List of human evolution fossils
Pleistocene -- Upper Paleolithic : 50,000 – 11,500 years old
Table:
Name

Age

Species

Date
discovered

Country

Discovered by

Now located at

Mungo Man

50±10 ka

Homo sapiens

1974

Australia

Mt. Circeo 1[113]

50±10 ka

Homo neanderthalensis

1939

Italy

Prof. Blanc

SID-00B

49.2±2.5 ka[114]

Homo neanderthalensis

1994

Sidrón Cave, Spain

Kents Cavern 4 maxilla

43.5±2.5 ka

Homo sapiens

1927

UK

Amud 1[115]

41 ka[116]

Homo neanderthalensis

1961

Israel

Hisashi Suzuki

Neanderthal 1[117]

40 ka

Homo neanderthalensis

1856

Germany

Johann Carl Fuhlrott

Denisova hominin (X-Woman)

40 ka

Homo sp. Altai

2008

Russia

Johannes Krause, et al.

hominin toe bone

40 ka

Homo sp. Altai (possible Neanderthal-Denisovan hybrid)

2010

Russia

Oase 1

42-37 ka[118]

Homo sapiens (EEMH x Neanderthal hybrid)

2002

Romania

Kostenki-14 (Markina Gora)

40-37 ka[119]

Homo sapiens (EEMH)

1954

Russia

SID-20[120]

37.30±0.83 ka[114]

Homo neanderthalensis

1994

Sidrón Cave, Spain

Balangoda man

37 ka

Homo sapiens

2012

Sri Lanka

Hofmeyr Skull

36 ka

Homo sapiens

1952

South Africa

Wadjak 1[121]

33±4.5 ka[122]

Homo sapiens (proto-Australoid[123])

1888

Indonesia

Red Lady of Paviland

33 ka

Homo sapiens

1823

UK

William Buckland

Yamashita-Cho Man

32 ka

Homo sapiens

1962

Japan

Engis 2

40±10 ka[99][124]

Homo neanderthalensis

1829

Belgium

Philippe-Charles Schmerling

Gibraltar 1

40±10 ka[99]

Homo neanderthalensis

1848

Gibraltar

Captain Edmund Flint

Le Moustier

40±10 ka

Homo neanderthalensis

1909

France

Denisovan tooth

40±10 ka

Homo sp. Altai

2000

Russia

Considering the accompanying table as well as the relevant paragraphs provided at the end.

Respond to the question below: How old was the fossil that was found in France ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.

