We like to think we are special and we are to a degree. What other species can say it can travel space, develop thousands of languages, change a planet's climate and invent cat memes.🐱 But we weren't the first humans. Around 6 million years ago, a branch of apes evolved to become the first species of the genus Homo. By the time Homo sapiens arrived on the scene, some 3 million years ago, we were the ninth Homo species in the mix after habilis, erectus, rudolfensis, heidelbergensis, florensiensis, neanderthalensis, naledi and luzonensis. In fact, the species Homo erectus lived for much longer periods of time than we have. Yet, we get all the attention! Campfires and hearths near the remains of Homo erectus archaeology sites suggest they were the first humans to cook with heat - a uniquely human act that gives us digestible food, free from German that can allow the brain and body to thrive. Homo erectus was a very successful species and walked the Earth for a period lasting 9 times as long as our current age! Even though it is more than likely that most of these other human species went extinct before we appeared on the map. We did make some of these species our lovers. DNA extracted from Neanderthal specimens demonstrated that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalis mated; In fact, the genomes of modern humans include 1-8% Neanderthal DNA! This could mean that we carry the ghosts of some of these human species in our genetic makeup! We are walking historical archives of our world's history. Treat with care!✨🤌