Homo (from Latin homō 'man') is the genus that emerged in the genus Australopithecus that encompasses Homo sapiens, plus several extinct species, most notably Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis. The genus emerged with the appearance of Homo habilis just over 2 million years ago. Homo, together with the genus Paranthropus, is probably sister to Australopithecus africanus, which itself had previously split from the lineage of Pan, the chimpanzees.

Homo erectus appeared about 2 million years ago and, in several early migrations, spread throughout Africa (where it is dubbed Homo ergaster) and Eurasia. It was likely that the first human species lived in a hunter-gatherer society and was able to control fire. Homo erectus persisted for more than a million years and gradually diverged into new species by around 500,000 years ago.[1]

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DNA tracks mysterious Denisovans to Chinese cave, just before modern humans showed up

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