https://phys.org/news/2023-09-science-picture-ancient-kinds-humans.html

For a long time, the answer seemed clear. Our species, Homo
sapiens—with our complex thoughts and deep emotions—were the
only true humans to ever walk the Earth. Earlier forms, like
the Neanderthals, were thought to be just steps along the
path of evolution, who died out because we were better versions.

That picture is now changing.

In recent years, researchers have gained the power to pull DNA
from ancient hominins, including our early ancestors and other
relatives who walked on two legs. Ancient DNA technology has
revolutionized the way we study human history and has quickly
taken off, with a constant stream of studies exploring the
genes of long-ago people.

.. . .

The bottom line ... "human" is an illusion. We are hybrids
of hybrids of hybrids. Little groups would drift off, spend
a lot of time fucking their sisters and cousins, and then
happen to find some other - vaguely similar - groups and
do a lot more fucking. Repeat, repeat for a few million
years.

If you were born in north Africa into eurasia then you are
a Neanderthal and/or Denisovian hybrid - two to five percent.

The original thing we'd call homo sapiens sapiens ... that's
mostly east-central Africa at this point. Likely some H.Erectus
and a few other obscure ancestors thrown in. Hey, people are
horny and if it even kinda seemed human they fucked it -
spawning hybrids, spawning hybrids and so on.

No, I'm not going to be delicate here - sex drive was a
major driver of what we see now. See it, fuck it, more
and more hybrid babies that make more and more hybrid
babies.

In short, there's NO SUCH THING as "human". It's all a vast
complex genetic mish-mash that eventually produced a group
melt that kinda seems the same.