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111-666: Ishango is a sub-station of the Virunga National Park , covering more than 13% of the North-Kivu province with about 790,000 hectares of extended landscape. Located at the mouth of Lake Edward, the Virunga National Park was established in 1925 in an effort to protect mountain gorilla species from threats of poaching and deforestation, making it the "oldest protected park in Africa". Virunga National Park

222-415: A multi-layered network of cooperating, distinct, or even competing social groups – from families and peer groups to corporations and political states . As such, social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values, social norms , languages , and traditions (collectively termed institutions ), each of which bolsters human society . Humans are also highly curious , with

333-668: A theory of mind . The human mind is capable of introspection , private thought , imagination , volition , and forming views on existence . This has allowed great technological advancements and complex tool development through complex reasoning and the transmission of knowledge to subsequent generations through language . Humans have had a dramatic effect on the environment . They are apex predators , being rarely preyed upon by other species. Human population growth , industrialization, land development, overconsumption and combustion of fossil fuels have led to environmental destruction and pollution that significantly contributes to

444-792: A "Lion Conservation Unit". The area is considered a potential lion ( Panthera leo ) stronghold, if poaching is curbed and prey species recover. In the national park's northern sector, African leopard ( P. pardus pardus ), marsh mongoose ( Atilax paludinosus ), giant pangolin ( Smutsia gigantea ), tree pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ), crested porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ), Lord Derby's scaly-tailed squirrel ( Anomalurus derbianus ), Boehm's bush squirrel ( Paraxerus boehmi ), western tree hyrax ( Dendrohyrax dorsalis ), Emin's pouched rat ( Cricetomys emini ) and checkered elephant shrew ( Rhynchocyon cirnei ) were recorded during surveys in 2008. The Semliki River provides habitat for Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ). Several were observed at

555-586: A civilian convoy. Again in January 2021, armed men killed at least six rangers and wounded several others in an ambush in the national park. On 22 February 2021, Italy's ambassador to the DRC who was travelling with the World Food Programme about 15km north of Goma, Luca Attanasio , as well as Italian military police officer Vittorio Iacovacci and Congolese driver Moustapha Milambo, were killed in

666-443: A consequence of better nutrition, healthcare, and living conditions. The average mass of an adult human is 59 kg (130 lb) for females and 77 kg (170 lb) for males. Like many other conditions, body weight and body type are influenced by both genetic susceptibility and environment and varies greatly among individuals. Humans have a far faster and more accurate throw than other animals. Humans are also among

777-419: A few other places), saw the emergence of agriculture and permanent human settlement ; in turn, this led to the development of civilization and kickstarted a period of continuous (and ongoing) population growth and rapid technological change . Since then, a number of civilizations have risen and fallen, while a number of sociocultural and technological developments have resulted in significant changes to

888-463: A great capacity for altering their habitats by means of technology, irrigation , urban planning , construction, deforestation and desertification . Human settlements continue to be vulnerable to natural disasters , especially those placed in hazardous locations and with low quality of construction. Grouping and deliberate habitat alteration is often done with the goals of providing protection, accumulating comforts or material wealth, expanding

999-612: A higher body fat percentage. At puberty , humans develop secondary sex characteristics . Females are capable of pregnancy , usually between puberty, at around 12 years old, and menopause , around the age of 50. As omnivorous creatures, they are capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material, and have used fire and other forms of heat to prepare and cook food since the time of Homo erectus . Humans can survive for up to eight weeks without food and several days without water . Humans are generally diurnal , sleeping on average seven to nine hours per day. Childbirth

1110-475: A human can lose personhood (such as by going into a persistent vegetative state ). Humans are apes ( superfamily Hominoidea ). The lineage of apes that eventually gave rise to humans first split from gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and orangutans (genus Pongo ), then gorillas (genus Gorilla ), and finally, chimpanzees and bonobos (genus Pan ). The last split, between the human and chimpanzee–bonobo lineages, took place around 8–4 million years ago, in

1221-513: A militia attack. Five rangers and a driver were killed in April 2018. Since beginning of the armed conflict, armed groups killed 175 park rangers until April 2018. In May 2018, a ranger was killed when defending two tourists who were kidnapped. They were subsequently released unharmed. As a consequence, the park remained closed to visitors from June 2018 until February 2019. In April 2020 at least 12 park rangers were killed by militia men attacking

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1332-581: A more barrel-shaped chests in contrast to the funnel shape of other apes, an adaptation for bipedal respiration. Apart from bipedalism and brain size, humans differ from chimpanzees mostly in smelling , hearing and digesting proteins . While humans have a density of hair follicles comparable to other apes, it is predominantly vellus hair , most of which is so short and wispy as to be practically invisible. Humans have about 2 million sweat glands spread over their entire bodies, many more than chimpanzees, whose sweat glands are scarce and are mainly located on

1443-504: A much clearer picture of life at the time. Between the 8th and 6th century BCE, Europe entered the classical antiquity age, a period when ancient Greece and ancient Rome flourished. Around this time other civilizations also came to prominence. The Maya civilization started to build cities and create complex calendars . In Africa, the Kingdom of Aksum overtook the declining Kingdom of Kush and facilitated trade between India and

1554-549: A result of the disruption in ratio of isotopes due to volcanic activity. Because the bone has been engraved, scraped, and polished to an irrevocable extent, it is no longer possible to determine what animal the bone belonged to, although it has thought to have belonged to a mammal. This artifact was brought to Belgium by its discoverer and is currently housed in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences . The earliest evidence for hominin occupation at Ishango

