Human
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
 |
There is more information available on this subject at Human on the English Wikipedia. |
| Human | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biological overview | |
|
Latin name: |
Homo sapiens[1] |
|
Classification: |
Mammal |
|
Diet: |
Omnivorous |
| Physical information | |
|
Avg. height: |
152.4–182.9 cm (5–6 ft)[1] |
|
Avg. weight: |
61.2–90.7 kg (135–200 lb)[1] |
|
Avg. lifespan: |
80–90 years[1] |
| Sociocultural information | |
|
Homeworld: |
|
|
Notable individuals: |
John-117, Catherine Halsey, Preston Cole, Terrence Hood, Forthencho, Robert Watts |
|
Also known as: |
|
|
Languages: |
|
This article is part of a series on
Humanity
- Technology
- History
- Culture, Politics & Economy
- Biology
To check out information for other sapient species, see here!
Humans, taxonomically referred to as Homo sapiens (Latin for "wise man") and known as hamanune (plural hamanush) in the Forerunner era,[3] are a sentient species native to Earth. A part of the primate family, they are the only extant species of a formerly diverse genus of multiple species once classified as human. Members of the species, like some Covenant species, are four-limbed and bipedal, which enables them to walk upright on two legs and use their arms and hands (including opposable thumbs) to hold and manipulate objects such as tools.
Over 110,000 years ago, ancient humanity (archeohomina) had achieved a thriving interstellar civilization nearly on par with the Forerunners, although their catastrophic defeat in the human-Forerunner wars would see them reduced to a preindustrial state as hunter-gatherer tribes, forced to achieve technological sophistication again.[4] Thanks to the efforts of the Forerunner known as the Librarian, however, humans were later elevated to the role of Reclaimers, intended to inherit the Mantle the Forerunners used to hold. Humanity would not begin to rise from the confines of their homeworld until nearly 100,000 years later, with the re-invention of space travel in the mid-20th century and the beginning of space colonization in the latter half of the 21st century. Following a series of violent conflicts across the Sol system, contemporary humanity at large was brought under a single banner with the establishment of the Unified Earth Government in 2170. Over a century later, the invention of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine heralded a new golden age for humanity: no longer confined to their home system, humans spread across the neighbouring stars.[5]
At the end of the 25th century, this age of flourish was coming to an end, and the rising economic and political tensions across the colonies eventually culminated in a series of civil conflicts collectively known as the Insurrection. The war claimed millions of lives over the next three decades, but a far more dire threat loomed. In 2525, a theocratic alien hegemony known as the Covenant invaded the colony world of Harvest, beginning the apocalyptic Human-Covenant War.[5] For nearly three decades, humanity, under the emergency military governance of the United Nations Space Command, was pushed back by the relentless Covenant war machine, until the tide turned in 2552. With humanity teetering on the brink of extinction, the discovery of a Forerunner artifact known as Halo set in motion a course of events which would lead to the fragmentation and eventual destruction of the Covenant.[6]
Following the end of the war, humanity began to take on a more active role in the galactic community formed by the Covenant's dissolution, with new technological developments sped up by the discovery of Forerunner relics. However, these developments have not yet elevated them to the Tier 2 of technological advancement held by the Covenant.[1] Despite the defeat of the Covenant, humanity engaged in smaller conflicts during the post-war years. In addition to threats from within in the form of renewed dissidence across the colonies, the UNSC was involved in hostilities with new Covenant factions, some of which allowed humans to join, and other hostilites with the Ur-Didact's reawakened Forerunner Promethean constructs which would later come under the command of the Created.[7]