missing link
The foundations of the modern theory of evolution were laid by Charles Darwin. In 1859, he proposed the natural selection hypothesis, which started the process of evolution. Some are sure that Charles Darwin proposed the evolutionary theory of human development to the world in the 19th century and stated in a simplified form of his theory that humans are descended from monkeys. But this is not entirely true: in 1871 the scientist published the book “The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection”. In it he put forward a version of the animal origin of man.
“Charles Darwin proved that all living things on Earth evolved through natural selection. In his work dated 1871, he did not write that humans were descended from monkeys. He argued that humans have animal origins. This does not mean that humans cannot be related to monkeys. Darwin himself argued that the anatomical structure of humans and primates has much in common, said the principal investigator, head of the physical anthropology center at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology. NN Miklouho-Maclay RAS Sergei Vasiliev.
Thus, among the similarities, the scientist highlighted the anatomical structure, embryonic development, which is very similar in humans and chimpanzees, and similar social behavior.
“We have five fingers and toes, four paws, and a brain that develops according to a certain plan. It is known that the embryo develops as a fish for the first two months and then goes through all evolutionary stages until it becomes a human. There are also so-called atavisms and precepts – phenomena reminiscent of the past. For example, some people have tails, multiple nipples, or a wavy palate. “All this proves that humans have animal origins,” the scientist said.
However, Darwin was not the only person to notice the similarities between humans and apes. According to scientists, the ancient Roman physician Galen created a human anatomical atlas from monkey corpses.
“This atlas has been used in surgical operations on living people for thousands of years. During the Renaissance, another researcher appeared – Andrei Vesalius, who created an atlas based on human corpses. Only two or three copies of these atlases survive today, one of which is kept in the Vatican. And they prove that the structure of both monkeys and humans is the same, except for some features. In total, several hundred minor errors were made, for example, regarding the positions of individual ships. However, fundamentally, the fact that the structure of humans and monkeys is very similar is proof that we come from a common ancestor,” said Vasiliev.
But the problem of the missing link has not been solved; For a long time, it was not clear to humans at what point the transition from monkey to human occurred. According to Vasiliev, it is wrong to distinguish between humans and monkeys.
“The problem is that we are monkeys. We belong to the suborder of monkeys, so the popular idea that humans did not descend from monkeys but simply shared a common ancestor with them is not entirely true. But the main evidence for evolution comes from paleoanthropology, the study of ancient humans. “Scientists have known about all stages of human evolution for a long time,” he said.
The genealogy of people has been known for a long time
The problem of missing links in human evolution became obsolete in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when early Australopithecines were discovered. Currently, scientists have not a single transitional link, but a series of transitional forms from monkey to human.
Currently, according to the scientist, the remains of about 4,000 ancient human ancestors have been discovered, dating back to the appearance of Homo habilis (skillful man), the first living human, about two million years ago from the forms of Australopithecin.
“Human evolution did not occur in a straight line, but along a tree resembling a shutter. This shows that development occurs through evolutionary means. As for the common ancestor, they previously wrote that it was unknown. This is not true; A common ancestor of monkeys and humans is known. American scientists Emil Zuckerkandlem and Linus Pauling proposed using molecular clocks to calculate mutations and determine when the first ancestor of humans and all other primates lived. “It turned out that this ancestor lived approximately 7 million years ago, at the end of the Miocene period,” he said.
It is currently considered that the two species of the chimpanzee genus are closest to humans. According to research in paleontology and genetics, our evolutionary paths diverged approximately 7 million years ago. In modern classification, all humans belong to the species Homo sapiens, which is included in the genus Homo. It is a descendant of Australopithecus afarensis, and the transition from one to the other was gradual. Therefore, it is impossible to determine exactly when a person appeared. However, some scientists identify a number of features that clearly distinguish the genus Homo from Australopithecines.
“These include, for example, the structure of the hand and the volume of the brain. The second is called the Rubicon of the brain. The first humans descended from Australopithecus. These are monkeys that are already very similar to humans, but their brains were small, only about 500 cubic centimeters. The first human was discovered by Lewis Leakey, it was Homo habilis or Homo habilis. And the brain volume was already 600 cubic centimeters. Everything before this sign is monkey, everything after it is humans. We know of nine species of australopithecines, and humans most likely evolved from the graceful omnivorous forms of australopithecines. “Some forms, such as gigantic ones, were vegetarian and could coexist with humans,” Vasiliev concluded.
Thus, a simplified human family tree would look like this: The earliest representatives of the genus Homo were Homo habilis, which descended from Australopithecus monkeys. She later gave birth to Homo erectus or Homo erectus. And from the latter Homo Sapiens appeared on earth.
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Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.