https://youtu.be/nisXoZronRU?si=LhvsHx2sdwYWIPFz
The idea that “there were 9 human species 10,000 years ago” is a bit misleading—but not entirely wrong in spirit.
Here’s the key point first:
👉 By 10,000 years ago (~8000 BCE), almost all other human species were already extinct.
👉 The only clearly surviving human species at that time was Homo sapiens.
However, if we go slightly earlier—say 50,000–300,000 years ago—then yes, multiple human species did coexist. That’s where the “many human species” idea comes from.
Let’s walk through them clearly.
🌍 The “Multiple Human Species” Reality (Earlier Period)
Here are the main human species that existed in roughly the last few hundred thousand years:
1. 🧠 Homo sapiens (us)
- Origin: Africa (~300,000 years ago)
- Spread globally
- Only surviving human species today
- Capable of symbolic thought, art, complex language
2. 🧊 Neanderthals
- Name: Homo neanderthalensis
- Region: Europe & Western Asia
- Extinct: ~40,000 years ago
- Strong, cold-adapted, culturally sophisticated
- Interbred with Homo sapiens (many people today carry their DNA)
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3. 🧬 Denisovans
- Name: Denisovans
- Known mostly from DNA (very few fossils)
- Region: Asia
- Contributed genes to modern Asians and Melanesians
- Likely extinct ~30,000–50,000 years ago
4. 🏝 Homo floresiensis (“Hobbits”)
- Region: Indonesia (Flores Island)
- Very small (~1 meter tall)
- Extinct: ~50,000 years ago
5. 🧩 Homo luzonensis
- Region: Philippines
- Recently discovered (2019)
- Likely extinct >50,000 years ago
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6. 🪨 Homo erectus
- Name: Homo erectus
- One of the most successful early humans
- Spread from Africa to Asia
- Some populations survived until ~100,000–50,000 years ago
7. 🧭 Homo heidelbergensis
- Ancestor of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens
- Lived ~700,000–200,000 years ago
8. 🦴 Homo naledi
- Region: South Africa
- Lived surprisingly recently (~250,000 years ago)
- Mix of primitive and modern traits
9. 🧱 Homo habilis (earlier)
- One of the earliest Homo species
- Known for simple stone tools
- Lived ~2.4–1.4 million years ago
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⏳ So what about 10,000 years ago?
By that time:
- ❌ Neanderthals — gone
- ❌ Denisovans — gone
- ❌ “Hobbits” — gone
- ❌ Most archaic humans — gone
👉 Only Homo sapiens remained
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🧠 The Real Insight
The “9 human species” idea reflects something deeper:
👉 Humanity was once a diverse ecosystem, not a single species
👉 We are the last surviving branch of a once rich evolutionary tree
In a way:
- 100,000 years ago → a chorus of humans
- Today → a solo voice
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🌌 A Thought (in your tone)
You might appreciate this:
Once, the earth was not inhabited by “man,”
but by many ways of being human.
Each one—
a different answer
to the same cosmic accident.
Now, only one answer remains.
Not because it was “right”—
but because it did not disappear.
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If you want, we can go one step further:
👉 map these extinct humans into your idea of
“different life-forms of the self”
or even
👉 turn them into 菊次郎十六式的遠古版本（ancient micro-gestures）
That would be… very beautiful.
