Final answer:
Anatomically modern Homo sapiens appear in the fossil record around 300,000 years ago, with the oldest known fossils found in Africa. They share physical traits with modern humans and replaced earlier hominin species after emerging from Africa.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first anatomically modern Homo sapiens, distinct from more archaic predecessors like Homo erectus, begin to appear in the fossil record around 300,000 years ago. Anthropologists regard these early examples as "anatomically modern" due to physical traits like a projecting chin that align with present-day humans. Although there is some debate about the exact timing and geographic origins of anatomically modern humans, the most commonly accepted theory posits that they first emerged in Africa and that subsequent migrations replaced other hominin species in Europe and Asia.
The oldest known modern human fossils were found in Morocco and have significantly contributed to our understanding of human evolution. These fossils, combined with genetic analyses, suggest that modern humans replaced H. erectus and other hominin species, which had previously migrated out of Africa. Cultural traditions, symbolic behaviors, and more advanced technologies developed later in the timeline of Homo sapiens, differentiating them further from their archaic relatives.