In rough outline, according to the most widely accepted view, the human species began to evolve in Africa near the beginning of the Pleistocene , between 4.0 and 1.6 Mybp with the emergence of the species Homo hablis. Ancestors of anatomically modern humans, Homo erectus, evolved from Homo hablis in Africa and moved from there to Europe possibly as early as 1 Mybp and shortly thereafter to Asia by about .7 Mybp. Anatomically modern humans, Home sapiens sapiens, first appear in tropical Africa between 200 and 100 Kybp , in the Near East at about 90 Kybp, around the Mediterranean about 45 Kybp and in the rest of Europe and Asia by 35 Kybp. They are present in Siberia by 35 Kyb and in far northeastern Asia near the Bering strait by 18 Kybp and possibly as early as 35 Kybp.
Though there is substantial controversy around this issue, Home sapiens sapiens probably first evolved from Homo erectus in Africa though a sequence of intermediary stages and then spread to other areas where its displaced other hominids which had also evolved in situ from Homo erectus populations. In the Near East and Europe the displaced species is known as Home sapiens neanderthalis (Neanderthals in popular parlance). Neandertahls are present in the Near East and Europe from about 100 to 35 Kybp. There is no evidence for the presence of other than anatomically modern humans ( Homo sapiens sapiens) in the Northern parts of Siberia, far northeastern Asia or the New World.
Most scholars think that the first humans arrived in the New World from Siberia on foot during the last major glacial advance between 25 and 14 Kybp. General lowering of the sea level accompanying the glacial advance provided a "land bridge" across what is now the Bering Strait. There are two significant "minority views". One maintains that the first humans arrived , in the same manner , during an earlier glacial advance between 80 and 40 Kybp. Another maintains that they arrived by boat , either across the Bering Strait or across the Pacific from Oceana.
Material in this section is based on Edddy '91 , Chs. 6 and 7, Fagan '87, Chs, 3 and 4, and Fagan '92, Chs, 3, 4 and 5.
