The fact that man evolved from an ape is not very flattering. Unfortunately, we cannot do anything with it, and the very characteristics and development of primates are very interesting to us, because they allow us to understand the development of our own species. Darwinian evolution itself has been a controversial topic from the beginning. How did we gradually evolve from primates to what we are today?
In Darwin’s controversial book The origin of man, which has sparked much scholarly debate, Darwin examined the special adaptations exhibited by many species of primates, including monkeys, lemurs, apes, and gorillas. Non-human primates live primarily in tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa and Asia. However, the development of primates was very similar to the adaptations that humans have. However, enough discovered fossils and DNA evidence supported the ideas already put forward by Darwin.
In this video, you can see in one minute how much our faces have changed – from primates to humans today:
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Source: Youtube
What connects us with primates?
We have several features in common with primates. For example, all primates have five flexible fingers at the end of their hands and feet that allow them to grasp objects. At the same time, they have an opposable thumb, which primates used to grasp branches and later other objects, such as weapons or tools.
Unlike other toed animals, primates also have calloused coverings, nails, on their fingers. Likewise, they have shoulder and hip joints that allow the limb to rotate 360 degrees. They also have eyes on the front of their heads, not on the side or top of their heads like many other animals that need better peripheral vision. And last but not least, they have a relatively large brain size and the ability or rather the tendency to live very long, mature later and take care of their young. This also connects them to us humans.
Not every primate is our ancestor. Or…?
The order Primates is divided into two groups: prosimids and anthropoids. The first primate-like mammals are referred to as proto-primates, for which we have very little fossil evidence. The first true primates were found in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa in the Eocene, with larger brains and eyes and smaller mouths.
At the same time, however, the family Hominidae of the order Primates includes hominoids: apes, while humans and chimpanzees separated from a common hominoid ancestor approximately 6 million years ago. From the evolutionary branch that includes humans, several species evolved, of which only ours survived. The term hominin is used to refer to those species that evolved after this division of the primate lineage, and includes the australopithecines, Homo habilis, and Homo erectus. However, determining the true lineages of hominins is difficult. However, according to the latest fossil finds, it is clear that more than one species often lived at any time, and that many fossils found represent hominin species that died out and are not the ancestors of modern humans.
A new species of man was discovered. He had giant teeth, no beard, and mated with humans
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Australopithecus, or Southern Ape
Australopithecus is a genus of hominin that evolved in East Africa about 4 million years ago and became extinct about 2 million years ago. And it probably has a common ancestor with us. At the same time, however, Australopithecus had a number of features that were more similar to apes than to modern humans. Australopithecine brain size relative to body weight was also smaller than that of modern humans and more ape-sized. At the same time, australopithecine teeth and jaws were already decreasing in size.
The genus homo and its trace in us
The human genus Homo first appeared 2.5 to 3 million years ago. Homo habilis (skilled man) a number of traits that were more similar to modern humans, including a larger brain. Even so, it retained numerous features of older hominin species, such as long arms.
1.8 million years ago, Homo erectus appeared, which had a number of features that were more similar to modern humans than those of Homo habilis. It stood up to 1.85 meters tall and weighed up to 65 kilograms, similar in size to modern humans. His brain grew again. In addition, Homo erectus also had a nose with downward-pointing nostrils, similar to modern humans, rather than the forward-pointing nostrils of primates. Longer, downward-facing nostrils allow cold air to be warmed before entering the lungs and may have been an adaptation to colder climates.
Homo naledi lived at the same time as early Homo sapiens and was among the smarter ancestors of modern humans.
Homo sapiens – in the main role of thinking
A number of Homo heidelbergensis, Homo rhodesiensis and Homo neanderthalensis species already had brain sizes similar to modern humans. But unlike modern humans, they had a strong skull, a prominent brow ridge and a receding chin. Some of these species overlapped with modern humans.
Resources:
biologos.org, www.thoughtco.com, www.livescience.com
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