Homo sapiens

Homo sapiens is one of the five human species in A New Dawn. With a massive population stretching from Africa to Siberia, they are by far the most dominant species.

Evolution
Homo sapiens evolved similarly in our timeline, with the first of the species establishing themselves in Ethiopia around 200,000 BCE. The subspecies Homo sapiens sardinensis evolved in Sardinia around 110,000 BCE after interbreeding with neanderthals. The subspecies Homo sapiens atlantica evolved in West Africa around 80,000 BCE after their relative isolation from other Homo sapiens groups. Both would be reabsorbed into the general Homo sapiens population after some time, leaving Homo sapiens with no major subspecies.

Characteristics
For information on the characteristics of Homo sapiens sardinensis and Homo sapiens atlantica, see their respective pages.

Homo sapiens is similar to our timeline's Homo sapiens. Generally, they are more lightly built (or more "gracile") than many of the other human species, maybe with the exception of the long legged Homo americanis. Nevertheless, Sapiens exhibit a high level of physiological variety, and some may exhibit remarkable "robustness". Sapien men usually stand 1.70-1.75 meters tall, with the women being slightly shorter. Almost all Homo Sapiens are dark skinned with black hair and brown eyes, though there are noticable exceptions:

Around 80,000 BCE the average Levantine man and woman were light skinned, had green eyes and were usually a bit taller and more slender than the average Homo Sapien. Though the Levantine proto-culture collapsed following the Toba Eruption, their genetics and these characteristics stayed in the Levant and even spread to the surrounding people in the Middle East.

The Kamchatkan people evovled to have more fat storage then other Homo Sapiens, thus having an easier time living in the far North. A genetic mutation also caused blue eyes to appear among them. Though not as widespread as brown eyes, many Sapiens in North and East Asia have blue eyes.

In the eastern parts of the Middle East as well as northern India, many Sapiens have very dark (almost cole-black) hands and feet. Though it is unknown how and why this trait occured, it is believed that this was caused by a genetic mutation, which became associated with beauty.

Hybrids...

In Africa
Homo sapiens evolved in Ethiopia in 200,000 BCE. For the most part, they stayed near bodies of water such as the Nile and the African Great Lakes. Their journey north along the Nile led to contact with the neanderthals. Eventually, however, the contact eventually devolved into infighting, leading to the creation of the religion Krahia and the subsequent Krahian Wars.

In 180,000 BCE, a group split off from the main group of Homo sapiens, migrating into Lake Chad and eventually West Africa. The main group continued to spread throughout Africa, reaching the Cape of Good Hope in 120,000 BCE. The two groups eventually reconnected in 110,000 BCE, although the western group's isolation would lead to the eventual evolution of Homo sapiens atlantica. Interbreeding with the neanderthals in Morocco would eventually lead to Homo sapiens' dominance over the region, pushing the neanderthals out and making Homo sapiens the only human species in Africa.

In Asia
In 170,000 BCE, the development of boats allowed Homo sapiens to cross the Red Sea into Arabia and Persia. The Arabian humans migrated north, eventually participating in the Krahian Wars. The Persian humans enjoyed a time of relative dominance, before being divided into several groups due to competition from the denisovans. The first group migrated into India, staying close to the coast. Their relatively advanced weapons led to the Thousand Year War between Homo sapiens and the denisovans. This group eventually became seafaring, and spread to areas all across the Indian Ocean.

Another group remained in Tibet and Central Asia. The denisovans continued to push north against this group, forcing it to flee into Siberia and Lake Baikal. From the Lake, the group eventually spread towards Manchuria. They ventured into China, reconnecting with the Tibetan Homo sapiens. They also ventured into the Kamchatkan peninsula.

In Europe
The first humans in Europe originally came from Egypt, with seafarers travelling to the Mediterranean islands. Interbreeding between Homo sapiens and neanderthals in Italy lead to the latter's decline, though it did also result in the evolution of Homo sapiens sardinensis. With Homo sapiens pushing in from Iberia and Anatolia, the modern man managed to occupy most of Europe. The advent of the Wolfsjager and Brutalis protocultures caused Homo sapiens ' expansion to slow down, and even reverse in some areas.