Re: how old is homo sapiens?

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In article <213359Z25031995@anon.penet.fi>,
Vampirehunter D <an24923@anon.penet.fi> wrote:

>Sorry about the anonymous post but this is the only way I can get on the net.
>I'm not sure if this is the appropriate group for this question, but I'll give
>it a shot. Anybody know when Homo sapiens appeared in the fossil record? Also,
>how long ago did our branch of the phylogenetic tree separate from other
>primates? I seem to recall 6 million years ago for this second question, but I
>don't know for sure.

>Brad Mellema
>mellema@genie.gene.com

Fully modern Homo sapiens: between 100,000 and 150,000 years ago. Tough
to be sure, because a lot of the fossils are poorly dated, and they
blend into the archaic H.sapiens fossils, which are up to a few hundred
thousand years old.

6 million years is probably about right, give or take a million.

(sci.anthropology.paleo would be a better group for these, BTW)

--

Jim Foley                             Symbios Logic, Fort Collins

Jim.Foley@FtCollinsCO.NCR.COM                (303) 223-5100 x9765

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