Humans (Homo sapiens) are the most numerous and ubiquitous species of primate on the planet. They are distinguished by bipedalism, big and sophisticated brains that have enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, and language, and the ability to communicate with others. As highly social creatures, humans are prone to living in complex social systems comprised of numerous cooperating and competing groups, ranging from families and kinship networks to political nations. Social interactions between people have resulted in the establishment of a diverse range of values, social conventions, and rituals that serve to strengthen human civilization. Inquisitiveness and the desire of humans to comprehend and affect the environment, as well as to explain and manage events, have driven the development of science, philosophy, mythology, religion, and other branches of knowledge throughout history.
Despite the fact that some scientists consider all species of the genus Homo to be humans, in popular use the term refers to Homo sapiens, the only surviving member of the genus. Approximately 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens appeared, developing from Homo heidelbergensis and moving out of Africa, eventually displacing indigenous populations of archaic humans. For the most of human history, all people lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers on the move. In the Neolithic Revolution, which started about 13,000 years ago in Southwest Asia and spread across the world, agriculture and permanent human habitation were established. As people grew in size and density, new forms of government emerged both inside and across communities, resulting in the emergence and fall of a variety of civilizations throughout time. Human population has continued to grow, with a worldwide population of more over 7.9 billion people in July 2021, according to the United Nations.
A big and highly developed prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain linked with superior cognitive abilities, is seen in humans. They are sentient creatures with memory recall, flexible facial gestures, self-awareness, and a theory of mind, to name a few characteristics. The human mind is capable of introspection, private thinking, imagination, volition, and the formation of viewpoints on the nature of reality and the universe. Logic and the transfer of information to future generations have made tremendous technical advances and complicated tool creation feasible. Humans are defined by their ability to communicate, create art, and trade. Long-distance trading routes may have resulted in cultural booms and resource dispersion, which may have given humans an edge over other animals with a comparable evolutionary background.