectus in 1950 as H. e. heidelbergensis, but towards the end of the century, it was more widely classified as its own species.

Homo Neanderthalensis (400,000 BCE)

4000 BCE

Homo neanderthalensis, also known as Neanderthals, are an extinct group of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. The name Homo neanderthalensis translates to "human from the Neander Valley". The first major specimen was discovered in 1856 in the Neander Valley in present-day Germany.

Homo naledi (335,000 BCE)

3350 BCE

Homo naledi is an extinct species of archaic human that lived in South Africa between 335,000 and 236,000 years ago. The species was discovered in 2013 in the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave system, which is part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The word "naledi" means "star" in the Sotho language.

Homo sapiens sapiens (300,000 BCE)

3000 BCE

Homo sapiens is the scientific name for the species that includes all living humans. The name comes from the Latin words homo, meaning "human" or "man", and sapiens, meaning "wise" or "astute".

Homo denisova (285,000 BCE)

2850 BCE

Denisovans (Homo denisova or Homo altaiensis, as it has not yet been made official in the paleoanthropology community) are an extinct species of archaic human that lived in Asia from 285,000 to 25,000 years ago. They are close relatives of Neanderthals and modern humans, and likely diverged from these lineages around 300,000 to 400,000 years ago. Denisovans are more closely related to Neanderthals than to modern humans.

Homo naledi End (236,000 BCE)

2360 BCE

Homo heidelbergensis End (200,000 BCE)

2000 BCE

Homo erectus End (200,000 BCE)

2000 BCE

Homo antecessor End (200,000 BCE)

2000 BCE

Homo floresiensis (100,000 BCE)

1000 BCE

Homo floresiensis, also known as "the Hobbit" or "Flores Man", is an extinct species of small, archaic humans that lived on the Indonesian island of Flores between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. The species' name means "human from Flores".

Homo luzonensis (67,000 BCE)

670 BCE

Homo luzonensis is an extinct species of archaic human that lived on the island of Luzon in the Philippines between 50,000 and 67,000 years ago. The species is named after the island where its fossils were found.

Homo luzonensis End (50,000 BCE)

500 BCE

Homo floresiensis End (50,000 BCE)

500 BCE

Homo Neanderthalensis End (40,000 BCE)

400 BCE

Homo denisova (25,000 BCE)

250 BCE