when did the first anatomically modern humans first appear
Anatomically modern human Homo sapiens evolved from "archaic" or "robust" predecessors (Homo heidelbergensis, or a related offshoot from Homo erectus) around 315,000 years ago. The divergence of modern human populations dates to shortly after this time, the oldest division being that of the hunter-gatherer populations of Southern Africa, although there have been numerous events of admixture both among modern populations and between modern and archaic ones.
Blombos Cave The excavations at Blombos Cave have yielded important new information on the behavioural evolution of modern humans. The archaeological record from this cave site has been central in the ongoing debate on the cognitive and cultural origin of early humans and to the current understanding of when and where key behavioural innovations emerged among Homo sapiens in southern Africa during the Late Pleistocene.[6][7][8] Archaeological material and faunal remains recovered from the Middle Stone Age phase in Blombos Cave – dated to ca. 100,000–70,000 years BP – are considered to represent greater ecological niche adaptation, a more diverse set of subsistence and procurements strategies, adoption of multi-step technology and manufacture of composite tools, stylistic elaboration, increased economic and social organisation and occurrence of symbolically mediated behaviour.