It would be wonderful if we could answer the question, “Who was the first baby born on earth? Historical facts” with an answer like it was “George Smith” from downtown Nairobi. Unfortunately, the answer is much more complex than that. Scientists have been searching for the origins of mankind for many years.
They have been using fossils and other scientific research to try to achieve this. Only recently have they come up with what they believe to be the geographical origin. The acknowledged ancestors of Humans came out of the species Australopithecus Africanus. He lived in South Africa/Kenya.
Before we work back to the Earliest man it is important we know the language used. It can be complicated to differentiate between the various levels in the taxonomy.
The Taxonomy of Man.
Before we can understand how man evolved, we have to understand the taxonomy. There are seven classifications that we can use to define a man. They are:
Kingdom: Animalia;
Phylum: Chordata;
Class: Mammalia;
Order: Primates;
Family: Hominidae;
Genus: Homo;
Species: Homo Sapiens.
Here are the last four classifications:
Primates (Order);
There were various types of primate, one of which was the Dryopithecus;
Hominidae (Family);
There were two types of Hominidae: These were Ponginae and Homininae. The Pongonae led to Orangutans. The Homininae split into two: Hominini and Gorillini. The Hominini developed in Chimpanzees and humans. The Gorillini developed into Gorillas.
Homo (Genus).
There were three main types of Homo: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus. It is now believed that Australopithecine species evolved into the genus Homo. This was in Africa around two million years ago.
Homo Sapiens (Species).
So, we have now created a timeline back to the earliest humans. These were the Australopithecine.
Australopithecine.
There were seven species of Australopithecine.
Australopithecus Africanus;
Australopithecus Deyiremeda;
Australopithecus Garhi;
Australopithecus Sediba;
Australopithecus Afarensis;
Australopithecus Anamensis;
Australopithecus Bahrelghazali.
Australopithecus Africanus had a great deal in common with the earlier Australopithecus Afarensis. Although the Aferensis had a smaller cranium.
Science believes that the Australopithecus Africanus is the species that became Homo Sapiens.
This was the species containing the individual who was the first baby born on earth? Historical facts. Have taken us back to this point where we are closing in on this individual.
Australopithecus Africanus.
The translation of this species is the southern ape of Africa. This was an important milestone, as this was the first time science named a Hominid to be an ape.
The Real Adam and Eve.
Having established that all humanity came from a common location in Africa. We can then theorize that there must be common ancestors. Scientists humorously called them Adam and Eve. It is possible to track the female line through a genetically inherited material. Females pass this material to any daughters.
Through genetic research, they have established that she lived 180,000 and 200,000 years ago. She lived in Southern Africa. Now, this next part is quite complicated to understand. She would not have been the only woman alive at the time. Other women would have been having children. At some point, all these genetic chains would have ended when the last daughter was born. We now have a situation where there are genetic matches found in all women.
A similar situation exists with men, and they can track Y Chromosome to one individual as well. The female line and the male lines both end up as the exclusive human ancestors.
So, everybody has an element of African within them. Well, recent discoveries now change this to “nearly” everyone. They discovered an African American woman in Arizona is not a direct descendant of Adam. The only possible solution is that one of her ancestors must have crossbred. Crossbred with an older species of human that has since died out. This would have had to have been around 10,000 years ago. At this time, the concept of Homo Sapiens being the only species would be alien to them.
Different Species of Humans.
There were periods in our past when Homo Sapiens were not the only species of human alive at the same time. Sometimes they even lived in the same localities. Imagine walking down your local street and seeing another species living alongside you.
The main bulk of other species died out some 40,000 years ago. But some populations of hybrids may have been around as little as 12,000 years ago.
One population of another species, the Red Deer Cave People, in Southwest China, until 11,500 years ago.
Scientists believe that these people were remnants of the Denisova hominins. They have found evidence of this group from Siberia as far south as South-East Asia.
The Denisova hominins were a branch of the Neanderthals. They have found that there was interbreeding between them and the Neanderthals.
They also believe that Denisova hominins and modern humans interbred in New Guinea. This was as little as 15,000 years ago.
So in another way, the question “Who was the first baby born on earth? Is complicated by the fact that there was not just one species.
Which Came First, The Chicken or The Egg?
On another level, it is a question that can never have an answer. For a child to have been born, there must be parents. If there are parents, then it cannot be the first baby.
We have seen in this article that Humans have evolved through various stages. Before they became Homo Sapiens, they were earlier versions of humans. This took about 1 million years for each stage. It was four million years ago that man slowly evolved and started walking upright. This was a major development for humans. The bone structure of remains from that period allow us to track approximately when this was.
Final.
Who was the first baby born on earth? Historical facts that we have looked at in this article show us that there never was the first baby. There never could be. The best we have been able to do is to recognize that there was a common male ancestor and a common female one. They lived around 180,000 years ago and almost certainly never met.