The Lake Mungo remains are three prominent sets of human remains that are possibly Aboriginal Australian : Lake Mungo 1 ( also called Mungo Woman , LM1 , and ANU-618 ) , Lake Mungo 3 ( also called Mungo Man , Lake Mungo III , and LM3 ) , and Lake Mungo 2 ( LM2 ) . Lake Mungo is in New South Wales , Australia , specifically the World Heritage listed Willandra Lakes Region . Mungo woman ( LM1 ) was discovered in 1969 and is one of the world 's oldest known cremations . The remains designated Mungo man ( LM3 ) were discovered in 1974 , and are dated to around 42,000 years old , the Pleistocene epoch , and are the oldest Homo sapiens ( human ) remains found on the Australian continent .
Homo sapiens is the only extant human species . The name is Latin for 'wise man ' and was introduced in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus ( who is himself the lectotype for the species ) . Extinct species of the genus Homo include Homo erectus , extant from roughly 1.9 to 0.4 million years ago , and a number of other species ( by some authors considered subspecies of either H. sapiens or H. erectus ) . The divergence of the lineage leading to H. sapiens out of ancestral H. erectus ( or an intermediate species such as Homo antecessor ) is estimated to have occurred in Africa roughly 500,000 years ago . The earliest fossil evidence of early Homo sapiens appears in Africa around 300,000 years ago , with the earliest genetic splits among modern people , according to some evidence , dating to around the same time . [ note 1 ] Sustained archaic admixture is known to have taken place both in Africa and ( following the recent Out-Of-Africa expansion ) in Eurasia , between about 100,000 and 30,000 years ago . The term anatomically modern humans ( AMH ) is used to distinguish H. sapiens having an anatomy consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans from varieties of extinct archaic humans . This is useful especially for times and regions where anatomically modern and archaic humans co-existed , for example , in Paleolithic Europe . Omo-Kibish I ( Omo I ) from southern Ethiopia is the oldest anatomically modern Homo sapiens skeleton currently known ( 196 ± 5 ka ) .
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania , and numerous smaller islands . It is the largest country in Oceania and the world 's sixth-largest country by total area . The population of 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard . Australia 's capital is Canberra , and its largest city is Sydney . The country 's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne , Brisbane , Perth , and Adelaide . Indigenous Australians inhabited the continent for about 65,000 years prior to the first arrival of Dutch explorers in the early 17th century , who named it New Holland . In 1770 , Australia 's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788 , a date which became Australia 's national day . The population grew steadily in subsequent decades , and by the time of an 1850s gold rush , most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established . On 1 January 1901 , the six colonies federated , forming the Commonwealth of Australia . Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy , comprising six states and ten territories . Australia is the oldest , flattest , and driest inhabited continent , with the least fertile soils . It has a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres ( 2,941,300 sq mi ) .
Neanderthals ( /niˈændərtɑːl , neɪ- , -θɔːl/ , also Neandertals or Neandert ( h ) alers , German : Neandertaler [ neˈ ( ʔ ) andɐtaːlɐ ] ; Homo neanderthalensis or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago ( 40 kya [ thousand years ago ] ) . They probably went extinct due to competition with or extermination by immigrating modern humans or due to great climatic change , disease , or a combination of these factors . It is unclear when Neanderthals split from modern humans ; DNA studies have produced results ranging from 182 kya to more than 800 kya . The time of divergence of Neanderthals from their ancestor H. heidelbergensis is also unclear . The oldest potential Neanderthal bones are dated to 430 kya , but the classification is uncertain . Neanderthals are known from numerous fossils , especially from after 130 kya . The type specimen , Neanderthal 1 , was found in 1856 in the German Neander Valley . After much debate over their validity , Neanderthals were depicted as being primitive , stupid , and brutish for much of the early 20th century . Though knowledge and perception of them has markedly changed since then in the scientific community , the image of the unevolved caveman archetype remains prevalent in popular culture . Compared to modern humans , Neanderthals were stockier , with somewhat shorter limbs and a larger chest and nose . These features are often explained as adaptations to conserve heat in a cold climate , but ( aside from body fat storage ) they are more likely products of genetic drift and adaptations for sprinting in the warmer , forested landscape that Neanderthals often inhabited . The braincases of Neanderthal men and women averaged about 1,600 cm3 ( 98 cu in ) and 1,300 cm3 ( 79 cu in ) respectively , which is within the range of the values for modern humans .
Italy ( Italian : Italia [ iˈtaːlja ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Italian Republic ( Italian : Repubblica Italiana [ reˈpubblika itaˈljaːna ] ) , is a European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands . Italy is located in south-central Europe , and it is also considered a part of Western Europe . The country covers a total area of 301,340 km2 ( 116,350 sq mi ) and shares land borders with France , Switzerland , Austria , Slovenia , and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino . Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland ( Campione ) and a maritime exclave in the Tunisian Sea ( Lampedusa ) . With around 60 million inhabitants , Italy is the third-most populous member state of the European Union . The capital and largest city is Rome ; other major cities are Milan , Naples , Turin , Palermo , Genoa , Bologna , Florence and Venice . Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean , Italy has historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures . In addition to the various ancient peoples dispersed throughout what is now modern-day Italy , the most predominant being the Indo-European Italic peoples who gave the peninsula its name , beginning from the classical era , Phoenicians and Carthaginians founded colonies mostly in insular Italy , Greeks established settlements in the so-called Magna Graecia of Southern Italy , while Etruscans and Celts inhabited central and northern Italy respectively . An Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC , which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People . The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula , eventually expanding and conquering parts of Europe , North Africa and Asia . By the first century BC , the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural , political and religious centre , inaugurating the Pax Romana , a period of more than 200 years during which Italy 's law , technology , economy , art , and literature developed . Italy remained the homeland of the Romans and the metropole of the empire , whose legacy can also be observed in the global distribution of culture , governments , Christianity and the Latin script .