1665-451: A result, humans are a cosmopolitan species found in almost all regions of the world, including tropical rainforest , arid desert , extremely cold arctic regions , and heavily polluted cities; in comparison, most other species are confined to a few geographical areas by their limited adaptability. The human population is not, however, uniformly distributed on the Earth 's surface, because

1776-435: A significant role for seed dispersal in the grasslands. The montane forest between 1,800 and 2,800 m (5,900 and 9,200 ft) in the southern sector is dominated by Ficalhoa laurifolia and Podocarpus milanjianus with up to 25 m (82 ft) high trees. African alpine bamboo ( Yushania alpina ) grows at altitudes of 2,300–2,600 m (7,500–8,500 ft). The vegetation above 2,600 m (8,500 ft)

1887-639: A similar species. Migrating out of Africa , they gradually replaced and interbred with local populations of archaic humans. Multiple hypotheses for the extinction of archaic human species such as Neanderthals include competition, violence , interbreeding with Homo sapiens , or inability to adapt to climate change . Humans began exhibiting behavioral modernity about 160,000–60,000 years ago. For most of their history, humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers. The Neolithic Revolution , which began in Southwest Asia around 13,000 years ago (and separately in

1998-515: A simple linear or branched progression but involved interbreeding between related species . Genomic research has shown that hybridization between substantially diverged lineages was common in human evolution. DNA evidence suggests that several genes of Neanderthal origin are present among all non sub-Saharan-African populations, and Neanderthals and other hominins, such as Denisovans , may have contributed up to 6% of their genome to present-day non sub-Saharan-African humans. Human evolution

2109-451: A successful labor increased significantly during the 20th century in wealthier countries with the advent of new medical technologies. In contrast, pregnancy and natural childbirth remain hazardous ordeals in developing regions of the world, with maternal death rates approximately 100 times greater than in developed countries. Both the mother and the father provide care for human offspring, in contrast to other primates, where parental care

2220-406: A wide variety of plant and animal material. Human groups have adopted a range of diets from purely vegan to primarily carnivorous . In some cases, dietary restrictions in humans can lead to deficiency diseases ; however, stable human groups have adapted to many dietary patterns through both genetic specialization and cultural conventions to use nutritionally balanced food sources. The human diet

2331-511: Is 38 weeks, but a normal pregnancy can vary by up to 37 days. Embryonic development in the human covers the first eight weeks of development; at the beginning of the ninth week the embryo is termed a fetus . Humans are able to induce early labor or perform a caesarean section if the child needs to be born earlier for medical reasons. In developed countries, infants are typically 3–4 kg (7–9 lb) in weight and 47–53 cm (19–21 in) in height at birth. However, low birth weight

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2442-485: Is a mixture of the two parental sets. Among the 23 pairs of chromosomes, there are 22 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes . Like other mammals, humans have an XY sex-determination system , so that females have the sex chromosomes XX and males have XY. Genes and environment influence human biological variation in visible characteristics, physiology, disease susceptibility and mental abilities. The exact influence of genes and environment on certain traits

2553-424: Is a population decline in the winter months of this realm. Humans established nation-states in the other seven realms, such as South Africa , India , Russia , Australia , Fiji , United States and Brazil (each located in a different biogeographical realm). By using advanced tools and clothing , humans have been able to extend their tolerance to a wide variety of temperatures, humidities , and altitudes. As

2664-440: Is an isolated upper molar , consistent with those from australopiths and early members of genus Homo, likely dating to at least two million years ago. Other archaeological discoveries made at this site are consistent with Later Stone Age occupation including the dependence on lithic technology, composite tools, and the utilization of fish and other resources found in central Africa. The human remains found at Ishango represent

2775-402: Is characterized by a number of morphological , developmental , physiological , and behavioral changes that have taken place since the split between the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees . The most significant of these adaptations are hairlessness , obligate bipedalism, increased brain size and decreased sexual dimorphism ( neoteny ). The relationship between all these changes

2886-456: Is common in developing countries, and contributes to the high levels of infant mortality in these regions. Compared with other species, human childbirth is dangerous, with a much higher risk of complications and death. The size of the fetus's head is more closely matched to the pelvis than in other primates. The reason for this is not completely understood, but it contributes to a painful labor that can last 24 hours or more. The chances of

2997-421: Is dangerous, with a high risk of complications and death . Often, both the mother and the father provide care for their children, who are helpless at birth . Humans have a large, highly developed, and complex prefrontal cortex , the region of the brain associated with higher cognition. Humans are highly intelligent and capable of episodic memory ; they have flexible facial expressions, self-awareness , and

3108-479: Is generally aging, with the median age around 40 years. In the developing world , the median age is between 15 and 20 years. While one in five Europeans is 60 years of age or older, only one in twenty Africans is 60 years of age or older. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarians (humans of age 100 or older) worldwide. Humans are omnivorous , capable of consuming

3219-443: Is inherited only from the mother, geneticists have concluded that the last female common ancestor whose genetic marker is found in all modern humans, the so-called mitochondrial Eve , must have lived around 90,000 to 200,000 years ago. Most human reproduction takes place by internal fertilization via sexual intercourse , but can also occur through assisted reproductive technology procedures. The average gestation period

