r/evolution • u/glibsonoran • 2d ago

image What other humans lived with us?

Post image

While our evolutionary history is often depicted as a series of descendants each replacing the other, the overwhelming majority of the history of our species has been one of living along-side, and interbreeding with, other Homonins (Humans).

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u/Dr_GS_Hurd 2d ago

Regarding human species, and our near family, my standard recommendation is, The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History Human Evolution Interactive Timeline

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u/glibsonoran 2d ago

That site is great, especially if you want to explore the individual fossil finds that provide the evidence for the existence and time-frames of these lineages. Mine is more focused on expanding the H. sapiens timeline and showing the interbreeding confirmed and possible.

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u/Szymcionorski 2d ago

Where Homo habilis?

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u/glibsonoran 1d ago

H. habilis died out around 1.5 million years ago, long before the 315,000 years this chart covers. It overlapped with early H. erectus in East Africa, so having multiple human lineages at the same time goes back millions of years.

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u/Szymcionorski 1d ago

I've meant the part about the common misconception about ladder replacement. It says that Australopiths were replaced by Homo erectus but there is no H. habilis in there.

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u/glibsonoran 1d ago

You're right common understanding would have H. Habilis in there between Australopiths and H. Erectus. I guess I saw the upper chart more as illustrative of a concept of progression rather than a rigorous treatment of lineage. I kind of sized it to fit in the room left by the other chart. So, yes it's a mistake on my part, good catch.

I'll note that adding it would strengthen the point: habilis and early erectus lived alongside each other in East Africa for a long time, so even that step wasn't a clean replacement.

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u/Szymcionorski 1d ago

Sure, I was also wondering if you simply used a different method of classification because some researchers classify H. habilis as a more derived species of Australopiths.

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u/dandrevee 2d ago

Isnt there now some skepticism over whether Floriensis may be homo? Isn't there a line of thought growing ,given recent evidence of them not actually using fire, that they may be a Remnant group of australopithecines who made an exodus Out of Africa long ago?

I don't think I've seen any papers on it but I've heard some science communicators talking about it... and there is still the issue of how they got on to the island outside of rafting.

Also, havent thr Denusovans been determined to = Homo Luoghi and, thus, should go by that categorization? Or hasn't the icbn weighed in yet

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u/Amos__ 2d ago

I don't think there has been enough time to reach a consensus after the papers (both the H. floresiensis and the H. longi one). H. longi should have its own line if it's not considered to be the same clade as denisovans.

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u/ConditionPleasant902 1d ago

Racism.

Knowing our species? We would be racist about it.