Early archaic Homo sapiens lived throughout Africa, Asia, and southern Europe from 400,000 y.a to 130,000 y.a. In Africa the most famous site is that of Broken Hill near Kabwe in Zambia. Here a complete cranium and other postcranial material have been found. They belong to several individuals dating to 125,000 y.a. Another site, Bodo near the Awash River Valley in Ethiopia yielded an incomplete skull, only the brain case, dating to 600,000 y.a. In 1967 in the Omo River region in Ethiopia Richard Leakey found two sites containing parts of two skulls and limb bones.

   In Asia particularly in China, many fossil remains have been found. In Dali, Jinniudhana, and Maba a variety of cranial and postcranial material was found ranging in dates from 200,000 y.a. to 120,000 y.a. Fossil remains were found in India as well. In the Namada Valley in 1982 a partial skull was found dating to the middle Pleistocene.