Fascinating and Strange Facts About Evolution and Early Humans

Homo sapiens Have Only Had a Culture for Less than 50,000 Years

According to many anthropologists, early humans likely didn't develop a culture until around 50,000 years ago, which is relatively recent when considering the timeline of our species. This is surprising given that the "mitochondrial Eve" theory suggests that all humans are descended from one East African woman who lived 150,000-200,000 years ago.

The theory of mitochondrial Eve proposes that Homo sapiens evolved over 150,000 years ago, around the same time as the most recent common maternal ancestor. This means that our species existed for a long time before the development of art, symbolic communication, ornaments, and bone tools. Pre-cultural humans did possess advanced toolkits and fire, but it is believed that language and cultural practices emerged later in a significant cultural explosion.