Storiascopio · Era 2 of 12 · primary year 3
The arrival of Homo sapiens
about 300,000 years ago · Jebel Irhoud, Morocco

In short
The oldest fossils of our species, Homo sapiens, are about 300,000 years old and were found at Jebel Irhoud, in Morocco. Our species was born in Africa, perhaps from different groups that met and mixed. The face already looked like ours, while the shape of the skull went on changing for a long time.
Why it matters This is where the story of every human being alive today begins.
Source: Nature, 2017, “New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens”
Where we are in the era “Prehistory”
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
about 7 million years agoEvent 9 of 25about 5,300 years ago
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-arrival-of-homo-sapiens/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class