Basically, the history of life is a branching bush, not a straight line. Populations get separated from the rest of the population of that species, and evolve in to separate species, and both species go on from there.
Dinosaurs were actually pretty unlucky otherwise they could still exist today! They went extinct in a huge mass exinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago). But some birds were lucky enough to survive.
As to why Africa?... well it's pretty random but one factor could have been that Africa dried out and there were savannahs, which encouraged 'apes' to walk upright.
So apes today are our cousins, not really our ancestors. They've changed too since our common ancestor, becoming better adapted to their specific environment. And there is nothing pushing them to evolve in to something like us. Evolution also takes a long loooong time...
Hope it helps. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there that can make things confusing.... But if you ask questions, hopefully you will get good answers!
2006-10-15 01:49:50
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Let me explain to you a little bit about evolution.
Evolution is when specie changes itself to have a better chance of surviving in its ever changing environment. If anyone tells you that the earth doesn’t change over time than they should do some reading. The specie simply has 2 choices adapt or be extinct.
Let’s say a few millions of years ago an ape like creature lived in Africa. During this time Africa was a lush rainforest like the Amazon Rainforest. But due to climate changes the forest started to recede and the apes have two choices, stay in the receding forest or move onto the expanding grassland. As Africa’s great forest recedes, the apes that didn’t move to the grassland had a lesser chance of survival as they’re losing their habitat. Many generations later (the forest monkeys and the grassland monkeys are different species now), the forest apes aren’t completely extinct yet they just have fewer numbers while the apes that did go to the grassland are greater in numbers. Over time for random reasons (climate change, food, environments) the apes of the grassland splits into different species. The process continues as different’ species adapt and evolve due to random changes beyond their control.
Modern monkeys don't evolve into man they share a common ancestor.
A good example of this is dogs.
Look at all the different dog breds that were created by selective breeding. They all came from a common ancestor but look completely different now.
2006-10-15 09:28:21
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answer #2
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answered by Reload 4
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Of course, as a creationist, I am just a stupid, backward, idiot, Bible believin, retard, that lacks education. If only I could get some education from the all seeing, all knowing,
all right-thinking, all scientific, all college educated, evolutionist minded, better then I am, people who know all about things that happened millions of years ago, I could answer this question.
From the time of Darwin until about 1980, the theory of evolution was based on the "missing link." Which was the idea that we, (humans), evolved from apes. Since that idea was debunked many times a new theory had to be put into place. So.....came the "common ancestor" theory.
Of course, the first theory was in place only because there are monkeys and apes. And, guess what, they look somewhat like us. So...there must be a link. right?
At every turn, the theory of evolution is debunked and at every turn they come up with a new answer. They remind me of a Three Stooges film where they were looking for the missing link and they decided it was Curly. The theory of evolution is about as believable as that film.
2006-10-15 09:12:09
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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People have addressed the question, so I thought I'd try to provide an analogy to simplify things. Although people did not evolve from apes, there are still some creatures on earth who evolved from other creatures still living here. My analogy is for them.
Consider ways people survive. In old times, people lived by the family economy. Each family grew their own food, made their own clothes, etc. However, when capitalism emerged on the scene, people could specialize into one type of work to earn money to buy whatever they needed. While a great deal of the world goes by a capitalist system, groups still using a family economy exist. There are advantages to each, such as independence for family economy and rapid advancement in capitalism.
2006-10-15 09:10:41
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answer #4
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answered by Phil 5
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Man and apes supposedly belong to the same family. Contrary to popular opinion, evolution does NOT say that mankind came from, or descended from, apes. They same both sprang from a common ancestor. They are more like our cousins than our great grandparents, lol.
Why they evolved in Africa and not on other continents, I am not really sure. Perhaps it had something to do with climatic conditions there.
2006-10-15 08:52:12
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answer #5
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answered by harridan5 4
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It is right when people say science cannot prove nor disprove the existence of God. However, evolutionists are not willing to follow the evidence to its most logical conclusion. They disregard at the outset the possibility of a supernatural creator, and discard evidence that points toward one. They have created a religion of questionable science. People say "The evidence for a billions of years old earth, the geological column, the succession of life forms over time, is iron-clad and is not seriously questioned in professional and academic cirlces." I encourage you to read The Case For A Creator, by Lee Strobel. You'll find a long list of professional scientists (including Nobel laureates) that have concluded that evolution is flawed, and we are the product of a Creator. Most of these people bought into evolution, and were ardent evolutionists upon earning their post-graduate degrees. However, after spending time studying origins, they have reached the conclusion that Darwinism is wrong, and we are created beings. The fossil record doesn't support evolution, so why should I? Regarding creation, "Is it possible that it all happened in six, twenty-four hour periods a few thousand years ago? For the Bible-believing multitudes, yes,indeed. The God of the Bible is not a weak God, and is not bound by the natural laws He created. What IS improbable, is the idea of life spontaneously generating from non-life. The irreducible complexities found in molecular biology are a testimony to the improbability of descent with modification. If you want to discuss "pet theories & questionable motives", I suggest people look at Charles Darwin and his army of disciples who reject scientific evidence that casts doubt on their pet theory. While evolutionists intentions are good, they have been deceived by a poorly supported theory. I will not back down for fighting for the truth of the Bible. (Other recommended reading: Darwin's Black Box, by Michael J. Behe; Darwin on Trial, by Phillip E. Johnson; Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, by Michael Denton; and Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution is Wrong, by Jonathan Wells, Jody F. Sjogren.)
2006-10-15 09:05:30
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answer #6
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answered by Jeff C 4
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Hell, you can't spell evolution. I don't have any worries that you could prove it wrong.
Evolution is a little more complicated than the whole "if we came from apes, why are there still apes" question. There are books that explain this.
2006-10-15 08:48:34
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answer #7
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answered by Tommy 4
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Charles Darwin didn't say that men came from apes, only that we have the same forefathers.
2006-10-15 08:48:52
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answer #8
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answered by EC 3
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I'm not agree with Darwin , cause I think ,that we're samples from another planet , just like our plans to move to Mars in the future ,cause our planet will be destroyed. :)
2006-10-15 08:49:28
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answer #9
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answered by woo 5
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there are books tht refute evolution
2006-10-15 08:49:28
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answer #10
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answered by tariq 2
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