Together with human fossils from eastern and northern Africa, southern Afri
can specimens show that anatomically modern or near-modern people were pres
ent by 100,000 years ago, when only the Neandertals occupied Europe and dif
ferent, equally nonmodern people lived in eastern Asia. However, the artifa
cts found with early modern or near-modern African fossils imply nonmodern,
Neandertal-like behavior. Artifactual markers of fully modern behavior app
eared in Africa between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago, and only then M,erp mo
dern Africans able to expand to Eurasia, where they swamped or replaced the
Neandertals and other nonmodern humans. Archaeological food debris from th
e western and southern coasts of South Africa suggest that an enhanced abil
ity to hunt and gather accompanied the artifactual ah anc e after 50,000 ye
ars ago.