Man appeared on Earth in the course of a long and uneven evolutionary process (genetic mutations). Scientists believe that 8-5 million years ago, the most ancient African apes split into 2 branches: one led to anthropoid apes (chimpanzees, gorillas and others), the other – to the first hominids who had a bipedal gait. About 2 million years ago, "man" (Homo) appeared, about 40 thousand years ago, at the turn of the Upper Paleolithic, "Homo sapiens" became the only representative of the hominid family.