Homo (from Latin homō 'man') is the genus that emerged in the (otherwise extinct) genus Australopithecus that encompasses the extant species Homo sapiens (modern humans), plus several extinct species classified as either ancestral to or closely related to modern humans (depending on the species), most notably Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis. The genus emerged with the appearance of Homo habilis just over 2 million years ago. Homo, together with the genus Paranthropus, is probably sister to Australopithecus africanus, which itself had previously split from the lineage of Pan, the chimpanzees.
All species in the Homo genus except H. sapiens became extinct well before historical times. Therefore it is impossible to determine whether or not they had the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight, or in other word, sapience. In the works of Harry Turtledove, he has written ATLs where other Homo species had survived to the present day and displayed sapience. This category contains sapient story characters of these species as well as those of fictional Homo species such as Sasquatchs.
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