The earliest representatives of people anatomically similar to living humans evolved from more archaic humans approximately 100,000 years ago. The process by which they emerged from and eventually replaced those late archaic humans remains unclear. It is likely that they evolved locally from such predecessors in northeastern Africa. Over the succeeding 50,000 years, their range expanded and contracted with changing global climatic cycles to include at times the Mediterranean Near East and portions of northern Africa. Early modern humans and their biology and way of life, therefore, initially had little advantage over late archaic humans.
Early modern humans were biologically the same as modern peoples and would blend in with living peoples. They differed from living people primarily in their tendency to have a rugged, athletic build. These populations were generally tall, males being 175–180 cm (5 ft 10 in.) and females 160–165 cm (5 ft 4 in.) on average. As a result of these tall bodies and muscularity, their brains were relatively large, averaging about 1500 cm3 (90 in.3) as opposed to averages of about 1350 cm3 (80 in.3) common for recent humans. Yet, when their brain sizes are scaled against estimated body weights, their brains were relatively the same size as those of living humans.
Early modern humans were successful hunters and gatherers, occupying most of the inhabitable regions of the Old World. They lived by hunting small to medium-size animals, especially antelopes, deer, goats, and occasional horses and cattle, and by gathering wild plants, fish, and shellfish for food. Their effectiveness as hunters and gatherers was due in part to their technology. They developed elaborate stone tool technologies, producing long blades that became blanks for tools with replaceable cutting edges and points. They were also the first to fire clay into ceramics, and they wove carrying bags with a variety of techniques. Yet, their ability to live effectively as hunters and gatherers depended upon their extensive knowledge of the environment. This knowledge was communicated through the first elaborate symbolic systems known, which consisted of a variety of geometric notational systems and the first representational art. They were also the first humans to commonly wear jewelry, and hence to modify their personal social images, suggesting more complex social roles than were previously known. Although these behavioral advances are associated with early modern humans, most of them appear only after about 50,000 years ago and hence are associated with the dispersal of modern humans.