3330-408: Is mostly done by the mother. Helpless at birth , humans continue to grow for some years, typically reaching sexual maturity at 15 to 17 years of age. The human life span has been split into various stages ranging from three to twelve. Common stages include infancy , childhood , adolescence , adulthood and old age . The lengths of these stages have varied across cultures and time periods but

3441-521: Is not well understood. While no humans – not even monozygotic twins  – are genetically identical, two humans on average will have a genetic similarity of 99.5%-99.9%. This makes them more homogeneous than other great apes, including chimpanzees. This small variation in human DNA compared to many other species suggests a population bottleneck during the Late Pleistocene (around 100,000 years ago), in which

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3552-610: Is responsible for park management since 2010; about 80% of management costs are subsidised by the EC. Park protection efforts were militarised in the following years to deter armed rebel groups and poachers from operating inside the park. Park personnel are given paramilitary training and high-quality weaponry, and operate together with the military and state security services. These tactics, criticised as " militarization of conservation", has been blamed for further violence and dispossession faced by local indigenous people . Communities, such as

3663-501: Is subalpine with foremost African redwood ( Hagenia abyssinica ) growing up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Tree heath ( Erica arborea ), heather and mosses cover humid slopes up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft) elevation. Senecio and Lobelia species grow on vast clearings and attain heights of up to 8 m (26 ft). Virunga National Park's faunal species include 196 mammals , 706 bird species, 109 reptiles and 65 amphibians as of 2012. Primates present in

3774-445: Is the subject of ongoing debate. Hylobatidae ( gibbons ) Pongo abelii Pongo tapanuliensis Pongo pygmaeus Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Homo sapiens (humans) Until about 12,000 years ago, all humans lived as hunter-gatherers . The Neolithic Revolution (the invention of agriculture ) first took place in Southwest Asia and spread through large parts of

3885-654: Is typified by an unusually rapid growth spurt during adolescence. Human females undergo menopause and become infertile at around the age of 50. It has been proposed that menopause increases a woman's overall reproductive success by allowing her to invest more time and resources in her existing offspring, and in turn their children (the grandmother hypothesis ), rather than by continuing to bear children into old age. The life span of an individual depends on two major factors, genetics and lifestyle choices. For various reasons, including biological/genetic causes, women live on average about four years longer than men. As of 2018 ,

3996-548: The British Empire expanded to become the world's largest empire . A tenuous balance of power among European nations collapsed in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War , one of the deadliest conflicts in history. In the 1930s, a worldwide economic crisis led to the rise of authoritarian regimes and a Second World War , involving almost all of the world's countries . The war's destruction led to

4107-580: The Caral–Supe civilization is the oldest complex civilization in the Americas. Astronomy and mathematics were also developed and the Great Pyramid of Giza was built. There is evidence of a severe drought lasting about a hundred years that may have caused the decline of these civilizations, with new ones appearing in the aftermath. Babylonians came to dominate Mesopotamia while others, such as

4218-511: The Church would provide centralized authority and education. In the Middle East, Islam became the prominent religion and expanded into North Africa. It led to an Islamic Golden Age , inspiring achievements in architecture , the revival of old advances in science and technology, and the formation of a distinct way of life. The Christian and Islamic worlds would eventually clash, with

4329-474: The Homo genus. The name " Homo sapiens " means 'wise man' or 'knowledgeable man'. There is disagreement if certain extinct members of the genus, namely Neanderthals , should be included as a separate species of humans or as a subspecies of H. sapiens . Human is a loanword of Middle English from Old French humain , ultimately from Latin hūmānus , the adjectival form of homō ('man' – in

4440-579: The Kingdom of England , the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire declaring a series of holy wars to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims . In the Americas, between 200 and 900 CE Mesoamerica was in its Classic Period , while further north, complex Mississippian societies would arise starting around 800 CE. The Mongol Empire would conquer much of Eurasia in the 13th and 14th centuries. Over this same time period,

4551-801: The Mali Empire in Africa grew to be the largest empire on the continent, stretching from Senegambia to Ivory Coast . Oceania would see the rise of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire which expanded across many islands in the South Pacific. By the late 15th century, the Aztecs and Inca had become the dominant power in Mesoamerica and the Andes , respectively. The early modern period in Europe and

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4662-481: The Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique ; explored the ethnic groups in this area; studied volcanic activity, and fossils . In the late 1950s, Tutsi herders and their cattle entered the park, destroying natural habitat up to an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft), which was thought to threaten the park's gorillas. Land laws were reformed in the 1960s after Belgian Congo became independent as

4773-587: The Old World over the following millennia. It also occurred independently in Mesoamerica (about 6,000 years ago), China, Papua New Guinea , and the Sahel and West Savanna regions of Africa. Access to food surplus led to the formation of permanent human settlements , the domestication of animals and the use of metal tools for the first time in history. Agriculture and sedentary lifestyle led to

4884-652: The Poverty Point culture , Minoans and the Shang dynasty , rose to prominence in new areas. The Late Bronze Age collapse around 1200 BCE resulted in the disappearance of a number of civilizations and the beginning of the Greek Dark Ages . During this period iron started replacing bronze, leading to the Iron Age . In the 5th century BCE, history started being recorded as a discipline , which provided

4995-508: The Republic of the Congo , and the land declared property of the state, much to the disadvantage of local people. Illegal hunting inside protected areas increased. In 1969, the two parks were merged under the name Virunga National Park, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. In 1996, the national park was listed as a Ramsar site of international importance . In 2011,

