Early hominids, emerging humans, and modern humans were thus the three dominant populations during each of the major phases in the evolution of humanity. The early hominids survived for well over four million years, the emerging humans for nearly two million years. We modern humans, with our “superior” brains, have inhabited this earth for at most a quarter of a million years—one-eighth as long as the emerging humans and one-sixteenth as long as the early hominids. Modern humans have a long way to go before equaling the longevity of our most ancient ancestors.
That's actually insane, only an eighth!
