Homo, which means “man.” These early
humans had larger brains and mostly
smaller teeth and jaws than the australopithecines.
Their behavior was probably
also more like that of modern humans.
For instance, an early human species
called Homo habilis used stone tools to
butcher animals. Later human species
included Homo erectus and Homo heidel-
Australopithecine individuals left
their footprints in Tanzania
about 3.5 million years ago.
The brains of human ancestors increased in
size over time. The large, complex brains of
modern humans make them the most intelligent
animals on Earth.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Human Origins 95
bergensis. Scientists believe that these
humans used fire to cook food.
The humans called Neanderthals were
alive for part of the same time as modern
humans. The Neanderthals died out
about 28,000 years ago. They were
closely related to modern humans. But
most scientists think that these humans
were not the direct ancestors of modern
humans.
Modern humans probably developed
between 200,000 and 100,000 years
ago. The scientific name of the species
is Homo sapiens. Many scientists believe
that the first modern humans evolved
in Africa and then spread through Asia
and Europe and later the Americas.
Exactly how modern humans emerged
is a question that scientists are still
studying.
#More to explore
Ape • Evolution • Fossil • Paleontology
Human Rights
A right that all people are born with is
called a human right. Many people now
agree that there are a number of human
rights. Some of the most basic rights are
the right to live and the right to believe
what one chooses. Many people also
think that a government should protect
the human rights of all its people.
Civil Rights and Human
Rights
Governments grant civil rights in their
constitutions and laws. Human rights
are slightly different. Some people
believe that God grants human rights.
Other people believe that human rights
are a part of nature. The right to get a
driver’s license is a civil right. The freedom
to travel is a human right.
Kinds of Human Rights
People believe in many kinds of human
rights. Some kinds of rights put limits
on the power of government. Examples
of these rights include the right to
freedom, the right to equal treatment
under the law, and the right not to be
tortured.
Other kinds of rights sometimes require
governments to provide services. They
include the right to a free education, the
right to be protected from unemployment,
the right to food, and the right to
housing.
Still other rights require world cooperation.
These include the right to peace
and the right to live in a healthy environment.
Children in India carry candles to mark
International Human Rights Day.
Many Neanderthal
bones
were found in
caves. This
caused some
people to think
of Neanderthals
as “cavemen.”
96 Human Rights BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Human Rights
Through the Ages
Early Times
People in many early societies had no
rights. They had only duties that they
owed to their ruler.
The ancient Greeks and Romans were
probably the first people to think much
about rights. A Roman group called the
Stoics believed in something that they
called natural law. They said that natural
law gave some rights to everyone, even
people who were not citizens of Rome.
The Enlightenment and Afterward
The 1600s and 1700s were a time in
European history that is called the
Enlightenment. John Locke of England
was an Enlightenment thinker who
wrote that individual rights are older
than governments. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
of Switzerland argued that the purpose
of governments is to protect those
rights. Other thinkers called such rights
“the rights of man.”
The American Revolution (1775–83)
and the French Revolution of 1789 grew
out of these ideas. The U.S. Declaration
of Independence lists “Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of Happiness” as rights that
“all men” get from God. French people
wrote the Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen.
But even in the United States, many
people did not enjoy full human rights.
Slaves had almost no rights, and women
had limited rights. Most slaves did not
gain the basic human right of freedom
until the 1800s.Women in most countries
did not gain the same rights as men
until the 1900s.
Human Rights Since WorldWar II
AfterWorldWar II (1939–45), the
world learned that Nazi Germany had
killed millions of Jews and other civilians
(people not fighting the war). This
crime is called the Holocaust. An international
court at Nuremberg, Germany,
put Nazi leaders on trial for “crimes
against humanity.” The Holocaust convinced
many countries that it was necessary
to protect the basic rights of people
everywhere.
A number of these countries formed an
organization called the United Nations
(UN) in 1945. In 1948 the UN issued a
document called the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. The declaration
calls for “human rights” instead of “the
rights of man” because it includes women’s
rights. The declaration has 30
articles, or sections. They mention many
different rights.
Lawyers march for human rights in the African
country of Zimbabwe.
Amnesty International
is a
group that