5106-587: The Rwenzori Mountains . From north to south it extends approximately 300 km (190 mi), largely along the international borders with Uganda and Rwanda in the east. It covers an area of 8,090 km (3,120 sq mi). Two active volcanoes, Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira , are located in the park. They have significantly shaped the national park's diverse habitats and wildlife . More than 3,000 faunal and floral species have been recorded, of which more than 300 are endemic to

5217-795: The colonization of the Americas and the Columbian Exchange . This expansion led to the Atlantic slave trade and the genocide of Native American peoples . This period also marked the Scientific Revolution , with great advances in mathematics , mechanics , astronomy and physiology . The late modern period (1800–present) saw the Technological and Industrial Revolution bring such discoveries as imaging technology , major innovations in transport and energy development . Influenced by Enlightenment ideals,

5328-541: The stratigraphic layers of this site, we have concluded that Ishango's oldest layers date back to 25,000 years ago. Humans are thought to have occupied this site from 20,000 to 5,000 BC. The Ishango site was discovered on a scientific research excursion in 1935 by Hubert Damas, a zoologist from Liege University . Upon excavating for an observational survey of fauna and flora, Damas found material that demonstrated ancient human activity, including human mandibles and bone harpoon beads. Damas, despite his findings, did not pursue

5439-670: The Albertine Rift including eastern gorilla ( Gorilla beringei ) and golden monkey ( Cercopithecus kandti ). The park is also home to Tchegera Island . In 1979, the national park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its rich diversity of habitats, exceptional biodiversity and endemism , and its protection of rare mountain gorilla habitat. It has been listed in the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1994 because of civil unrest and increased human presence in

5550-586: The Albertine Rift is influenced by the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation . March to mid May and September to November are the main rainy seasons. Mean monthly rainfall in the savanna around Lake Edward is 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in); this is the driest part of the landscape. The northern sector receives a monthly mean precipitation of up to 220 mm (8.7 in), and

5661-518: The Americas and Europe experienced a period of political revolutions known as the Age of Revolution . The Napoleonic Wars raged through Europe in the early 1800s, Spain lost most of its colonies in the New World , while Europeans continued expansion into Africa  – where European control went from 10% to almost 90% in less than 50 years  – and Oceania. In the 19th century,

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5772-485: The British company Soco International was granted a concession for extracting crude oil in the surroundings of and in large parts of the national park. Government officials supported exploration activities by Soco International mission members, whereas park management opposed. In the course of increasing tensions, the park's chief warden, Emmanuel de Mérode , was assailed in April 2014. Following international protests,

5883-433: The Congo's first national park , it was conceived as a science-oriented nature reserve with the aim of studying and preserving wildlife and so-called "primitive" hunter-gatherer African Pygmies . In 1926, Derscheid headed the first Belgian mission to map Albert National Park, which encompassed an area of 500 km (190 sq mi) around the extinct volcanoes Mount Karisimbi and Mount Mikeno . The protected area

5994-598: The Mbuti, which previously relied on the lands included in the park for food and shelter have been forced out, or risk being arrested or killed by armed park rangers . Increasing militarisation of nature conservation has been accused of fuelling armed mobilisation of militias. The inhabitants inside the national park, whether native or refugees , rely on farming, hunting, fishing, logging and producing charcoal for their livelihoods, all prohibited activities. The local community has no where else to turn for security, and relies on

6105-876: The Mediterranean. In West Asia, the Achaemenid Empire 's system of centralized governance became the precursor to many later empires, while the Gupta Empire in India and the Han dynasty in China have been described as golden ages in their respective regions. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Europe entered the Middle Ages . During this period, Christianity and

6216-832: The Near East ( c.  1450 –1800) began with the final defeat of the Byzantine Empire , and the rise of the Ottoman Empire . Meanwhile, Japan entered the Edo period , the Qing dynasty rose in China and the Mughal Empire ruled much of India. Europe underwent the Renaissance , starting in the 15th century, and the Age of Discovery began with the exploring and colonizing of new regions. This included

6327-510: The Puemba River valley to the highest peak of Mount Stanley at 5,109 m (16,762 ft) within 30 km (19 mi). The national park's central sector encompasses about two thirds of Lake Edward up to the international border with Uganda in the east. A narrow corridor of 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) width along the lake's western bank connects the northern and southern sectors of the national park. The southern sector stretches to

6438-478: The available food, improving aesthetics , increasing knowledge or enhancing the exchange of resources. Humans are one of the most adaptable species, despite having a low or narrow tolerance for many of the earth's extreme environments. Currently the species is present in all eight biogeographical realms , although their presence in the Antarctic realm is very limited to research stations and annually there

6549-561: The best long-distance runners in the animal kingdom, but slower over short distances. Humans' thinner body hair and more productive sweat glands help avoid heat exhaustion while running for long distances. Compared to other apes, the human heart produces greater stroke volume and cardiac output and the aorta is proportionately larger. Like most animals, humans are a diploid and eukaryotic species. Each somatic cell has two sets of 23 chromosomes , each set received from one parent; gametes have only one set of chromosomes, which

6660-615: The climate changes spread rapidly across eastern and northern Africa during this time period. Virunga National Park Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in the Semliki River valley to 5,109 m (16,762 ft) in

