I figure I'll give some anthropological descriptions of these interesting fellows. The archaic Homo Sapiens you are referring to (also known as Homo Heidelbergensis) were most likely the last transitional form until Homo Sapien sapiens (us) evolved.  They are the direct descendants of Homo Erectus, and were typically short in stature, had less pronounced brow ridges than previous ancestors, and had an advanced forebrain, they were probably quite capable of planning and reasoning, but were still not as intelligent as modern humans.  They had no writing system and it is unknown if they managed to have a complex spoken language, but based on their camps and their simple stone tools, they had a social structure and the ability to build (they invented the stone axe)  They lived 500,000 - 200,000 years ago, until modern humans took over, possibly interbreeding with them, or out-competing them in some situations.  They spread from africa to Europe, and there were even groups found in Asia.  The final push, that is, the migration of Modern Humans out of Africa, was what brought us into contact with them, and caused us to spread across the world.