AMHS

Anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are members of the species Homo sapiens characterized by a suite of anatomical features and cognitive capabilities that distinguish them from earlier Homo and other hominins. The term describes modern human anatomy that arose in Africa and later dispersed globally, replacing or interbreeding with local archaic populations.

The fossil record includes early AMH specimens dating to about 300,000 years ago from Jebel Irhoud in Morocco and younger finds across Africa and the Middle East. Over time, AMHs spread into Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, where regional variation developed in response to distinct environments and cultures.

Key features of AMHs include a rounded skull with a vertical forehead, reduced brow ridges, a prominent chin, smaller teeth, and a relatively lighter skeleton compared with some earlier populations. These traits, among others, are used to distinguish anatomically modern humans in the fossil record, though there is variation within populations.

Genetic evidence supports an African origin for AMHs, with the greatest genetic diversity found in African populations. Non-African populations carry Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry, reflecting interbreeding with archaic humans after dispersal from Africa.

Culturally and technologically, AMHs developed complex tools, symbolic art, and long-distance trade, with rapid innovations in the Upper Paleolithic (roughly 50,000–40,000 years ago) and extensive global migration in later periods. Today, AMHs represent a single, evolving lineage with considerable regional variation, and their study integrates fossil anatomy, archaeology, and genetics to understand human origins and dispersion.