Modern humans were first discovered in Europe 40,000 years ago.

Meaning of scientific name
"knowing man"

Life span
Varies around the world. Records of 120 years have been reached, but more usually around 70.

Statistics
Males 1.8m tall (6.), Females 1.65m tall (5.6..).

Physical description
Modern humans 30,000 years ago, called Cro Magnons, looked very like us! There was a great deal of variation in their features, as is seen today.

Distribution
First discovered in Europe 40,000 years ago, modern humans spread from the Middle East and North Africa.

Habitat
They would have inhabited plains and valleys.

Diet
They were omnivorous - each campsite seems to show different favourite prey animals. Rabbits and hares were among the most popular, along with reindeer, foxes and horses. In one camp in Italy, though, the humans seem to have specialised in hunting tortoises!

Behaviour
We have the remains of huts that Cro Magnons built, their spectacular carvings and paintings, and even jewellery. The carvings include human figures showing people wearing woven clothing, and there are also ritual burials where the body is covered in ivory beads that seem to have been sewn onto cloth, which has since disintegrated. They clearly had complex social networks and artistic tendencies and were little different from humans today.

Conservation status
Humans are very common in most habitats, and exceptionally widespread, living on every continent except Antarctica.

Notes
Modern humans, whose skeletons are identical to our own, are first found in Europe around 40,000 years ago, having spread from the Middle East and North Africa.

History
They evolved 100,000 years ago. Modern humans evolved from hominids living in North Africa and the Middle East, which were probably also the ancestors of Neanderthals.

Closest relative
We are most closely related to chimpanzees and bonobos.