6771-665: The collapse of most global empires, leading to widespread decolonization. Following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945, the United States and the USSR emerged as the remaining global superpowers . This led to a Cold War that saw a struggle for global influence, including a nuclear arms race and a space race , ending in the collapse of the Soviet Union. The current Information Age , spurred by

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6882-787: The combined eastern and western Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. Bubonic plagues , first recorded in the 6th century AD, reduced the population by 50%, with the Black Death killing 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa alone. Human population is believed to have reached one billion in 1800. It has since then increased exponentially, reaching two billion in 1930 and three billion in 1960, four in 1975, five in 1987 and six billion in 1999. It passed seven billion in 2011 and passed eight billion in November 2022. It took over two million years of human prehistory and history for

6993-693: The company stopped exploring activities and consented to refrain from starting similar operations in the vicinity of World Heritage sites. In August 2015, the Minister of Tourism and Culture inaugurated four key initiatives including the tourist destination Tchegera Island and the Rugari–Bukima road section that facilitates access to the Mount Mikeno sector. By 2016, four hydropower dams were constructed that provide electricity to small businesses and benefit more than 200,000 rural people. Since

7104-478: The continent, gradually replacing or interbreeding with local populations of archaic humans. Humans began exhibiting behavioral modernity about 160,000–70,000 years ago, and possibly earlier. This development was likely selected amidst natural climate change in Middle to Late Pleistocene Africa. The "out of Africa" migration took place in at least two waves, the first around 130,000 to 100,000 years ago,

7215-421: The country's economic situation the government undermined that very protection by auctioning oil exploration blocks inside the park by the end of July 2022. Tullow Oil Plc, TotalEnergies , ENI and China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd (CNOOC) were interested in acquiring drilling permissions. Local and global groups, such as Greenpeace , are warning about the social and ecological impact of devastating

7326-423: The desire to understand and influence phenomena having motivated humanity's development of science , technology , philosophy , mythology , religion , and other frameworks of knowledge ; humans also study themselves through such domains as anthropology , social science , history , psychology , and medicine . There are estimated to be more than eight billion living humans . Although some scientists equate

7437-516: The development of the Internet and Artificial Intelligence systems, sees the world becoming increasingly globalized and interconnected. Early human settlements were dependent on proximity to water and – depending on the lifestyle – other natural resources used for subsistence , such as populations of animal prey for hunting and arable land for growing crops and grazing livestock. Modern humans, however, have

7548-613: The early 1990s, the protected area was impacted by political turmoil in the African Great Lakes region. Following the Rwandan genocide , thousands of refugees fled to the Kivu region, and the presence of military increased. The First and Second Congo Wars further destabilised the region. Anti- poaching patrols inside the park were obstructed, and park personnel and wildlife were killed. About 850,000 refugees lived around

7659-640: The early 20th century, there has been continuous human presence in Antarctica through research stations and, since 2000, in space through habitation on the International Space Station . All modern humans are classified into the species Homo sapiens , coined by Carl Linnaeus in his 1735 work Systema Naturae . The generic name " Homo " is a learned 18th-century derivation from Latin homō , which refers to humans of either sex. The word human can refer to all members of

7770-685: The emergence of early civilizations . An urban revolution took place in the 4th millennium BCE with the development of city-states , particularly Sumerian cities located in Mesopotamia . It was in these cities that the earliest known form of writing, cuneiform script , appeared around 3000 BCE. Other major civilizations to develop around this time were Ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley Civilisation . They eventually traded with each other and invented technology such as wheels, plows and sails. Emerging by 3000 BCE,

7881-605: The excavation of the site further, but referred to his findings in a later publication, mentioning that the area could be of interest in a more in-depth research project in the future. It was not until 1950 and 1959 when Jean de Heinzelin , a geologist with a specialization in African Paleolithic at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, took interest in the archaeological site and began excavating this Mesolithic site. Geological analysis of

7992-480: The forest for oil production. Campaigners trying to create public awareness are threatened and intimidated on social media. In the early 1920s, several proponents of the European conservation movement championed the idea of creating a protected area in northeastern Belgian Congo , among them Victor van Straelen , Jean Massart and Jean-Marie Derscheid . When Albert National Park was established in April 1925 as

8103-403: The functionality of the bone include tally marks, a mathematical device, a series of prime numbers , or a lunar calendar . Debates have arisen surrounding the age of the bone, but the consensus seems to be that the bone dates between approximately 18,000 to 20,000 years before present, making it possibly one of the oldest mathematical tools of humankind. Dating of this bone has proven difficult as

8214-566: The genomes of 1,184 individuals from 11 populations and identified 1.6 million single nucleotide polymorphisms . African populations harbor the highest number of private genetic variants. While many of the common variants found in populations outside of Africa are also found on the African continent, there are still large numbers that are private to these regions, especially Oceania and the Americas . By 2010 estimates, humans have approximately 22,000 genes. By comparing mitochondrial DNA , which

8325-595: The global average life expectancy at birth of a girl is estimated to be 74.9 years compared to 70.4 for a boy. There are significant geographical variations in human life expectancy, mostly correlated with economic development – for example, life expectancy at birth in Hong Kong is 87.6 years for girls and 81.8 for boys, while in the Central African Republic , it is 55.0 years for girls and 50.6 for boys. The developed world

8436-540: The gunfire when a militia that had kidnapped their convoy, and had brought them into the park, was met by park rangers who managed to free four people. Virunga National Park is located in the Congo − Nile watershed area. Its northern sector encompasses part of the Semliki River basin, as well as savanna and montane forest of the Albertine Rift . In altitude, this sector ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in

