How many generations of humans have there been?

There have been about 10 generations of humans so far, that’s like counting from your great-great-grandparents all the way up to you and your friends.

A generation is a group of people who are all about the same age, usually parents and their children. So if we think of it like a family tree:

• Your grandparents are one generation.
• Your parents are another.
• You and your classmates are the next, that’s three generations.

Now imagine this happening over thousands of years! Each time a new group of people is born, that’s a new generation. Scientists count how many groups have lived before us, and they’ve found around 10 big ones, from ancient humans all the way to today.

It might feel like there are more generations because we live longer now! In the past, people didn’t always grow old, so not every group of parents had a lot of children who survived. But over time, each new generation came along, and here we are! There have been about 10 generations of humans so far, that’s like counting from your great-great-grandparents all the way up to you and your friends.