humans are thought to have evolved from apes/monkeys?

Question

so where did monkeys/apes come form?

Answer 1

Not thought known.

Prosimians.

Answer 2

Humans did not evolve from apes or monkeys.

Starting at the beginning - among modern mammals the tupaia or tree shrew is believed to most closely related to the ancient ancestor of all primates and if you can find a picture of one this will give you some idea of what the primate ancestor might have looked like.

From a small, relatively unspecialized small mammal several lineages of primates branched off.

The earliest group of primates to become established was the prosimians - bushbabies, lorises and lemurs. The latter are the sole primates of the island of Madagascar, it split off from mainland Africa before later primates evolved.

The next branch of primates to evolve was the New World Monkeys - tamarins, marmosets etc.

Following that came the Old World Monkeys - baboons, capuchins, vervets and the like.

Finally, the apes evolved - not from the monkeys which were already evolving in their own directions away from the ancestral populations, but from a primitive ancient primate. This group includes the gibbons and orang utans the first two ape lineages to be established followed by gorillas. The most recent split was the ancestral species which split into two lineages, one which became chimpanzees and the other humans.

Ultimately all primates originated from the same source a small relatively unspecialized mammal. It is the order of branching of lineages that tells us about the relationships between species. The origin of humans is the same as that of all other apes, it is just that the most recent common ancestor is shared with chimpanzees.

Use the search term primate phylogeny in google to find one of the many pictures which will make this come alive for you

Answer 3

You are asking the right question that led people (long before Darwin ... as far back as the Greeks) to propose the idea of evolution.

If all you understand about evolution is that "humans are thought to have evolved from apes/monkeys", then you need to read into it a little bit more before you accept or reject it.

First, humans and apes are thought to have evolved from a common ancestor. And that ancestor in turn had a common ancestor with the monkeys. And that ancestor in turn had a common ancestor with other mammals ... and so on, and so on, and so on, right back to the first single-celled organism.

In other words, evolution is not just about the relationship between humans and other primates (we are their cousins, not their descendants). It is about the relationships beween all life forms on the planet.

It does what a scientific theory should do ... it unites seemingly separate things in nature with a single explanation. For example, Newton's great insight about gravity was understanding that the same force that causes an apple to fall to the ground is the same thing that causes the moon to stay locked to the earth ... i.e. separate things, single explanation. The beauty of the theory of evolution is that we no longer have to ask "where did humans come from?", "where did chimps come from?" "where did gorillas, orangutans, macaques, howler monkeys, lemurs, lemmings, kangaroos, ... ants, beetles, butterflies, ... sponges, jellies, ... redwood trees, orchids ... etc. etc. come from?" A billion separate questions now have a *single* scientific answer ... a long tree of descendancy. And this explanation explains not only the fossil record, but specific genetic relationships as well, certain physical characteristics in common, biogeography (why kangaroos and other marsupials are almost exclusively in Australia, why color vision occurs in African monkeys, but is absent in S. American monkeys, etc.)

But it all originates from the question you are asking ... if Y came from X, then where did X come from? That question is what led us back to the first single-celled organism. Good for you for asking the right question. I hope you follow it up with some more reading.

Answer 4

Monkeys, lemurs and apes are collectively known as primates.
The first ones probably appeared in early Cenozoic forests around 60 million years ago.

The earliest primates known are called Plesiadapiformes. They were squirrel-like and were anywhere between the size of a chipmunk and a marmot. Judging by their teeth they probably ate insects.

The first true primates were called the prosimians. They came about in the Eocene epoch, around 40-50 million years ago. They were kind of like lemurs.

Then came the Anthropoids about 30 million years ago. They are the monkeys and apes. This is the line of primates that we stem from.

Bear in mind though, that this is a very much simplified version of events that are only theoretical.

Answer 5

Monkeys, apes, and humans came from a common ancestor, a creature with grasping digits, but without forward facing eyes for binocular vision.

Answer 6

It took 1000's of thousands of years to evolve, and by no potential all apes grew to grow to be people. there replaced right into a spread of spieces formerly Homo Sapiens. The clearest answer is that our DNA adjustments through 'organic decision' and in view that smarter apes were necessary close to the ice age to stay alive we developed from them. Apes in different parts of the international did not grow to be extinct it really is why.

Answer 7

no - we didn't eveolve from monkeys and apes.

this is a common mis-conception. we share a common ancestor with apes and monkeys - though this is millions and millions of years ago and this is why our DNA is largely shared.

there would have been a pre-cursor to our common ancestor that was a mammal too, though it would be hard to define it's form.

Answer 8

Humans didn't evolve from apes, they shared a common ancestor.

Please please please read some actual scientific texts about evolution, written by real scientists, instead of liturgical propoganda.

Edit: I mention this because so many anti-evolution, anti-science crusaders INSIST on repeatedly saying that man evolved from apes. So clearly, people are consistantly getting the wrong information from somewhere.

Answer 9

Evolution is very simple, obvious and inevitable. But not as straightforward as you seem to think. Do some background reading. Try reading 'The Blind Watchmaker' by Richard Dawkins. It's a good starting point.

Answer 10

This cant be true. If it was we would see Monkeys and Apes evolving into us but their not. And if it was true why have they now stopped evolving all of sudden.