The Sidrón Cave ( Asturian : Cueva del Sidrón ) is a non-carboniferous limestone karst cave system located in the Piloña municipality of Asturias , northwestern Spain , where Paleolithic rock art and the fossils of more than a dozen Neanderthals were found . Declared a Partial Natural Reserve in 1995 , the site also serves as a retreat for five species of bats and is the place of discovery of two species of Coleoptera ( beetles ) .
Spain ( Spanish : España [ esˈpaɲa ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Kingdom of Spain ( Spanish : Reino de España ) , [ a ] [ b ] is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of Spanish territory across the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean . Its continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula . Its territory also includes two archipelagoes : the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa , and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea . The African enclaves of Ceuta , Melilla , and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera make Spain the only European country to have a physical border with an African country ( Morocco ) . [ h ] Several small islands in the Alboran Sea are also part of Spanish territory . The country 's mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar ; to the north and northeast by France , Andorra , and the Bay of Biscay ; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean . With an area of 505,990 km2 ( 195,360 sq mi ) , Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe , the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union , and the fourth largest country in the European continent . By population ( about 47 million ) , Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union . Spain 's capital and largest city is Madrid ; other major urban areas include Barcelona , Valencia , Seville , Zaragoza , Málaga and Bilbao . Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago . Iberian cultures along with ancient Phoenician , Greek , Celtic and Carthaginian settlements developed on the peninsula until it came under Roman rule around 200 BCE , after which the region was named Hispania , based on the earlier Phoenician name Sp ( a ) n or Spania . At the end of the Western Roman Empire the Germanic tribal confederations migrated from Central Europe , invaded the Iberian peninsula and established relatively independent realms in its western provinces , including the Suebi , Alans and Vandals .
The Kents Cavern 4 maxilla is a human fossil , consisting of a right canine , third premolar , and first molar as well as the bone holding them together including a small piece of palate . The fossil was found in 1927 at Kents Cavern a limestone cave in Torquay , Devon , England . The Maxilla was uncovered at a depth of 10 feet 6 inches ( 3.20 m ) and was located directly beneath a key granular stalagmite at the site , which was used as a datum during excavations undertaken between 1926 and 1941 by the Torquay Natural History Society . The discovery of the KC4 maxilla was important because it became the earliest direct dated Anatomically Modern human ( AMH ) fossil yet discovered from a Northwestern European site . Moreover the date obtained via a Bayesian statistical-modelling method provides evidence for the coexistence of anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals .
Humans ( Homo sapiens ) are the only extant members of the subtribe Hominina . Together with chimpanzees , gorillas , and orangutans , they are part of the family Hominidae ( the great apes , or hominids ) . Terrestrial animals , humans are characterized by their erect posture and bipedal locomotion ; high manual dexterity and heavy tool use compared to other animals ; open-ended and complex language use compared to other animal communications ; larger , more complex brains than other animals ; and highly advanced and organized societies . Early hominins - particularly the australopithecines , whose brains and anatomy are in many ways more similar to ancestral non-human apes - are less often referred to as human than hominins of the genus Homo . Several of these hominins used fire , occupied much of Eurasia , and the lineage that gave rise to Homo sapiens is thought to have diverged in Africa around 500,000 years ago , with the earliest fossil evidence of evidence of early Homo sapiens appearing ( also in Africa ) around 300,000 years ago . The oldest early H. sapiens fossils were found in Jebel Irhoud , Morocco dating to about 315,000 years ago . Discovered in 1967 , Omo-Kibish I ( Omo I ) from southern Ethiopia is , as of 2017 [ update ] , the oldest anatomically modern Homo sapiens skeleton currently known ( 196 ± 5 ka ) . Humans began to exhibit evidence of behavioral modernity at least by about 100,000-70,000 years ago and ( according to recent evidence ) as far back as around 300,000 years ago , in the Middle Stone Age , with some features of behavioral modernity possibly beginning earlier , and possibly in parallel with evolutionary brain globularization in H. sapiens . In several waves of migration , H. sapiens ventured out of Africa and populated most of the world . The spread of the large and increasing population of humans has profoundly affected much of the biosphere and millions of species worldwide . Advantages that explain this evolutionary success include a larger brain with a well-developed neocortex , prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes , which enable advanced abstract reasoning , language , problem solving , sociality , and culture through social learning . Humans use tools more frequently and effectively than any other animal : they are the only extant species to build fires , cook food , clothe themselves , and create and use numerous other technologies and arts .
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK or U.K. ) or Britain , [ note 11 ] is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland . Existing under its current name since 1921 , the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain , the north­eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland . Otherwise , the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to the east , the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the southwest , giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland . The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,000 square miles ( 240,000 km2 ) . The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy . [ note 12 ] The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II , who has reigned since 1952 , making her the world 's longest-serving current head of state . The United Kingdom 's capital and largest city is London , a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million . Other major cities include Birmingham , Manchester , Glasgow , Leeds and Liverpool . The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries : England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . Their capitals are London , Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast , respectively .
