How long have human beings existed?

Answer 1

200,000 years ago

Human have existed for roughly half a million years, but this answer depends on the exact definition of "human". Fossil evidence shows that several human-like lineages developed during the past million years or so. >From fossils, the appearance of Homo sapiens is dated at about half a million years, and of anatomically modern Homo sapiens at about a hundred thousand years, values that are also supported by genomic evidence. Another data point, although not something you asked directly, is that the recent complete sequencing of the genome of the chimpanzee, which is the closest living relative of humans, suggests that chimps and humans diverged from their common ancestor about 6 million years ago. Of the many intermediate related species that have existed since then, only chimps and modern humans survive today.

This is fromhttp://astrobiology.NASA.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=1522 it took 1 second to find in Google. I don't understand why people don't search questions before using this service.

Answer 2

200,000 years ago

Human have existed for roughly half a million years, but this answer depends on the exact definition of "human". Fossil evidence shows that several human-like lineages developed during the past million years or so. >From fossils, the appearance of Homo sapiens is dated at about half a million years, and of anatomically modern Homo sapiens at about a hundred thousand years, values that are also supported by genomic evidence. Another data point, although not something you asked directly, is that the recent complete sequencing of the genome of the chimpanzee, which is the closest living relative of humans, suggests that chimps and humans diverged from their common ancestor about 6 million years ago. Of the many intermediate related species that have existed since then, only chimps and modern humans survive today.

This is fromhttp://astrobiology.NASA.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/question/?id=1522 it took 1 second to find in Google. I don't understand why people don't search questions before using this service.

Answer 3

Human beings have existed for approximately 200,000 years, originating in Africa before spreading to other parts of the world. The earliest known Homo sapiens fossils date back to around 300,000 years ago.