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Homo sapiens (Latin for 'wise man') is the only extant species of the genus Homo (humans), first being classified as such by Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus in his magnum opus Systema Naturae (1758). It is also the most common species of primate, numbering at an estimated 8 billion as of 2022. Homo sapiens is characterised by its bipedality, dexterity, and well-developed brain which enables complex thought.
Homo sapiens emerged in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago and have since spread to all other continents on Earth, adapting to a variety of harsh climates by developing the appropriate tools and clothing and by modifying their surroundings. Homo sapiens is a highly social species capable of creating complex social structures such as class, family, language, and religion.
Throughout most of its history, homo sapiens lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers, but with the dawn of agriculture following the end of the Ice Age around 12,000 years ago came the emergence of large-scale human settlements and, as a result, the formation of class society. Over time, as the existing relations of production have become an active hindrance to the further development of the productive forces, this has led to class struggle and eventually the overthrow of the existing social order. Through this process, homo sapiens (and no other species) has advanced through the slave, feudal/Asiatic, and capitalist modes of production, albeit at varying speeds and not necessarily in a linear progression.