Modern humans (Homo sapiens or Homo sapiens sapiens) are the only extantmembers of the homininclade, a branch of great apes characterized by erect postureand bipedal locomotion; manual dexterity and increased tool use; and a general trend toward larger, more complex brains and societies.^[3][4] Early hominids, such as theaustralopithecines whose brains and anatomy are in many ways more similar to non-human apes, are less often thought of or referred to as “human” than hominids of thegenus Homo.^[5] Some of the latter used fire, occupied much of Eurasia, and gave rise to ^[6][7] anatomically modern Homo sapiensin Africa about 200,000 years ago. They began to exhibit evidence of behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago, and migrated in successive waves to occupy^[8] all but the smallest, driest, and coldest lands. In the last 100 years, this has extended to permanently manned bases in Antarctica, on offshore platforms, andorbiting the Earth. The spread of humans andtheir large and increasing population has had a profoundimpact on large areas of the environment and millions of native species worldwide. Advantages that explain this evolutionary success include a relatively larger brain with a particularly well-developedneocortex,prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes, which enable high levels of abstractreasoning, language, problem solving, sociality, and culture through social learning. Humans use tools to a much higher degree than any other animal, are the only extant species known to build fires and cook their food, as well as the only extant species toclothe themselves and create and use numerous other technologies and arts.

Humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of symbolic communication such as language and art for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization. Humans create complex social structurescomposed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship networks to states. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of values,^[9] social norms, andrituals, which together form the basis of human society. The human desire to understand and influence their environment, and explain and manipulate phenomena, has been the foundation for the development ofscience, philosophy, mythology, and religion. The scientific study of humans is the discipline of anthropology.

Humans began to practice sedentary agriculture about 12,000 years ago, domesticating plants and animals, thus allowing for the growth of civilization. Humans subsequently established various forms of government, religion, and culture around the world, unifying people within a region and leading to the development of states and empires. The rapid advancement of scientific and medical understanding in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the development of fuel-driven technologies and improved health, causing the human population to rise exponentially. By 2014 the global human population was estimated to be around 7.2 billion.^[10][11]

(From Wikipedia, March 2015)