homo

Homo is a genus of hominids in the family Hominidae that includes species commonly known as humans and their close relatives. The name comes from Latin for "man" or "person." Members of Homo are characterized by a derived suite of traits relative to earlier hominins, including a larger brain size, a reduced jaw and teeth, and changes in the pelvis and limb bones that support obligate bipedal locomotion. The genus first appears in the fossil record in Africa about 2.8–2.4 million years ago, with early members such as Homo habilis and possibly Homo rudolfensis.

Homo erectus emerged around 1.9 million years ago and spread out of Africa into Eurasia, and is associated with distinctive tool technologies such as Acheulean handaxes. Over the ensuing hundreds of thousands of years, several more species evolved, including Homo heidelbergensis, which is thought to be the common ancestor of both Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) and modern humans (Homo sapiens). Neanderthals inhabited Europe and western Asia until about 40,000 years ago, while Homo sapiens evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and later dispersed globally.

Other named species include Homo floresiensis from Flores, Indonesia, and Homo naledi from South Africa; debates continue about the exact classifications and relationships of several fossils, and about whether some taxa represent species or variation within a single lineage.

Modern humans are the only surviving species of Homo, with genetic and fossil evidence indicating interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans, an archaic lineage within the genus.