Modern-day human

The modern humans (binomial name: Homo sapiens, Latin for "Wise Man") are said to be the only extant members of the genus Homo.

Taxonomy

1. Etymology and definition

   All modern humans are classified into the species Homo sapiens, coined by Carl Linnaeus in his 1735 work Systema Naturae. The name Homo sapiens means "Wise Man" in Latin.

2. Evolution

   Humans belong to the biological family of apes (superfamily: Hominoidea).

History

1. Prehistory

2. Ancient history

3. Medieval

4. Modern

   
   

Habitat and population

Biology

1. Physiology and anatomy

   Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology. Like other catarrhines, the dental formula of humans is 2.1.2.3/2.1.2.3.

   Humans share with chimpanzees a vestigial tail,

2. Genetics

3. Lifecycle

4. Diet

   Humans are omnivores, capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material. Human groups have adopted a range of diets from purely vegan to primarily carnivorous. In some cases, dietary restrictions in humans can lead to deficiency disease; however, stable human groups have adapted to many dietary patterns through both genetic specialisation and cultural conventions to use nutritionally balanced food sources. The human diet is prominently reflected in human culture and has led to the development of food science.

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   Food consumption is the first step of the digestive system, in which humans ultimately expel feces ranging in frequency from multiple times per day to multiple times per week.

5. Biological variation

   There is biological variation within the human species – with traits such as blood type, cranial features, facial features, height, body shape, hair colour and texture, eye colour, and skin colour varying across the globe depending on gender/sex, ethnic origins, and family bloodlines. The typical height of an average adult human is 1.7-1.8 metres, although the tallest can be 2.72 metres and the shortest can be 0.55 metres. Body size is partly determined by genes and is also significantly influenced by environmental factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep patterns. Body size is partly determined by genes and is also significantly influenced by environmental factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep patterns.

   Human hair ranges in colour from black to blond to brown to red, which is the most frequent. Hair colour depends on the amount of melanin, with concentrations fading with increased age, leading to grey or even white hair. Skin colour usually ranged from pinkish white to black-brown, or even very pale (appearing almost grey) on rare conditions such as albinism or genetic mutation. Skin colour tends to vary clinally and generally correlates with the level ultraviolet variation in a particular geographic area, with darker skin mostly around the equator. Skin darkening may have evolved as protection ultraviolet solar radiation. Light skin protects against depletion of vitamin D, which requires sunlight to make. Human skin also has a capacity to darken (tan) in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Culture

Language

While many species communicate, language is unique to humans, a defining feature of humanity, and a cultural universal. Unlike the limited systems of other animals, human language is open – an infinite number of meanings can be produced by combining a limited number of symbols.

The arts

Tools and technologies

Society

1. Kinship

2. Government and politics

   As farming populations gathered in larger and denser communities, interactions between these different groups increased. This led to the development of governance within and between the communities. Humans have evolved the ability to change affiliation with various social groups relatively easily, including previously strong political alliances, if doing so is seen as providing personal advantages. This cognitive flexibility allows individual humans to change their political ideologies, with those within higher flexibility less likely to support authoritarian and nationalistic stances.

   Governments create laws and policies that affect the citizens that they govern. There have been many forms of government throughout human history, each having various means of obtaining power and the ability to exert diverse controls on the population. Approximately 47% of humans live in some form of a democracy, with 17% in a hybrid regime, and 37% in an authoritarian regime. Many countries belong to international organisations and alliances; the largest of these is the United Nations, with 193 member states.

3. Violence and war

   While scientists generally agree that warfare is not hardwired into human DNA, humans are a warmongering species known for being highly territorial, and have initiated countless wars and genocides on Earth against themselves since their founding of their first civilisations. Human history is rife of countless stories of them dividing themselves into countries, arguing over religion, land borders, race and skin colour, and killing each other en masse. Wars and bloodshed have even been spilled over trying to obtain spices such as pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. An estimated 60 million to over 75 million deaths happened during World War II alone.

See also

• Neanderthal