Evolutionist and creationists have and are still arguing on the origins of human life. Even though evolution is a real thing and is seen in many different species including humans. This can be seen in the many discoveries made by paleoanthropologist and others in the scientific community such as the fossils of early human ancestors. Humans have slowly evolved from early ancestors over millions of years into what makes you and me human. There are many physical and genetic similarities seen between modern human and our early ancestors. This leads me to believe that humans have evolved and will provide supporting evidence on this subject. Firstly, lets define what evolution is evolution is a “descent with modification from preexisting species: …show more content…
Using the “Linnaean system of classifying organisms, people and apes are common members of the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Primates, suborder (or infraorder) Anthropoidea, and superfamily Hominoidea” (Tuttle 15). Imagine going to the zoo and seeing chimpanzees for the first time. One may notice things such as similar hands with opposable thumbs, the ability the walk on two legs and even the face itself. Watching different shows on the Discover Channel or even Animal Planet images of chimpanzees and primates living together in rich social groups with its own hierarchy. Much like humans in our cliques and with our hierarchy. Going back to Linnaean system were in the same animal kingdom as which brings me to the genetic attributes that we share. “The amount of difference in DNA is a test of the difference between one species and another – and thus how closely or distantly related they are… While the genetic difference between individual humans today is minuscule – about 0.1%, on average – study of the same aspects of the chimpanzee genome indicates a difference of about 1.2%” (http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/genetics). A one percent difference is a stones …show more content…
These discoveries couldn’t be made with out the dedicated paleoanthropologist out searching far and wide to try to piece together human evolution. The main area of focus for paleoanthropologist to look for remains is the continent of Africa where they believe it all started. “In the 19th century Charles Darwin argued that, because the closest living relatives of modern humans, the chimpanzee and the gorilla, were both confined to Africa then it was probable that the common ancestor of modern humans was also likely to have lived in Africa” (Wood 27). One of the most famous findings is that of Lucy she was an early hominin. Lets learn a little bit about how important Lucy is to human evolution. “Lucy … was complete enough to provide a pretty comprehensive picture of the kind of individual she had been” ( Tattersall 142). This was unheard of at the time and extremely remarkable that we have a complete enough skeleton where we could examine things such as size or being bipedal the ability to walk upright on two
This article, titled Common Ground, written by Barbara Smuts, points out the main differences between humans and apes, such as our upright stance, large brains, and capacity for spoken language and abstract reasoning. However, the main point of this article is to emphasize the many similarities that apes share with us. Smuts goes into great detail about how human social and emotional tendencies are very reflective in the family of apes.
It is said that the humanoid existence begins in Africa. It is no coincidence that Africa is also the home to Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, and Bonobos, Pan paniscus. These are humans’ two closest living relatives, both sharing almost 99% of the human genome through common descent. While humans were said to have separated from Chimpanzees around 5-7 million years ago , Bonobos separated from its Chimp cousins around 2 million years ago . Bonobos inhabit a single part of Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo South of the Congo River, unlike the Chimpanzee, which inhabits Across West- and Central Africa, with remaining populations distributed over several countries. While these two apes where once thought to be the same species, up until the beginning of the 20th century , there are many differences socially, as well as physically, that make Bonobos more than a Pygmy Chimp. With disparities in morphology, behavior, perhaps even emotions and cognition, and known as the “make love, not war chimp” , how can this ape be so vastly different from its notoriously violent Pan cousin, but yet share the same amount of similar DNA to Homo sapiens? And what does this mean for the studies of human and past humanoid behavior?
...cientists explain it to happen from the research previously done and what humans know of it is that, it is too complex for average human knowledge to comprehend. Humans generally choose to believe what there is proof for and in the case of evolution there is none. Realistically the idea of evolution is too complex and the general public finds it improbable.
What is evolution? Evolution in modern terms is fairly easy to understand. Evolution is the theory that life on earth began with a single celled organism that lived more that 3.5 billion years ago that slowly evolved into many diverse creatures over time. When you break down this theory into sections you get 6 factors: evolution, gradualism, speciation, common ancestry, natural selection and nonselective mechanisms of evolutionary change.
According to National Geographic, scientists have sequenced the genome factor of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 98.5% similar to the ape species. The chimpanzee is our closest relative in the animal kingdom; however, some people are not aware of our resembling traits with chimpanzees. Jane Goodall’s, In the Shadow of Man, describes some similar traits humans and chimpanzees have such as their facial expressions and emotions, use of tools, and diet.