Amud 1 is a nearly complete but poorly preserved adult Southwest Asian Neanderthal skeleton thought to be about 55,000 years old . It was discovered at Amud in Israel by Hisashi Suzuki in July 1961 , who described it as male . With an estimated height of 1.78 m ( 5 ft 10 in ) , it is considerably taller than any other known Neanderthal , and its skull has by far the largest cranial capacity ( 1736-1740 cm3 ) of any archaic hominin skull ever found . Making it , according to Ralph Holloway , one of the most famous specimens of Neanderthal skulls . The skull was found very high in the stratigraphy and was not only mixed with Upper Palaeolithic artefacts , but also with pottery from levels further above . Because of this the first two published dates of Amud 1 and other remains were not taken seriously when they suggested an extremely recent time ( by Neanderthal standards ) of 28,000 and 20,000 years . It has since been redated by ESR to about 55,000 years . Like other Neanderthal specimens in the Levant ( such as Tabun C1 and the Shanidar specimens ) , Amud 1 's skull is long , broad , and intermediate in cranial vault height as compared with European Neanderthals and modern humans . With a supposedly large nose and a big face , moderate midfacial prognathism , a small brow ridge and small teeth , Amud 1 exhibits an unusual mosaic of features compared to European Neanderthals . To the contrary of majoty of other Near Eastern and especially European Neanderthals , its brow ridges are slender and its chin , though still minimal by modern human standards , are somewhat developed . Although Amud 1 is considerably taller than any other known Neanderthal , its body is stocky , robust , and has short limbs , similarly to the cold-adapted bodies of Classic West European Neanderthals . Suzuki initially interpreted these features as intermediate between Levantine Neanderthals ( the Tabun and Shanidar specimens ) and Levantine anatomically modern humans ( Skhul and Qafzeh ) .
Israel , formally known as the State of Israel ( Hebrew : מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל ) , is a country in Western Asia , located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea . It has land borders with Lebanon to the north , Syria to the northeast , Jordan on the east , the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west , respectively , and Egypt to the southwest . The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area . Israel 's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv , while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem , although the state 's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition . [ fn 4 ] Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa . Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age , while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age . The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE . Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian , Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces . The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE , which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE , and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea . Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction , the expulsion of the Jewish population and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina . Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries . In the 7th century CE , the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099 , followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187 .
Feldhofer 1 , or Neanderthal 1 is the scientific name of the 40,000-year-old type specimen fossil of the species Homo neanderthalensis , found in August 1856 in a German cave , the Kleine Feldhofer Grotte in the Neandertal valley , 13 km ( 8.1 mi ) east of Düsseldorf . In 1864 the fossil 's description was first published in a scientific magazine and officially named . However , the find was not the first Neanderthal fossil discovery . Rather , the true nature and significance had not been recognized on any of the earlier fossils , and therefore no separate species ' name was assigned . The discovery was made by limestone quarry miners . Neanderthal 1 consists of a skullcap , two femora , the three right arm bones , two of the left arm bones , ilium , and fragments of a scapula and ribs . The fossils were given to Johann Carl Fuhlrott , a local teacher and amateur naturalist . The first description of the remains was made by anatomist Hermann Schaaffhausen and the find was announced jointly in 1857 . In 1997 , the specimen was the first to yield Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA fragments . In 1999 , scientists announced that recent excavations had led them to some of the sediments of the now-destroyed cave which contained fragments of Neanderthal bones including one that fit exactly to the original femur . In 2000 , the fossil of a second individual from the locality , named Neanderthal 2 , was identified as a Homo neanderthalensis . The Neanderthal 1 publication represents the beginning of paleoanthropology as a scientific discipline .
Germany ( German : Deutschland , German pronunciation : [ ˈdɔʏtʃlant ] ) , constitutionally the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Bundesrepublik Deutschland , listen ( help·info ) ) , [ f ] is a country in Central and Western Europe . It borders Denmark to the north , Poland and the Czech Republic to the east , Austria and Switzerland to the south , France to the southwest , and Luxembourg , Belgium , and the Netherlands to the west . Germany includes 16 constituent states , covers an area of 357,386 square kilometres ( 137,988 sq mi ) , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With 83 million inhabitants , it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia , the most populous state lying entirely in Europe , as well as the most populous member state of the European Union . Germany is a very decentralised country . Its capital and largest metropolis is Berlin , while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country 's busiest airport . Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity . A region named Germania was documented before AD 100 . Beginning in the 10th century , German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire . During the 16th century , northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation . After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire , the German Confederation was formed in 1815 . The German revolutions of 1848-49 resulted in the Frankfurt Parliament establishing major democratic rights .
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ( /dɪˈniːsəvə/ di-NEE-sə-və ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic ( potentially surviving as late as 30-14,500 years ago in New Guinea ) . Denisovans are known from few remains , and , consequently , most of what is known about them comes from DNA evidence . Pending consensus on their taxonomic status , they have been referred to as Homo denisova , H. altaiensis , or H. sapiens denisova . The first Denisovan individual was identified in 2010 based on mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA ) extracted from a juvenile female finger bone from the Siberian Denisova Cave . Nuclear DNA ( nDNA ) indicates close affinities with Neanderthals . The cave was also periodically inhabited by Neanderthals , but it is unclear whether they ever cohabited in the cave . Additional specimens from Denisova Cave were subsequently discovered , as was a single specimen from the Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau in China . This indicates they lived in a wide variety of habitats , including forests , tundras , mountains , and jungles . DNA evidence suggests they had dark skin , eyes , and hair ; and had a Neanderthal-like build and facial features , but had larger molars which are reminiscent of Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene archaic humans and australopithecines . Denisovans apparently interbred with modern humans , with about 3-5% of the DNA of Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians and around 6% in Papuans deriving from Denisovans . Denisovans may have interbred with modern humans in New Guinea as recently as 15,000 years ago . There is also evidence of interbreeding with the local Neanderthal population , with about 17% of the Denisovan genome from Denisova Cave deriving from them .
