What came before mankind?

When talking of mankind, we usually mean modern humans (Homo sapiens) - people like ourselves.

Homo sapiens had certainly evolved by about 100,000 years ago, and possibly as early as 130,000 years ago.

• A subspecies, Homo sapiens idaltus, has recently been identified in Africa, from around 160-154 thousand years ago.

• Some early African fossils may be archaic Homo sapiens, and are sometimes be referred to as Homo sapiens rhodesiensis. These fossils date back as far as 400 thousand years ago.

• Homo neanderthalensis evolved around 220,000 years ago and coexisted with Homo sapiens in Europe until around 35,000 years ago. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Homo sapiens, but is now widely considered to have been a separate species.

There is a near consensus of scientists that the immediate direct ancestor of Homo sapiens was Homo erectus, which evolved around 1.6 million years ago.