Divine Revelation tells us that God created, and to a certain extent what He created; but did not intend to tell us exactly how or when. That’s for the realm of science and history respectively.

With regard to man, the inspired text of Genesis 2:7 can be interpreted as an instantaeous act of God, or one that spanned millions of earth years going through various forms. We know time means little to God.

There is a distinction to be made between anatomical humans and theological humans. An average of the numbers indicate that anatomical humans evolved in southern Africa somewhere between 150 and 200 thousand years ago; whereas theological humans – who have the spiritual and rational faculties of intellect and free will – showed up between 50 and 100 thousand years ago. Evidence also  suggests that several species of homo had existed at the same time for a while, and there was some interbreeding with homo sapiens; notably neanderthals in modern day Europe and denisovans in the far east.

This is from the Society of Catholic Scientists:

“The Catholic view of human evolution, therefore, is that after a long and gradual process of biological evolution, which produced hominins who were highly advanced mentally, there was a sudden transition, in which God raised some of them to the spiritual level, i.e. to the level of rationality and freedom.  Here is how the Vatican’s International Theological Commission described this in a 2004 document entitled Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God: ‘Acting indirectly through causal chains [i.e. of cosmic evolution and biological evolution] operating from the beginning of cosmic history, God prepared the way for what Pope John Paul II has called ‘an ontological leap … the moment of transition to the spiritual … [i.e.] the special creation of the human soul … . [Although Pius XII in Humanae Generis didn’t slam shut the door on polygenism,] It is worth noting that some well-known scientists have argued that the neurological basis for the brain’s processing of human language (a precondition for rational thought) must have originated with just one or a very few individuals. (See the book Why Only Us : Language and Evolution, by Berwick and Chomsky.).”

It is wonderful to ponder the magnificent beauty and splendor of creation – of the universe, of angelic life, of plant life, of animal life, and most of all, of human life.