Russia ( Russian : Росси́я , tr . Rossiya , IPA : [ rɐˈsʲijə ] ) , or the Russian Federation , [ e ] is a European country located in Eastern Europe with a vast expanse of territory that stretches across Northern Asia . At 17,125,200 square kilometres ( 6,612,100 sq mi ) , it is by far the largest country in the world by area , covering more than one-eighth of the Earth 's inhabited land area , spanning eleven time zones , and bordering 16 sovereign nations . The territory of Russia extends from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east , and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea and the Caucasus in the south . With 146.7 million inhabitants living in the country 's 85 federal subjects as of 2020 , Russia is the most populous nation in Europe and the ninth-most populous nation in the world . Russia 's capital and largest city is Moscow ; other major urban areas include Saint Petersburg , Novosibirsk , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod , Kazan and Chelyabinsk . The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD . Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants , the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century . In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire , beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium . Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states , until it was finally reunified by the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the 15th century . By the 18th century , the nation had greatly expanded through conquest , annexation , and exploration to become the Russian Empire , which was the third largest empire in history , stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east . Following the Russian Revolution , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian SFSR ) became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR/Soviet Union ) , the world 's first constitutionally socialist state .
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins ( /dɪˈniːsəvə/ di-NEE-sə-və ) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic ( potentially surviving as late as 30-14,500 years ago in New Guinea ) . Denisovans are known from few remains , and , consequently , most of what is known about them comes from DNA evidence . Pending consensus on their taxonomic status , they have been referred to as Homo denisova , H. altaiensis , or H. sapiens denisova . The first Denisovan individual was identified in 2010 based on mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA ) extracted from a juvenile female finger bone from the Siberian Denisova Cave . Nuclear DNA ( nDNA ) indicates close affinities with Neanderthals . The cave was also periodically inhabited by Neanderthals , but it is unclear whether they ever cohabited in the cave . Additional specimens from Denisova Cave were subsequently discovered , as was a single specimen from the Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau in China . This indicates they lived in a wide variety of habitats , including forests , tundras , mountains , and jungles . DNA evidence suggests they had dark skin , eyes , and hair ; and had a Neanderthal-like build and facial features , but had larger molars which are reminiscent of Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene archaic humans and australopithecines . Denisovans apparently interbred with modern humans , with about 3-5% of the DNA of Melanesians and Aboriginal Australians and around 6% in Papuans deriving from Denisovans . Denisovans may have interbred with modern humans in New Guinea as recently as 15,000 years ago . There is also evidence of interbreeding with the local Neanderthal population , with about 17% of the Denisovan genome from Denisova Cave deriving from them .
Peștera cu Oase ( Romanian pronunciation : [ ˈpeʃtera ku ˈo̯ase ] , meaning The Cave with Bones ) is a system of 12 karstic galleries and chambers located near the city Anina , in the Caraș-Severin county , southwestern Romania , where some of the oldest European early modern human ( EEMH ) remains , between 37,000 and 42,000 years old , have been found . In 2015 genetics research revealed that the Oase 1 fossil had a recent Neanderthal ancestor , with an estimated 5-11% Neanderthal autosomal DNA . The specimen 's 12th chromosome was 50% Neanderthal .
European early modern humans ( EEMH ) is a term for the earliest populations of anatomically modern humans in Europe , during the Upper Paleolithic . It is taken to include fossils from throughout the Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) , covering the period of roughly 48,000 to 15,000 years ago ( 48-15 ka ) , spanning the Bohunician , Aurignacian , Gravettian , Solutrean and Magdalenian periods . EEMH formed a genetically isolated population for more than 20,000 years , between c. 37 and 14 ka , with significant Mesolithic admixture from the Near East and Caucasus beginning from around 14 ka ( in some regions not before 12 ka ) . The description as modern is used as contrasting with the archaic Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis , who lived within Europe during about 400 ka to 37 ka , and who with the arrival of EEMH became extinct or absorbed into their lineage . The oldest known EEMH fossil remains , confidently dated to before 40 ka , were found at Riparo Mochi ( Italy ) , Geissenklösterle ( Germany ) and Isturitz ( France ) . Other known remains of EEMH can be dated to before 40 ka with some certainty : those from Grotta del Cavallo in Italy , and from Kents Cavern in England , have been radiocarbon dated to 43±2 ka . A number of other early fossils are dated close to or just after 40 ka , including fossils found in Romania ( Peștera cu Oase , 39.5±2.5 ka ) and Russia ( Kostenki-14 , 37.5±2.5 ka ) . The Siberian Ust'-Ishim man , dated to 45 ka , was not geographically found in Europe , and indeed is not part of the Western Eurasian genetic lineage , but intermediate between the Western Eurasian and East Asian lineages . The EEMH lineage in the European Mesolithic is also known as West European Hunter-Gatherer ( WHG ) . These mesolithic hunter-gatherers emerge after the end of the LGM c. 15 ka and are described as more gracile than the Upper Paleolithic Cro-Magnons . [ note 1 ] The WHG lineage survives in contemporary Europeans , albeit only as a minor contribution overwhelmed by the later Neolithic and Bronze Age migrations . The term EEMH is equivalent to Cro-Magnon Man , or Cro-Magnons , a term derived from the Cro-Magnon rock shelter in southwestern France , where the first EEMH were found in 1868 .
