How many human species existed on Earth?
As recently as 15,000 years ago, we were sharing caves with another human species known as the Denisovans.
Long ago, there was a lot more human diversity. Homo sapiens lived alongside an estimated eight now-extinct species of human about 300,000 years ago. As recently as 15,000 years ago, we were sharing caves with another human species known as the Denisovans. And fossilized remains indicate an even higher number of early human species once populated Earth before our species came along.
When it comes to figuring out exactly how many distinct species of humans existed, it gets complicated, because researchers keep unearthing new fossils that end up being totally separate and previously unknown species.
Some researchers argue that the species known as Homo erectus is in fact made up of several different species, including Homo georgicus and Homo ergaster.
As much as 2% of the average European’s DNA comes from Neanderthals and up to 6% of the DNA of some Melanesians (Indigenous people from islands directly northeast of Australia in Oceania) comes from Denisovans. So, some people will tell you that Neanderthals are the same species as us. They’re just a slightly different type of modern humans and interbreeding is the proof, but again the definition of species has moved on from just interbreeding.
After taking all of this into account, some experts have argued that the concept of a species doesn’t actually exist. But others say that, while a cast-iron definition of a species is almost impossible to achieve, it’s still worth the effort so that we can talk about evolution — including the evolution of our own species.
So we muddle on, knowing that a species means different things to different people — which means, of course, that people will disagree on how many species of human have ever existed. It’s also a question of what constitutes a human. To answer this question, it helps to understand the word hominin, a large group that includes humans and chimps going back to their shared ancestor.
The chimpanzee and us have evolved from a common ancestor. If we decide that humans are everything that arrived after our split from ancient chimpanzees about 6 million to 7 million years ago, then it’s likely to be a diverse group.
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has listed at least 21 human species that are recognized by most scientists. But, it’s not a totally complete list. The Denisovans, for instance, are missing and so is the recently discovered dwarf human species Homo luzonensis, who is known from just a few bones from a cave in the Philippines.
Those on the list include Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, the Indonesian hobbit-sized people, Homo erectus and Homo naledi. The list also includes other species that existed closer in time to the common ancestor of humans and chimps, and so look more like chimpanzees than modern-day humans. Despite their looks, these species are still known as early humans.
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