archaic Homo
Americannoun
-
collectively, the very robust, regionally differentiated human populations that lived in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa from 35,000 to 200,000 years ago.
-
any physically robust, premodern form of the genus Homo, comprising species that were anatomically intermediate forms and regional variants between H. erectus and modern H. sapiens : fossil evidence suggests that certain archaic Homo populations may have direct ancestral lines to modern humans.
Etymology
Origin of archaic Homo
First recorded in 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A number of species, sometimes called archaic Homo sapiens, apparently evolved from H. erectus starting about 500,000 years ago.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Pääbo and others consider them archaic Homo sapiens, but some researchers deem them separate species.
From Scientific American • Aug. 30, 2012
The irresistible inference is that when the lice lineages reunited through the direct contact of and archaic Homo, so did the lineages of several other unwelcome guests.
From Scientific American • Feb. 14, 2011
Speaking of competition, the history of Pediculus humanus suggests a bit of fancy business happening between Homo sapiens and archaic Homo species, possibly Homo erectus.
From Scientific American • Feb. 14, 2011
Neanderthals and archaic Homo sapiens probably also had a hard time talking behind each other’s backs—a much maligned ability which is in fact essential for cooperation in large numbers.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