8547-443: The human lifestyle. Genes and the environment influence human biological variation in visible characteristics, physiology , disease susceptibility, mental abilities, body size, and life span. Though humans vary in many traits, humans are among the least genetically diverse species. Any two humans are at least 99.5% genetically similar. Humans are sexually dimorphic : generally, males have greater body strength and females have

8658-555: The human population to reach one billion and only 207 years more to grow to 7 billion. The combined biomass of the carbon of all the humans on Earth in 2018 was estimated at 60 million tons, about 10 times larger than that of all non-domesticated mammals. In 2018, 4.2 billion humans (55%) lived in urban areas, up from 751 million in 1950. The most urbanized regions are Northern America (82%), Latin America (81%), Europe (74%) and Oceania (68%), with Africa and Asia having nearly 90% of

8769-517: The human population was reduced to a small number of breeding pairs. The forces of natural selection have continued to operate on human populations, with evidence that certain regions of the genome display directional selection in the past 15,000 years. The human genome was first sequenced in 2001 and by 2020 hundreds of thousands of genomes had been sequenced. In 2012 the International HapMap Project had compared

8880-442: The last surviving species of the genus Homo . They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness , bipedalism , and high intelligence . Humans have large brains , enabling more advanced cognitive skills that enable them to thrive and adapt in varied environments, develop highly complex tools , and form complex social structures and civilizations . Humans are highly social , with individual humans tending to belong to

8991-567: The late Miocene epoch. During this split, chromosome 2 was formed from the joining of two other chromosomes, leaving humans with only 23 pairs of chromosomes, compared to 24 for the other apes. Following their split with chimpanzees and bonobos, the hominins diversified into many species and at least two distinct genera. All but one of these lineages – representing the genus Homo and its sole extant species Homo sapiens  – are now extinct. The genus Homo evolved from Australopithecus . Though fossils from

9102-657: The late 1930s and 1955, an estimated 85,000 Rwandophone people were moved to nearby Masisi in North Kivu . In 1934, the Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge was founded as the governing body for national parks in the Belgian Congo. Between the early 1930s and 1961, several expeditions to Albert National Park were carried out by Belgian scientists, the second headed by Gaston-François de Witte . They studied and collected zoological specimens of wildlife for

9213-528: The national park in 1994. Up to 40,000 people entered the park daily in search of firewood and food, and deforested huge areas. In 1994, Virunga National Park was entered into the List of World Heritage in Danger. After the Second Congo War was over, confrontations between park personnel and rebel groups continued; 80 park staff were killed between 1996 and 2003. Several armed rebel groups operate in

9324-625: The national park include mountain gorilla ( G. b. beringei ), common chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ), golden monkey, red-tailed monkey ( Cercopithecus ascanius ), Dent's mona monkey ( C. denti ), blue monkey ( C. mitis ), Hamlyn's monkey ( C. hamlyni ), De Brazza's monkey ( C. neglectus ), Central African red colobus ( Procolobus foai ), mantled guereza ( Colobus guereza ), olive baboon ( Papio anubis ) and grey-cheeked mangabey ( Lophocebus albigena ). African bush elephant ( Loxodonta africana ), hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) and African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ) inhabit

9435-531: The national park's central sector. Okapi ( Okapia johnstoni ), blue duiker ( Philantomba monticola ), bay duiker ( Cephalophus dorsalis ), Weyns's duiker ( C. weynsi ), yellow-backed duiker ( C. silvicultor ), water chevrotain ( Hyemoschus aquaticus ), red river hog ( Potamochoerus porcus ), aardvark ( Orycteropus afer ) and bongo ( Tragelaphus eurycerus ) were recorded in the northern sector in 2008. Harnessed bushbuck ( T. scriptus ) and giant forest hog ( Hylochoerus meinertzhageni ) are present in

9546-2753: The northern shore of Lake Edwards in 1988 for the first time. Of the Albertine Rift's endemic birds , Rwenzori turaco , Rwenzori batis , Archer's ground robin , red-throated alethe , Kivu ground thrush , collared apalis , mountain masked apalis , dusky crimson-wing , Shelley's crimsonwing , red-faced woodland warbler , stripe-breasted tit , blue-headed sunbird , regal sunbird , Rwenzori double-collared sunbird , handsome spurfowl and strange weaver were recorded in Virunga National Park's southern sector during surveys in 2004. Non-endemic birds recorded include Wahlberg's eagle , African goshawk , African hobby , harrier hawk , common buzzard , mountain buzzard , hadeda ibis , grey-crowned crane , black-and-white-casqued hornbill , black-billed turaco , African olive pigeon , tambourine dove , blue-spotted wood dove , red-eyed dove , brown-necked parrot , red-chested cuckoo , olive long-tailed cuckoo , barred long-tailed cuckoo , Klaas's cuckoo , Diederik cuckoo , blue-headed coucal , Narina trogon , white-headed wood hoopoe , white-necked raven , white-tailed crested flycatcher , African paradise flycatcher , white-eyed slaty flycatcher , African dusky flycatcher , white-tailed blue flycatcher , mountain oriole , speckled mousebird , cinnamon-chested bee-eater , grey-throated barbet , yellow-billed barbet , western tinkerbird , yellow-rumped tinkerbird , cardinal woodpecker , olive woodpecker , black saw-wing , Angola swallow , Alpine swift , mountain greenbul , yellow-whiskered greenbul , common bulbul , white-starred robin , Archer's ground robin , white-browed robin-chat , African stonechat , rufous thrush , African thrush , olive thrush , grassland pipit , cinnamon bracken warbler , black-faced rufous warbler , mountain yellow warbler , brown woodland warbler , green sandpiper , Chubb's cisticola , banded prinia , chestnut-throated apalis , grey-backed camaroptera , white-browed crombec , black-throated wattle-eye , chinspot batis , mountain illadopsis , grey-chested illadopsis , olive sunbird , bronze sunbird , malachite sunbird , collared sunbird , variable sunbird , yellow white-eye , Mackinnon's shrike , Doherty's bushshrike , Lühder's bushshrike , northern puffback , mountain sooty boubou , tropical boubou , narrow-tailed starling , Sharpe's starling , baglafecht weaver , black bishop , grey-headed nigrita , common waxbill , black-headed waxbill , bronze mannikin , black and white mannikin , pin-tailed whydah , African citril , streaky seedeater and thick-billed seedeater . Ethnic groups living in and around Virunga National Park include: The documentary Virunga documents

