Homo sapiens
Us, scientifically speaking
Homo sapiens is the scientific name for the human species—the only surviving member of the genus Homo.
The Latin means "wise man." In biological and anthropological contexts, the term distinguishes modern humans from earlier hominids and other primates: Homo sapiens emerged in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago.
Outside technical writing, the term often carries an ironic edge, commenting on humanity's supposed wisdom: For Homo sapiens, we're remarkably bad at planning ahead.
Differential reproductive success
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- fossil recordRemains documenting prehistoric life
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
phylogeny · Darwinism · mutation · genetic drift · gene flow · bipedalism · paleontology · divergence
Profound intellectual discernment
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- intellectMental reasoning capacity
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
cognition · abstract thought · language · symbolism · problem-solving · creativity · foresight · self-awareness
Father of modern taxonomy
- genusTaxonomic rank above species
- speciesFinest taxonomic rank
- primatesOrder of higher mammals
- mammalsHair-bearing, milk-producing animals
vertebrates · classification · systematics · scientific name · nomenclature · great apes · hominins · taxonomy
Descent from progenitors
- genealogyStudy of family descent
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
forebears · progenitors · bloodline · pedigree · migration · DNA · haplogroup · family tree
Advanced organized human society
- cultureCollective social practices
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- communityCollective of connected people
morality · ethics · empathy · compassion · altruism · diversity · solidarity · dignity
natural selection
Differential reproductive success
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- fossil recordRemains documenting prehistoric life
common ancestor · phylogeny · Darwinism · mutation · genetic drift · gene flow · bipedalism · paleontology · divergence · survival of the fittest
sapience
Profound intellectual discernment
- consciousnessState of sentient awareness
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- intellectMental reasoning capacity
wisdom · cognition · abstract thought · language · symbolism · problem-solving · creativity · foresight · self-awareness · metacognition
Linnaeus
Father of modern taxonomy
mammals · vertebrates · classification · systematics · scientific name · nomenclature · great apes · hominins · taxonomy · biology
lineage
Descent from progenitors
ancestors · forebears · progenitors · bloodline · pedigree · migration · DNA · haplogroup · family tree · roots
civilization
Advanced organized human society
- cultureCollective social practices
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
community · morality · ethics · empathy · compassion · altruism · diversity · solidarity · dignity · kinship
- Species NamesApis mellifera, Tyrannosaurus rex, Boa constrictor, Vitis vinifera, Camellia sinensis
- Early HumansNeanderthal, Cro-Magnon, Australopithecus, caveman, hominid
- HomininsAustralopithecus, Neanderthal, hominins, Ardipithecus, Neanderthals
- Human SpeciesNeanderthal
- prehistorystone tools, Neolithic, Stone Age, caveman, cavemen
- prehistoric humanscaveman, cave dwellers, cave dweller, Neanderthal, Neanderthals
Homo sapiensartificial intelligence
Machines mimicking human thought
AI · robot · machine intelligence · android · automaton
human, humans, humanity, humankind, humanoid, homo, anthropologist, humanoids, anthropological