Monkey see, monkey do. Apes have always been thought to have an increased level of intelligence. Over the years, researchers have attempted to understand the degree of intelligence these primates possess. However, it is essential to understand the definition of intelligence in order to determine the amount of intelligence primates have. Intelligence is the capability of obtaining knowledge and being able to utilize it in everyday situations. There are many hypotheses that focus on the evolution of intelligence in primates that view a number of factors including brain size and modernism. Primate intelligence has been a topic of interest to many because it will allow us to further understand the close relationship between humans and primates. Additionally, we will be able to understand the difference between human and primate cognition. Some studies suggest that the human and primate brains possess many similarities. This demonstrates why primates tend to respond to stimuli in a manner that is closely related to humans. Researchers have conducted a number of studies in an effort to understand primate cognition.
There is great debate over the concept of primate evolution. Some research supports the idea that evolution occurred linearly as a continuum while other research supports the idea that fossils found to date should be separated into individual species. Through morphological, and geological evidence this paper explores this topic and provides concise arguments to further develop the understanding of human primate evolution.
The evolution of apes was a possibility in the 19th century. Although religion had been cherished for centuries, the doubts in people’s mines began to express many uncertainties about the bible and started to question their own beliefs. The issue of evolution was a huge concern in the 19th century as it was destroying the view of god and how he made the world; this caused many people to either change their views on life or their religion which had a huge part in resolving people’s beliefs in their own culture. This has had a huge impact on today’s society due to the involvement of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. In the 19th century people believed that we came/ were made by Adam & Eve, but through Darwinism there was a controversy between churches and peoples beliefs.
Humans come from the hominid species; short for Hominoidea, which was split from the close relative the chimpanzee. The line is connected before the time where the human race changed to bipedalism instead of four legged walking. Also, they’ve increased brain size, language, and economic dependence. The bipedalism is what cause the increase in brain size and tool use to the. Humans from this have become much less like the apes as they used to due to the evolution and changing of their actions, and these diff...
“The scientific study of how humans developed did not begin until the 1800s in Europe. Until that time, people relied on religious explanations of how humans came into existence. Starting in the 1500s a scientific revolution began to sweep Europe. Thinkers started using scientific methods and experiments to try to better understand the world and the creatures living in it. Eventually these methods were turned to the question of human origins” (The Nature Of Human Origins, 1). Earth made it possible for species to change over time because Ancient Earth provides ability to plenty of time.The Homo Sapien a is very complex creature. The species started off very simple by living in caves and surviving with little food and then later evolved into a species that were able to do many more complex things. The first species was Sahelanthropus tchadensis They were one of the most simple humans in that time period and on. They had very small skulls compared to Homo Sapiens today and their motor skills were just the same. We have evolved and changed for the better both mentally and physically. The Evolution of Homo Sapiens started off simple, such as the Neanderthals, and now we are the most advanced species to ever walk the planet so far.
What evidence shows the changing from the early hominids to the modern humans? Throughout the human evolution body parts like legs and harms have changed for the better. By the early hominids being biped, meaning they are able to stand and even walk on two feet, it helped them to be able to do more things like getting around more and help with their tool making and hunting. A lot of the fossils discovered were found in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, which contained many different lakes and small rivers. For many years researchers have been finding new species. These species have been named Australopithicus, robust australopithecines , Orrorin tugenensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, neanderthal, and Homo sapiens. These early hominids and modern humans really show off how the features and behaviors have really changed in time.
Are we still evolving? How do humans and apes share a common ancestor? Modern human species or Homo sapiens have shown great similarities in the physical and genetic makeup to another group primates species, the apes. Both organisms share a common ancestor dating back eight to six million years ago. Evolution means change over time. Human evolution is the process by which humans have emerged from apelike ancestors. Through sequences of mutations, genetic drift, migration, and natural selection and technology we are able to observe the amazing amount of similarities and diversity of humans to other living organisms. Humans have roamed the earth for about six million years. At least, that is from when the oldest human ancestor was discovered.
Author Yuval Noah Harari has a unique way of reviewing the past fourteen billion years in his monograph Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. His intention for writing this book is mainly to bring up the conversation of the human condition and how it has affected the course of history. In this case, the human condition coincides with the inevitable by-products of human existence. These include life, death, and all the emotional experiences in between. Harari is trying to determine how and why the events that have occurred throughout the lives of Homo Sapiens have molded our social structures, the natural environment we inhabit, and our values and beliefs into what they are today.
But just how similar are humans and chimpanzees on a genetic level? The answer to that question
Evolution is the complexity of processes by which living organisms established on earth and have been expanded and modified through theorized changes in form and function. Human evolution is the biological and cultural development of the species Homo sapiens sapiens, or human beings. Humans evolved from apes because of their similarities. This can be shown in the evidence that humans had a decrease in the size of the face and teeth that evolved. Early humans are classified in ten different types of families.