Romania ( /roʊˈmeɪniə/ ( listen ) ro-MAY-nee-ə ; Romanian : România [ romɨˈni.a ] ( listen ) ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central , Eastern , and Southeastern Europe . It has borders with the Black Sea to the southeast , Bulgaria to the south , Ukraine to the north , Hungary to the west , Serbia to the southwest , and Moldova to the east . It has a predominantly temperate-continental climate . With a total area of 238,397 square kilometers ( 92,046 square miles ) , Romania is the 8th largest country and also the 6th most populous member state of the European Union , having almost 20 million inhabitants . Its capital and largest city is Bucharest , and other major urban areas include Cluj-Napoca , Timișoara , Iași , Constanța , Craiova , Brașov , and Galați . The River Danube , Europe 's second-longest river , rises in Germany 's Black Forest and flows in a general southeast direction for 2,857 km ( 1,775 mi ) , coursing through ten countries before emptying into Romania 's Danube Delta . The Carpathian Mountains , which cross Romania from the north to the southwest , include Moldoveanu Peak , at an altitude of 2,544 m ( 8,346 ft ) . Modern Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia . The new state , officially named Romania since 1866 , gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877 . Following World War I after declaring its neutrality in 1914 , when Romania fought on the side of the Allied powers starting with 1916 , Bukovina , Bessarabia , Transylvania as well as parts of Banat , Crișana , and Maramureș became part of the sovereign Kingdom of Romania . In June-August 1940 , as a consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and Second Vienna Award , Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union , and Northern Transylvania to Hungary . In November 1940 , Romania signed the Tripartite Pact and , consequently , in June 1941 entered World War II on the Axis side , fighting against the Soviet Union until August 1944 , when it joined the Allies and recovered Northern Transylvania .
The Kostyonki-Borshchyovo archaeological complex is an extended Upper Paleolithic ( Aurignacian to Gravettian ) site , covering 30 km2 in the area of Kostyonki ( Russian : Костёнки , also Kostenki ) and Borshchyovo ( Борщёво , also Borshchevo ) on the western middle bank of the Don River in Khokholsky District , Voronezh Oblast , Russia , some 25 km south of the city of Voronezh . It is divided sites Kostenki-1-21 and Borshchevo-1-5 , which are in turn divided into 10 stratigraphical layers . It is known for its high concentration of cultural remains of anatomically modern humans from the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic era , before 40,000 years ago . Finds are on exhibit in situ , at the State Archaeological Museum-Reserve Kostyonki ( Государственный археологический музей-заповедник Костёнки ) .
European early modern humans ( EEMH ) is a term for the earliest populations of anatomically modern humans in Europe , during the Upper Paleolithic . It is taken to include fossils from throughout the Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) , covering the period of roughly 48,000 to 15,000 years ago ( 48-15 ka ) , spanning the Bohunician , Aurignacian , Gravettian , Solutrean and Magdalenian periods . EEMH formed a genetically isolated population for more than 20,000 years , between c. 37 and 14 ka , with significant Mesolithic admixture from the Near East and Caucasus beginning from around 14 ka ( in some regions not before 12 ka ) . The description as modern is used as contrasting with the archaic Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis , who lived within Europe during about 400 ka to 37 ka , and who with the arrival of EEMH became extinct or absorbed into their lineage . The oldest known EEMH fossil remains , confidently dated to before 40 ka , were found at Riparo Mochi ( Italy ) , Geissenklösterle ( Germany ) and Isturitz ( France ) . Other known remains of EEMH can be dated to before 40 ka with some certainty : those from Grotta del Cavallo in Italy , and from Kents Cavern in England , have been radiocarbon dated to 43±2 ka . A number of other early fossils are dated close to or just after 40 ka , including fossils found in Romania ( Peștera cu Oase , 39.5±2.5 ka ) and Russia ( Kostenki-14 , 37.5±2.5 ka ) . The Siberian Ust'-Ishim man , dated to 45 ka , was not geographically found in Europe , and indeed is not part of the Western Eurasian genetic lineage , but intermediate between the Western Eurasian and East Asian lineages . The EEMH lineage in the European Mesolithic is also known as West European Hunter-Gatherer ( WHG ) . These mesolithic hunter-gatherers emerge after the end of the LGM c. 15 ka and are described as more gracile than the Upper Paleolithic Cro-Magnons . [ note 1 ] The WHG lineage survives in contemporary Europeans , albeit only as a minor contribution overwhelmed by the later Neolithic and Bronze Age migrations . The term EEMH is equivalent to Cro-Magnon Man , or Cro-Magnons , a term derived from the Cro-Magnon rock shelter in southwestern France , where the first EEMH were found in 1868 .
Balangoda Man ( Homo sapiens balangodensis ) refers to hominins from Sri Lanka 's late Quaternary period . The term was initially coined to refer to anatomically modern Homo sapiens from sites near Balangoda that were responsible for the island 's Mesolithic 'Balangoda Culture ' . The earliest evidence of Balangoda Man from archaeological sequences at caves and other sites dates back to 38,000 BP , and from excavated skeletal remains to 30,000 BP , which is also the earliest reliably dated record of anatomically modern humans in South Asia . Cultural remains discovered alongside the skeletal fragments include geometric microliths dating to 28,500 BP , which together with some sites in Africa is the earliest record of such stone tools . Balangoda Man is estimated to have had thick skulls , prominent supraorbital ridges , depressed noses , heavy jaws , short necks and conspicuously large teeth . Metrical and morphometric features of skeletal fragments extracted from cave sites that were occupied during different periods have indicated a rare biological affinity over a time frame of roughly 16,000 years , and the likelihood of a partial biological continuum to the present-day Vedda indigenous people .
Sri Lanka ( UK : /sri ˈlæŋkə , ʃriː -/ , US : /- ˈlɑːŋkə/ ( listen ) ; Sinhala : ශ්‍රී ලංකා Śrī Laṃkā ; Tamil : இலங்கை Ilaṅkai ) , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka , is an island country in South Asia , located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea . The island is geographically separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait . The legislative capital , Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte , is a suburb of the commercial capital and largest city , Colombo . Sri Lanka 's documented history spans 3,000 years , with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years . It has a rich cultural heritage , and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka , the Pāli Canon , date back to the Fourth Buddhist council in 29 BC . Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to the modern Maritime Silk Road . Sri Lanka was known in the west and from the beginning of British colonial rule as Ceylon ( /sɪˈlɒn/ , US also /seɪˈlɒn/ ) . A nationalist political movement arose in the country in the early 20th century to obtain political independence , which was granted in 1948 ; the country became a republic and adopted its current name in 1972 . Sri Lanka 's recent history has been marred by a 26-year civil war , which ended decisively when the Sri Lanka Armed Forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE ) in 2009 . The current constitution stipulates the political system as a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system . It has had a long history of international engagement , as a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC ) , and a member of the United Nations , the Commonwealth of Nations , the G77 , and the Non-Aligned Movement . Along with the Maldives , Sri Lanka is one of only two South Asian countries rated high on the Human Development Index ( HDI ) , with its HDI rating and per capita income the highest among South Asian nations .
