Man’s Epic Struggle. The cradle of modern humans, called Homo sapiens by scientists, was located in Africa more than 100,000 years ago. The first branches of this family began a journey that spanned thousands of years. Eventually leading them to Australia and America. The enormous difficulties of this journey were overcome because of Homo sapiens’ unique ability to adapt to its environment. Their highly developed brains and their mastery of crafts enabled them to flourish in even the harshest conditions.