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Animal Evolution (continued)
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various generic names, coexisted for a long period of time, and
these australopiths also existed along with H. habilis, which
lived from about 2 million to 1.75 million years ago. This early
species of Homo was notable for its relatively large brain, and
this species probably included the first tool user. It was super-
seded by H. erectus, a larger animal with a greatly increased
relative brain size. About 1 million years ago, H. erectus spread
from Africa to eastern and southern Asia.
Skeletal remains anatomically similar to those of H. sapiens
have been found in northern Africa in fossil beds formed about
300,000 years ago. Truly modern forms appeared some 100,000
years ago. They penetrated Europe some 50,000 to 60,000 years
ago and spread throughout the Earth, occupying the Old World
first and then working over to Australia; eventually, about
15,000 to 20,000 years ago, they entered North America and
spread rapidly to South America.