The Hofmeyr Skull is a specimen of a 36,000 year old human skull that was found in 1952 near Hofmeyr , South Africa . It is one of a very few anatomically modern human skulls that have been discovered on the continent which have been dated to over 20,000 years old .
The Union of South Africa ( Dutch : Unie van Zuid-Afrika , Afrikaans : Unie van Suid-Afrika pronunciation ( help·info ) ) is the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa . It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape Colony , the Natal Colony , the Transvaal , and the Orange River Colony . It included the territories that were formerly a part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State . Following the First World War , the Union of South Africa was a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles and became one of the founding members of the League of Nations . It was conferred the administration of South West Africa ( now known as Namibia ) as a League of Nations mandate . It became treated in most respects as another province of the Union , but it never was formally annexed . Like Canada and Australia , the Union of South Africa was a self-governing dominion of the British Empire . Its full sovereignty was confirmed with the Balfour Declaration 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931 . It was governed under a form of constitutional monarchy , with the Crown being represented by a governor-general . The Union came to an end with the enactment of the constitution of 1961 , by which it became a republic and left the Commonwealth .
The Wajak crania ( also Wadjak , following the French spelling of the toponym ) are two fossil human skulls discovered near Wajak , a town in Malang Regency , East Java , Indonesia in 1888/90 . Dubbed Wajak Man , and formerly classified as a separate species ( Homo wadjakensis ) , the skulls are now recognized as an early anatomically modern human fossil . They were dated to the early-to-mid Holocene ( 12,000 to 5,000 years ago ) in the 1990s , but a 2013 study claimed a date between 28,000 and 37,000 years ago . Their morphology has been described as proto-Australoid , or intermediate between Solo Man and contemporary Australo-Melanesians , possibly with Mongoloid admixture .
In physical anthropology , forensic anthropology and archaeogenetics , Australo-Melanesians ( also Australasian , Australomelanesoid or Australoid ) form a large group of populations indigenous to East Asia , South Asia , Southeast Asia and Oceania . The group includes Papuans , Aboriginal Australians , Melanesians ( mainly from Fiji , New Caledonia and Vanuatu ) and the populations grouped as Negrito ( the Andamanese , the Semang and Batek peoples , the Maniq people , the Aeta people , the Ati people , and certain other ethnic groups in the Philippines ) . The Vedda people in Sri Lanka and a number of dark-skinned tribal populations in the interior of the Indian subcontinent ( mainly Dravidian-speaking groups and some Austroasiatic-speaking peoples , like the Munda people ) are also suggested by some to belong to the Australo-Melanesian group , but there are controversies about this inclusion . The term australoid belongs to a set of terms introduced by 19th-century anthropologists attempting to categorize human races . Some claim such terms are associated with outdated notions of racial types , and so are now potentially offensive .
Indonesia ( /ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ ( listen ) IN-də-NEE-zhə ) , officially the Republic of Indonesia ( Indonesian : Republik Indonesia [ reˈpublik ɪndoˈnesia ] ( listen ) ) , [ a ] is a country in Southeast Asia , between the Indian and Pacific oceans . It is the world 's largest island country , with more than seventeen thousand islands , and at 1,904,569 square kilometres ( 735,358 square miles ) , the 14th largest by land area and 7th in the combined sea and land area . With over 267 million people , it is the world 's 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country . Java , the world 's most populous island , is home to more than half of the country 's population . The country 's capital , Jakarta , is the second-most populous urban area in the world . The sovereign state is a presidential , constitutional republic with an elected legislature . It has 34 provinces , of which five have special status . The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea , East Timor , and the eastern part of Malaysia . Other neighbouring countries include Singapore , Vietnam , the Philippines , Australia , Palau , and India 's Andaman and Nicobar Islands . Despite its large population and densely populated regions , Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support a high level of biodiversity . The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas , coal , tin , copper , gold , and nickel , while agriculture mainly produces rice , palm oil , tea , coffee , cacao , medicinal plants , spices , and rubber . China , the United States , Japan , Singapore , and India are Indonesia 's major trading partners .
The Red Lady of Paviland is an Upper Paleolithic partial skeleton of a male dyed in red ochre and buried in Britain 33,000 BP . The bones were discovered in 1823 by William Buckland in an archaeological dig at Goat 's Hole Cave ( Paviland cave ) - one of the limestone caves between Port Eynon and Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula , south Wales . The remains were at first thought to be a Roman Britain era female , however more recent analysis indicates the bones of a young male . Goat 's Hole was occupied throughout prehistory . Artefacts are predominantly Aurignacian , but also include examples from the earlier Mousterian , and later Gravettian and Creswellian periods . The site is the oldest known ceremonial burial in Western Europe .
The Yamashita Cave People ( 山下洞人 , Yamashita Dōjin ) are the prehistoric humans known from many bones found in the Yamashita limestone cave located on the grounds of the Yamashita First Cave Site Park in Naha , Okinawa , Japan . The remains have been dated at 32,000±1000 years ago . The most important bones found in the cave in Yamashita are those of an approximately 6 to 8-year-old girl .
Japan ( Japanese : 日本 , Nippon [ ɲippoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) or Nihon [ ɲihoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) ) is an island country located in East Asia . It is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east , and spans more than 3,000 kilometers ( 1,900 mi ) along the coast of the continent from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Philippine Sea in the south . Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire , Japan encompasses a stratovolcanic archipelago of about 6,852 islands , with five main islands ( Hokkaido , Honshu , Kyushu , Shikoku , and Okinawa ) comprising 97% of the country 's total area of 377,975 square kilometers ( 145,937 sq mi ) . Japan is officially divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally into eight regions . Approximately two-thirds of the country 's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested , and less than one-eighth of land is suitable for agriculture . Consequently , Japan is among the most densely populated and urbanized countries in the world , with over 90% of its population living in urban areas . The largest of these is the metropolitan area centered on the capital city of Tokyo , which is the most populous in the world and home to more than 38 million people . Japan itself is the world 's eleventh most populous country with a population of 126.2 million , of which 97.8% are ethnically Japanese . The kanji ( or Chinese characters ) that make up the name of Japan in the Japanese language mean sun origin ; in the Western world , the country is often known by the sobriquet Land of the Rising Sun . Periods of influence from other regions , primarily China , followed by periods of isolation , particularly from Western Europe , have characterized the history of Japan . While archaeological evidence indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period , the first written mention of the archipelago appears in Chinese texts from the first century AD . Between the fourth and ninth centuries , the kingdoms of Japan became gradually unified under an Emperor and imperial court based in Heian-kyō ( modern Kyoto ) .
