Anatomically modern humans appear from over 160,000 years ago in Ethiopia and after 70,000 years ago ( see Toba catastrophe theory ) , gradually supplanting the " archaic " human varieties . Non-modern varieties of '' Homo '' are certain to have survived until after 30,000 years ago , and perhaps until as recently as 12,000 years ago . Which of these , if any , are included under the term " archaic human " is a matter of definition and varies among authors . Nonetheless , according to recent genetic studies , modern humans may have bred with " at least two groups " of ancient humans : Neanderthals and Denisovans . Other studies have cast doubt on admixture being the source of the shared genetic markers between archaic and modern humans , pointing to an ancestral origin of the traits which originated 500,000 – 800,000 years ago
Toba catastrophe theory
Toba catastrophe theory
Archaic humans