††Homo sapiens is the scientific name of the modern human species. Homo sapiens possibly appeared in Africa from around 100,000 BC. Certainly they were well established by 30,000 BC. The modern human brain has a volume of about 1400 cubic centimetres, whereas that of Homo erectus was 880 to 1100 cubic centimetres in size. Humans are now by far the most numerous and widespread of all the primate species. In the last 300 years, the human population has grown from about 1 billion to nearly 6 billion. No other species has had such a wide-ranging effect on the environment and on other living things.