9657-605: The oldest sample of modern humans of the Late Pleitsocene in Central Africa. The presence of these remains are crucial to the understanding of diet and cultural development during the Pleistocene and Holocene in this region of Africa. The human bones that have been found at Ishango which, while dating to only 20,000 BC, show robust, archaic features. Some archaeologists believe that the early Ishango-man

9768-559: The ongoing mass extinction of other forms of life. Within the last century, humans have explored challenging environments such as Antarctica , the deep sea , and outer space . Human habitation within these hostile environments is restrictive and expensive, typically limited in duration, and restricted to scientific , military , or industrial expeditions. Humans have visited the Moon and made their presence known on other celestial bodies through human-made robotic spacecraft . Since

9879-442: The only primates to have short, relatively flush canine teeth . Humans have characteristically crowded teeth, with gaps from lost teeth usually closing up quickly in young individuals. Humans are gradually losing their third molars , with some individuals having them congenitally absent. Humans share with chimpanzees a vestigial tail, appendix , flexible shoulder joints, grasping fingers and opposable thumbs . Humans also have

9990-474: The palm of the hand and on the soles of the feet. It is estimated that the worldwide average height for an adult human male is about 171 cm (5 ft 7 in), while the worldwide average height for adult human females is about 159 cm (5 ft 3 in). Shrinkage of stature may begin in middle age in some individuals but tends to be typical in the extremely aged . Throughout history, human populations have universally become taller, probably as

10101-559: The park to land controlled by the FDLR, where they could rent small plots of land. Clashes occurred in 2015 when a local Mai-Mai group in Binza (north Bwisha) attempted to take back control of region, with the objective of reinstalling fishing activities and allowing the population to return, killing a park guard and 11-15 soldiers. Five rangers were killed in August 2017 near Lake Edward in

10212-743: The park, including Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and National Congress for the Defence of the People (FDLR). Latter controlled the Mikeno sector of Virunga National Park between December 2006 and January 2009. In 2005, the European Commission (EC) recommended a public-private partnership between the country's government and the British non-governmental organisation African Conservation Fund . The latter organisation

10323-515: The population density varies from one region to another, and large stretches of surface are almost completely uninhabited, like Antarctica and vast swathes of the ocean. Most humans (61%) live in Asia; the remainder live in the Americas (14%), Africa (14%), Europe (11%), and Oceania (0.5%). Estimates of the population at the time agriculture emerged in around 10,000 BC have ranged between 1 million and 15 million. Around 50–60 million people lived in

10434-741: The protection of armed groups, for which fees are levied off the prohibited activities. According to a 2010 report by the United Nations Security Council , 80% of the charcoal consumed by the city of Goma is sourced from the park, representing an annual value of US$ 28–30 million. Both state security services and such groups also resort to armed robberies and kidnapping for income. Efforts at nature conservation have had contradictory effects, for example when farms were destroyed within Kibirizi, and soldiers and park guards were sent in to patrol, people migrated even further within

10545-542: The region. There have been several deadly attacks in the park by rebel groups, and several park rangers have been killed. There have been plans to drill for oil in the Congo Basin since the 2000s. Preventing these plans the park gained further protection by an agreement sealed between DRCs president Felix Tshisekedi and Boris Johnson at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. To improve

10656-454: The relationship these people had with the environment. The close proximity to Lake Edward provided these occupants with an abundance of resources. The remains of bones from animals like fish, hippopotamus, buffalo, and antelope demonstrated taphonomy consistent with cutting, revealing the dietary habits of these past people. The remains found at this site allow for the characterization of a hunter-fisher-gatherer community that shows reliance on

10767-404: The second ( Southern Dispersal ) around 70,000 to 50,000 years ago. H. sapiens proceeded to colonize all the continents and larger islands, arriving in Eurasia 125,000 years ago, Australia around 65,000 years ago, the Americas around 15,000 years ago, and remote islands such as Hawaii , Easter Island , Madagascar , and New Zealand in the years 300 to 1280 CE. Human evolution was not

