Africa
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History
Birthplace of humanity. Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, and Homo sapiens all evolved here.
Geography
Climate
Geology
Biodiversity
Fauna
Humans
- Homo erectus - Human ancestor that spread throughout Eurasia over Sinai landbridge. Evicted from Africa by heidelbergensis.
- Homo heidelbergensis - Exit Africa over the Sinai landbridge. African variant evolves into Homo sapiens idaltu. European variant evolves into Homo neanderthalensis.
- Homo sapiens idaltu - evolves into Homo sapiens. Idaltu survives in the Ethiopian highlands.
- Homo sapiens - Leaves Africa through Iberia, because Suez landbridge becomes a strait. Displaces idaltu.
Domesticates
- African wild asses - A species of equid of the subgenus Asinus that is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey. African wild asses inhabit the desert and arid areas of Northern Africa. A subspecies of the African wild ass, the Atlas wild ass, persists in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, evading their historical extinction.
- African wildcats - A subspecies of Wildcat, the African wildcat is the ancestor of the domestic cat, which was first domesticated in the Near East. African wildcats are distributed from North Africa to the Near Eastern area of Asia, where they have been domesticated.
- Aurochs - A species of bovid that is the ancestor of domestic cattle and zebus. There is archaeological evidence that Aurochs were domesticated independently in the form of Sanga cattle. Aurochs inhabit the woodlands and shrublands of North Africa, but populations are declining due to resource competition with domestic cattle.
Wild Animals
- Barbary lions - A subspecies of lion that ranges from Morocco to Egypt. The Barbary lion is threatened by human encroachment of its North African habitat. Barbary lions are frequently imported as exotic pets by the rulers and nobles of Mediterranean states. Only time will tell if this subspecies of lion will survive or perish.
See Also
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