modern human
Us, right now
Modern human refers to Homo sapiens, the species to which all living people belong—distinguished from earlier human species and ancestors like Neanderthals or Homo erectus.
The term appears in anthropology and evolutionary biology to mark anatomical and behavioral features that emerged roughly 300,000 years ago: Modern humans developed complex language and symbolic thinking.
In casual use, it can simply mean contemporary people: No modern human could survive without their phone.
Years 2001 through 2100
- present-dayOf this era
- currentDirected flow of charge
- millennialConcerning thousand-year cycles
- Generation ZPost-millennial demographic cohort
digital native · urban · lifestyle · consumerism · gig economy · work-life balance · mental health · activism
Interconnected computer systems
- smartphoneHandheld connected computer
- social mediaOnline content-sharing platforms
- artificial intelligenceMachines mimicking human thought
- virtual realityComputer-created interactive environment
connectivity · digital footprint · cybersecurity · automation · streaming · e-commerce · telecommuting · wearables
Scientific name for humans
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- geneticsScience of hereditary transmission
- traitsDistinguishing personal features
adaptation · survival · cognition · bipedalism · migration · Neanderthal · hominid · paleolithic
Collective social practices
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- communityCollective of connected people
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
ethics · governance · education · urbanization · globalization · multicultural · cosmopolitan · diplomacy
State of sentient awareness
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- creativityCapacity for original thought
- problem-solvingAddressing challenges methodically
- abstract thoughtCognition beyond tangible reality
language · memory · imagination · innovation · learning · intelligence · self-awareness · planning
twenty-first century
Years 2001 through 2100
- present-dayOf this era
- currentDirected flow of charge
- millennialConcerning thousand-year cycles
Generation Z · digital native · urban · lifestyle · consumerism · gig economy · work-life balance · mental health · activism · individualism
internet
Interconnected computer systems
- smartphoneHandheld connected computer
- social mediaOnline content-sharing platforms
- artificial intelligenceMachines mimicking human thought
virtual reality · connectivity · digital footprint · cybersecurity · automation · streaming · e-commerce · telecommuting · wearables · biometrics
Homo sapiens
Scientific name for humans
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- geneticsScience of hereditary transmission
traits · adaptation · survival · cognition · bipedalism · migration · Neanderthal · hominid · paleolithic · neolithic
culture
Collective social practices
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- communityCollective of connected people
cooperation · ethics · governance · education · urbanization · globalization · multicultural · cosmopolitan · diplomacy · communication
consciousness
State of sentient awareness
- reasoningDrawing logical conclusions
- creativityCapacity for original thought
- problem-solvingAddressing challenges methodically
abstract thought · language · memory · imagination · innovation · learning · intelligence · self-awareness · planning · empathy
modern humanNeanderthal
Extinct archaic human species
Homo erectus · Australopithecus · Homo heidelbergensis · great ape · Cro-Magnon
modern, modernity, modernism, modernist, modernize, modernization, postmodern, postmodernism, human