10878-547: The sense of humanity). The native English term man can refer to the species generally (a synonym for humanity ) as well as to human males. It may also refer to individuals of either sex. Despite the fact that the word animal is colloquially used as an antonym for human , and contrary to a common biological misconception , humans are animals . The word person is often used interchangeably with human , but philosophical debate exists as to whether personhood applies to all humans or all sentient beings , and further if

10989-491: The shores of Lake Kivu and encompasses Nyamulagira, Nyiragongo and Mikeno volcanoes with montane forests on their slopes. The northern sector of Virunga National Park is contiguous with Uganda's Semuliki park , the Rwenzori Mountains National Park , and the central sector with Queen Elizabeth National Park . The southern sector borders Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park . The climate in

11100-610: The site by Heinzelin revealed the fluctuations in the water levels of the lakes and the presence of volcanic activity. The sediments and archaeological remains in all three levels of the Ishango culture "reflect accumulation on the fluctuating shore of a generally rising lake". Ishango is most known for its archaeological discovery of the Ishango bone in the early 1950s by Heinzelin. This pencil sized fossilized bone features three columns of engraved, ordered markings. Various hypotheses of

11211-1005: The southern sector of up to 160 mm (6.3 in). Average temperatures in lower altitudes vary from 23–28 °C (73–82 °F), and in higher altitudes from 16–24 °C (61–75 °F), rarely dropping below 14 °C (57 °F). Virunga National Park's flora encompasses 2,077 plant species, including 264 tree species and 230 plants that are endemic to the Albertine Rift. The plains of Virunga National Park are dominated by wetlands and grasslands with papyrus sedge ( Cyperus papyrus ), jointed flatsedge ( C. articulatus ), common reed ( Phragmites mauritanica ), sacaton grasses ( Sporobolus consimilis ), ambatch ( Aeschynomene elaphroxylon ), conkerberry ( Carissa spinarum ), paperbark thorn ( Vachellia sieberiana ) and kowai fruit ( Coccinia grandis ). Remains of dicots such as African caper ( Capparis tomentosa ), Maerua species, wild cucurbits , and nightshades were found in dung balls of African elephants ( Loxodonta ) that play

11322-493: The southern sector. All of the topi ( Damaliscus lunatus jimela ) cluster to the south of Lake Edward in the Ishasha Flats region, and regularly cross the border into Uganda. Other ungulates present include Ugandan kob ( Kobus kob thomasi ), waterbuck ( K. ellipsiprymnus ), and  common warthog ( Phacochoerus africanus ). Virunga National Park together with the adjacent Queen Elizabeth National Park forms

11433-418: The surrounding environment along with complex social and cognitive behaviors. Climate and environmental changes also attributed to this "fisherman settlement" as the increase in rainfall led to the tradition of fishing after "sedentarisation and the introduction of animal breeding." The wetter climatic conditions of the early to mid-Holocene have led Ishango to be interpreted as an "aquatic civilization" following

11544-433: The term "humans" with all members of the genus Homo , in common usage it generally refers to Homo sapiens , the only extant member. All other members of the genus Homo , which are now extinct, are known as archaic humans , and the term "modern human" is used to distinguish Homo sapiens from archaic humans. Anatomically modern humans emerged around 300,000 years ago in Africa, evolving from Homo heidelbergensis or

11655-427: The transition are scarce, the earliest members of Homo share several key traits with Australopithecus . The earliest record of Homo is the 2.8 million-year-old specimen LD 350-1 from Ethiopia , and the earliest named species are Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis which evolved by 2.3 million years ago. H. erectus (the African variant is sometimes called H. ergaster ) evolved 2 million years ago and

11766-470: The work of Virunga National Park rangers and the activities of British oil company Soco International within the park. Ndakasi , a gorilla from the park, was featured in a few television series and movies, including the Netflix documentary. Human Humans ( Homo sapiens , meaning "thinking man" or "wise man") or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate , and

11877-440: The world's 3.4 billion rural population. Problems for humans living in cities include various forms of pollution and crime , especially in inner city and suburban slums . Most aspects of human physiology are closely homologous to corresponding aspects of animal physiology. The dental formula of humans is: 2.1.2.3 2.1.2.3 . Humans have proportionately shorter palates and much smaller teeth than other primates. They are

11988-447: Was a "pre-sapiens species" as a result of the findings. The later inhabitants of the region of Ishango, who gave the settlement its name, have no immediate connections with the primary settlement, which was "buried in a volcanic eruption". Tools that were unearthed at this site, including bone harpoons, barbed points and quartz tools used for tool-making, cutting, or scraping are indicative of previous human occupation of Homo sapiens and

12099-411: Was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 as a result of its geological and biological processes, unique natural phenomena, and its diverse habitats where rare and endangered species survive. Ishango is also home to the last significant population of hippos on Lake Edward, a lake that formerly held the biggest hippo population in the world. Through Carbon-14 dating and relative dating of

12210-536: Was extended in 1929 by Virunga National Park, which encompassed the Virunga Mountains , parts of the Rutshuru Territory , and the plains south of Lake Edward. Its initial size of 2,920.98 km (1,127.80 sq mi) was enlarged step by step in subsequent years. Indigenous people lost their traditional land rights in this process, and were evicted from the protected area. Between

12321-402: Was the first archaic human species to leave Africa and disperse across Eurasia. H. erectus also was the first to evolve a characteristically human body plan . Homo sapiens emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago from a species commonly designated as either H. heidelbergensis or H. rhodesiensis , the descendants of H. erectus that remained in Africa. H. sapiens migrated out of

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