Engis 2 refers to part of an assemblage , discovered in 1829 by Dutch physician and naturalist Philippe-Charles Schmerling in the lower of the Schmerling Caves . The pieces that make up Engis 2 are a partially preserved calvaria ( cranium ) and associated fragments of an upper and a lower jaw , a maxillary bone and an upper incisor tooth of a two to three year old Neanderthal child . The Schmerling Caves are situated just north of the Belgian municipality Engis , whence the name of this group . In 1833 Schmerling described and publicized the find , which included animal bones and stone tools . Recognizing their old age , he associated them with the Ethiopian Type of the diluvial period . Although it was not recognized as such until 1936 , the publication represents the first scientific description of a Neanderthal fossil .
Belgium , [ A ] officially the Kingdom of Belgium , is a country in Western Europe . It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north , Germany to the east , Luxembourg to the southeast , France to the southwest , and the North Sea to the northwest . It covers an area of 30,689 km2 ( 11,849 sq mi ) and has a population of more than 11.5 million , making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe , with a density of 376 per square kilometre ( 970/sq mi ) . The capital and largest city is Brussels ; other major cities are Antwerp , Ghent , Charleroi and Liège . The sovereign state is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system . Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds . It is divided into three highly autonomous regions : the Flemish Region in the north , Wallonia in the south , and the Brussels-Capital Region . Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region , as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita . Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups or communities : the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community , which constitutes about 60 percent of the population , and the French-speaking Community , which comprises about 40 percent of all Belgians . A small German-speaking Community , numbering around one percent , exists in the East Cantons . The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual ( French and Dutch ) , although French is the dominant language . Belgium 's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance , made up of six different governments .
Gibraltar 1 is the specimen name of a Neanderthal skull , also known as the Gibraltar Skull found at Forbes ' Quarry in Gibraltar and presented to the Gibraltar Scientific Society by its Secretary , Lieutenant Edmund Henry Réné Flint on 3 March 1848 . Its discovery predates that of the Neanderthal type specimen .
Gibraltar ( /dʒɪˈbrɔːltər/ jih-BRAWL-tər , Spanish : [ xiβɾalˈtaɾ ] ) is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula . It has an area of 6.7 km2 ( 2.6 sq mi ) and is bordered to the north by Spain . The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar at the foot of which is a densely populated town area , home to over 32,000 people , primarily Gibraltarians . In 1704 , Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne . The territory was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 . During World War II it was an important base for the Royal Navy as it controlled the entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea , the Strait of Gibraltar , which is only 14.3 km ( 8.9 mi ) wide at this naval choke point . It remains strategically important , with half the world 's seaborne trade passing through the strait . Today Gibraltar 's economy is based largely on tourism , online gambling , financial services and cargo ship refuelling . The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations because Spain asserts a claim to the territory . Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and , in a 2002 referendum , the idea of shared sovereignty was also rejected .
Le Moustier is an archeological site consisting of two rock shelters in Peyzac-le-Moustier , a village in the Dordogne , France . It is known for a fossilized skull of the species Homo neanderthalensis that was discovered in 1908 . The Mousterian tool culture is named after Le Moustier , which was first excavated from 1863 by the Englishman Henry Christy and the Frenchman Édouard Lartet . The Le Moustier skull is estimated to be approximately 45,000 years old . Its characteristics include a large nasal cavity and a somewhat less developed brow ridge and occipital bun , as might be expected in a juvenile . After discovery , the skull was dismantled , cast and reconstructed at least four times . During this process , the skull received considerable amounts of damage ; for example , after it was sold to the Ethnological Museum of Berlin , a dentist broke the alveolar bone to access the teeth . It was later damaged in the Allied bombing of Berlin during the Second World War , then looted by the USSR , which returned the remains of the skull to the German Democratic Republic in 1958 . The skull is now missing many parts , the teeth glued into the wrong position , and it has been dipped into glue , covered with varnish , and painted with plaster . Consequently , its scientific value is much reduced .
France ( French : [ fʁɑ̃s ] ( listen ) ) , officially the French Republic ( French : République française , pronounced [ ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz ] ( listen ) ) , is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . [ XIII ] The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . It is bordered by Belgium , Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast , Switzerland and Italy to the east , and Andorra and Spain to the south . The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . The country 's 18 integral regions ( five of which are situated overseas ) span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres ( 248,573 sq mi ) and a total population of 67.02 million ( as of July 2019 [ update ] ) . France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country 's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban areas include Lyon , Marseille , Toulouse , Bordeaux , Lille and Nice . France , including its overseas territories , has the most number of time zones of any country , with a total of 12 . During the Iron Age , what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people . Rome annexed the area in 51 BC , holding it until the arrival of Germanic Franks in 476 , who formed the Kingdom of Francia . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned Francia into East Francia , Middle Francia and West Francia . West Francia , which became the Kingdom of France in 987 , emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages , following its victory in the Hundred Years ' War ( 1337-1453 ) .