How long ago did humans and chimpanzees have a common ancestor?

Answer 1

Around six million years ago, the most famous speciation of all occurred – the divergence of the lineage that eventually led to modern humans from the lineage that led to chimpanzees. That speciation initiated the evolutionary process that led to the divergence of mankind from our nearest living cousin, the chimpanzee.
http://www.evolutionpages.com/homo_pan_divergence.htm

Following the human evolutionary tree backwards, we first meet the concestor which we share with the species that are our closest relatives, the chimpanzee and bonobo. Dawkins estimates this to have occurred between 5 and 7 million years ago. Another way of looking at this is to say that our (approximately) 250,000-greats-grandparent was a creature from which all humans, chimpanzees and bonobos are directly descended.

The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of any set of organisms is the most recent individual which is an ancestor of all of them, except itself. The term is most frequently used of humans. The equivalent term concestor was coined by the biologist Richard Dawkins.

It is also possible to use the term MRCA to describe the common ancestor of two or more different species. This concept is described in Richard Dawkins' book, The Ancestor's Tale, in which he imagines a backwards 'pilgrimage' in time, during which we humans 'meet' all the other species of organism with which we share a common ancestor. Dawkins coined the word, concestor, as an alternative to MRCA.

Further tracing on our ancestors as described by Dawkins' , we meet the concestor we share with the Gorilla, our next nearest relative, then the Orangutan, and so on. The MRCA for all living organisms is also known as the last universal ancestor.♥

Answer 2

Recent discovery of fossils of what could be the remains of one of the last common ancestor would peg that time frame to be about 13 millions years ago.

Answer 3

there is no correct date, for sure, for this 'split'. yet dates that were postulated for any such easy ancestor decision from round 6.5 to twelve million years in the past. analyze is ongoing using genetics and gene tracing to doubtlessly arrive at dates with regards to splits between the 'large apes' in the kinfolk of pongidae. because DNA is very nearly no longer conceivable to extract from fossils of hominids and pongids it would want to be truly some time before scientists slender the time decision for divergence between hominids and pongids. New unearths of both fossil hominids and pongids are being discovered each and every of the time and may want to convey this question of relationship to basic before than we assume of.

Answer 4

We still do. Ancestors are from our past and don't change.