Modern humans (Homo sapiens, primarily ssp.

Homo sapiens sapiens) are the only e

xtant members of the hominin clade (or human clade), a branch of the great apes;
they are characterized by erect posture and bipedal locomotion, manual dexterit
y and increased tool use, and a general trend toward larger, more complex brains
and societies.[3][4]
Early hominins particularly the australopithecines, whose brains and anatomy are i
n many ways more similar to ancestral non-human apes are less often referred to as
"human" than hominins of the genus Homo.[5] Some of the latter used fire, occup
ied much of Eurasia, and gave rise to [6][7] anatomically modern Homo sapiens in
Africa about 200,000 years ago. They began to exhibit evidence of behavioral mo
dernity around 50,000 years ago, and migrated in successive waves to occupy[8] a
ll but the smallest, driest, and coldest lands. In the last 100 years, this has
extended to permanently manned bases in Antarctica, offshore platforms, and to o
rbiting the Earth.
The spread of humans and their large and increasing population has had a profoun
d impact on large areas of the environment and millions of native species worldw
ide. Advantages that explain this evolutionary success include a relatively larg
er brain with a particularly well-developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex and tem
poral lobes, which enable high levels of abstract reasoning, language, problem s
olving, sociality, and culture through social learning. Humans use tools to a mu
ch higher degree than any other animal, are the only extant species known to bui
ld fires and cook their food, as well as the only extant species to clothe thems
elves and create and use numerous other technologies and arts.
Humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of symbolic communication (such a
s language and art) for self-expression and the exchange of ideas, and for organ
izing themselves into purposeful groups. Humans create complex social structures
composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship ne
tworks to political states. Social interactions between humans have established
an extremely wide variety of values,[9] social norms, and rituals, which togethe
r form the basis of human society. Curiosity and the human desire to understand
and influence the environment and to explain and manipulate phenomena (or events
) has provided the foundation for developing science, philosophy, mythology, rel
igion, anthropology, and numerous other fields of knowledge.
Humans began to practice sedentary agriculture about 12,000 years ago, domestica
ting plants and animals, thus allowing for the growth of civilization. Humans su
bsequently established various forms of government, religion, and culture around
the world, unifying people within a region and leading to the development of st
ates and empires. The rapid advancement of scientific and medical understanding
in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the development of fuel-driven technologie
s and improved health, causing the human population to rise exponentially. By 20
14 the global human population was estimated to be around 7.2 billion