Who is a Homo sapiens sapiens? Somewhere I read people born after the year 2000 are called homo sapiens sapiens. Is it true or just a hoax. If true whats the difference between homo sapiens sapiens?

Homo sapiens sapiens is us, modern man. It is used to differentiate between Homo sapiens idaltu, our ancestor species, and possibly Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, or Neanderthals, which as we learn more about them, may not be an entirely separate species. Hence the third name to differentiate between subspecies.

did we have any other animal ancestors?

Yes! Our closest ancestors are from the genus Homo, but we are related to many other species. We are closely related to apes, as you can likely tell when you see how apes look and act. We are also related to mice. We are actually, if you go back far enough, related to every organism on Earth, even bacteria.

What is this! are you sure that is our early ancestors? Not a super monkey!

No, that is not our early ancestors. Our early ancestors were bacteria, but yes, apes are very closely related to us, and no, no super monkey, sorry. We have just evolved for many many years and we becam more intelligent over time. If you line up all ancestors to us in the genus Homo, you can see that the brain became much larger over time.

Main content

Big History Project

Course: Big History Project > Unit 6

Lesson 1: How Our Ancestors Evolved | 6.0

ACTIVITY: Early Ancestors

Google Classroom

Purpose

This activity provides you with a chance to start thinking about the evolutionary process of our early ancestors.

Process

Download the Early Ancestors Image Sort Worksheet. Take a few minutes to figure out what order you think the images on the sheet should be in. Use your intuition, logic, and anything you’ve learned before to arrange the images in order, from our earliest ancestors to our own species, Homo sapiens. You’re not expected to have a lot of knowledge about this topic but do your best to try and figure it out.

After you’ve arranged the images, jot down everything you can that differentiates humans from our ancestors. Then, compare your answers to those on the answer key and see how you did!

Want to join the conversation?

Sort by:

Srujan Mhase
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Srujan Mhase's post “Who is a Homo sapiens sap...”
Who is a Homo sapiens sapiens? Somewhere I read people born after the year 2000 are called homo sapiens sapiens. Is it true or just a hoax. If true whats the difference between homo sapiens sapiens?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(5 votes)
Answer
- Davin V Jones
  Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Davin V Jones's post “Homo sapiens sapiens is u...”
  Homo sapiens sapiens is us, modern man. It is used to differentiate between Homo sapiens idaltu, our ancestor species, and possibly Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, or Neanderthals, which as we learn more about them, may not be an entirely separate species. Hence the third name to differentiate between subspecies.
  Comment on Davin V Jones's post “Homo sapiens sapiens is u...”
  (7 votes)
bowshe7628
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to bowshe7628's post “did we have any other ani...”
did we have any other animal ancestors?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(3 votes)
Answer
- Ian Cox
  Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Ian Cox's post “Yes! Our closest ancestor...”
  Yes! Our closest ancestors are from the genus Homo, but we are related to many other species. We are closely related to apes, as you can likely tell when you see how apes look and act. We are also related to mice. We are actually, if you go back far enough, related to every organism on Earth, even bacteria.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
metiabekebe
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to metiabekebe's post “which country did lucy's ...”
which country did lucy's skeleton founds today?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(3 votes)
Answer
त्रिबिक्रम पौडेल
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to त्रिबिक्रम पौडेल's post “what was life like for ou...”
what was life like for our early ancestors?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on त्रिबिक्रम पौडेल's post “what was life like for ou...”
(3 votes)
Answer
BLACKPINK
Posted 4 months ago. Direct link to BLACKPINK's post “Homo sapiens sapiens is u...”
Homo sapiens sapiens is us evolved the have left over DNA that caused them to evolve to us and modern monkeys have similar traits like us in modern time.Scientists think that monkeys might become us humans in a couple of years and to mention that they re overpopulating India and other countries around the world.
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(1 vote)
Answer
Dip Enthusiast
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Dip Enthusiast's post “Who was that monkey thing...”
Who was that monkey thing?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(1 vote)
Answer
- Redapple8787
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Redapple8787's post “That "monkey thing," as y...”
  That "monkey thing," as you call it, was one of your first ancestors. It is Homo Habilis, one of the first humans to be able to utilize tools. Think of it as a handyman. Handyman, habilis.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (1 vote)
geografistpm2015
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to geografistpm2015's post “What is this! are you sur...”
What is this! are you sure that is our early ancestors? Not a super monkey!
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(0 votes)
Answer
- Ian Cox
  Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to Ian Cox's post “No, that is not our early...”
  No, that is not our early ancestors. Our early ancestors were bacteria, but yes, apes are very closely related to us, and no, no super monkey, sorry. We have just evolved for many many years and we becam more intelligent over time. If you line up all ancestors to us in the genus Homo, you can see that the brain became much larger over time.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
bowshe7628
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to bowshe7628's post “why are our ancestors mon...”
why are our ancestors monkeys?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(1 vote)
Answer
- Redapple8787
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Redapple8787's post “Our ancestors weren't exa...”
  Our ancestors weren't exactly monkeys. More like apes.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (0 votes)