Human Evolution From Apes?

Question

Darwinist followers believe that we humans came from apes or thinks we’re a distant cousin of apes. They’ll argue that there is only 1% gap between the human genes and monkeys, but that’s just what nature is; “The 1% difference!” It still does not make us one of them even if there was a sliver of difference. If humans coming from apes were true by evolution due to the survival of the species, then why are there still apes around? Why have they not changed? Dogs are said to have come from wolves and can be crossbred, it goes the same with a Zebra and a horse, a rat and a mouse, and as sick as it sounds, if we humans did come from apes, why don’t we just cross breed human with apes to find out once and for all? I honestly believe it’s not possible though because it is just proof that we’re not related to apes. What’s your opinion?

Answer 1

Apes to man is not a linear progression and so is with all other species. I hope you are familiar with phylogeny and ontogeny.
Perhaps the string of man evolved from a node of the evolution tree while the apes (monkeys) continued beyond the node in the straight line. In fact there were several nodes and inter-nodes which gave rise to different kinds of apes, God only know how many kind became extinct because their branch did not flourish any further, the same way where a family tree ends with the death of the last surviving head of the family be it a female or male.
It is a wrong notion that we are a linear descendant of apes, we have branched off from the lineage of apes and the branch got changed due to cross breeding and inbreeding.
This cross breeding is the result of diverse races and traits within human species. No body can claim to be a blue blood line descendant for 2 million years since man came to this arena. This has been part of evolution and attendant segregation of races and communities.
Perhaps the genome mapping being done would one day reveal the complete tape recording of human evolution through cross breeding and the contribution of different life forms in the entire history. You do not have to cross a man with an ape to un-ravel this enigma.
nk agarwal

Answer 2

Humans are a type of ape. We're one of the four great ape groups, the other three being the three different species of chimpanzee, the two species of orangutan and the two species of gorilla.

We're different species from the other apes so we can't breed with them. Somewhere in the past there would have been a time when we were closer to them and could breed with them.

Why are there still apes? Because the other type of apes lived in different parts of the world. Humans lived on the savannahs, while gorillas and chimps lived in the jungle. Orangs lived in a different part of the world. Now that humans have spread to all these parts of the world the apes are dying out.

Why have apes not changed? They have, just as much as we have. Each one is perfectly suited to its role in the world.

"The 1% difference!” It still does not make us one " -- actually it does. We're closer to chimps than they are to gorillas or orangs, so there is no reason to say that chimps and gorillas are one thing and that we are another. If you're going to divide them up, you should say that there are orangs on one side and all the other apes including ourselves on the other side. Within this group, you could divide it into gorillas and non gorillas. We and the chimps are both non-gorillas. Then within the non-gorilla group, you have three species of chimp on one side and only one species of human. There used to be other species, but they have all died out. The Neanderthal Man who drew pictures in the caves of Europe was probably a different species, although we're not fully sure about this.

Answer 3

You can't deny our similarity with other apes. Its striking and obvious. You can say we didn't evolve all you want, but to argue we don't belong in the same taxonomic category as other apes is foolish.

Why are there still apes around? We didn't evolve from the other present-day apes. We share a common ape-like ancestor with them. They are our cousins, not our progenitors.

Why have they not changed? They have. They've continued evolving since diverging, just as we have. They are at the pinnacle of their evolution just as we are, and just as all present-day organisms are.

Dogs and wolves can interbreed because they are still closely enough related to allow them to. They've only diverged recently. Its not perfect mating though, and often the wolf/dog hybrid offspring are infertile. The other apes and us humans are diverged enough to where we cannot interbreed. Doing an experiment like to one you outlined wouldn't prove anything, as neither "side" would expect it to produce viable offspring.

Answer 4

Humans *are* apes. The word 'ape' is just a classification of primates (characterized by a lack of a tail, but other features as well, such as a much larger brain). There is no more insult there than saying we are "mammals" or "vertebrates".

When people say we are similar to (say) chimps, they just mean the obvious fact (which I am sure you will agree with) that we are more similar to chimps than we are to (say) a cat. But we are also more similar to cats than we are to iquanas. And we are more similar to iguanas than we are to a salmon. I'm sure you would not deny any of that.

The fact that we are *obviously* more similar to chimps than to cats does not, by itself, prove evolution, but it does imply *some* relationship. Wouldn't you agree?

"If humans coming from apes were true by evolution due to the survival of the species, then why are there still apes around?"

Please let go of this image of evolution like models of cars in rolling off the assembly line (the '86 Camaro, is *replaced* by the '87 Camaro, then the '88, the '89, etc.) Organisms are not cars.

With living things, a new species always arises out of the *branching* of one species into two. This happens because things happen in nature to isolate populations (migrations, floods, things getting stranded on separate land masses, etc.) If this isolation keeps them apart for long enough, the two will lose the ability to interbreed and will begin the *long* evolution into two very different organisms ... like humans and chimps. They *both* survive.

"Why have they not changed?"

Oh they have! They have changed just as much as we have in those 6 million years since we branched from them. They are every bit as evolved and adapted to their environment as we are to ours.

In other words, it is a misperception that a chimp is some sort of '86 Camaro, and we are the 2007 Camaro. They are not just "unevolved humans", they are *fully* evolved chimps!

" it [ability to crossbreed] goes the same with a Zebra and a horse, a rat and a mouse"

Not true. A zebra and a horse can crossbreed, but the resulting hybrid is infertile. And I'm pretty sure that a mouse and rat cannot crossbreed at all ... in fact there are hundreds of species of rats that cannot interbreed with each other, likewise hundreds of species of mice.

"I honestly believe it’s not possible [to interbreed humans and other apes] ... because it is just proof that we’re not related to apes."

I agree it is not possible, but that is only proof that we are different species (by definition of the word "species"). Things can be related to each other without being able to crossbreed. All those hundreds of different species of mouse cannot crossbreed, but would you consider that proof they are not "related" at all?

To pick a very specific example, it is possible to breed fruitflies in a lab, separate them into two populations, and within 30 or 40 generations the two populations will lose the ability to crossbreed. The one original species is now, by definition, two species. Would you then say that these fruitflies are not "related" at all?

"What’s your opinion?"

It's b/c you wrote this that I took the time to reply to all your questions. You seem genuinely interested in people's answers and opinions. I hope I'm right. If so, cheers!

Answer 5

> Human Evolution From Apes?
Yes. We're great apes, separated from the branch leading to chimpanzees by about five million years. To put it another way, I probably have a 250,000th cousin who is a chimp.

> It still does not make us one of them
Check your taxonomy. We're great apes.

> why are there still apes around? Why have they not changed?
They have changed. The chimps of today aren't exactly the same as the apes of five million years ago. We come from an isolated population of apes, with a different environment and different selection pressures from other populations of apes. Another population of apes gave rise to today's chimps.

> Dogs are said to have come from wolves and can be crossbred
Dog breeds are separated from wolves by, maybe, a few thousand years. There's considerable gene flow -- German shepherds, and several of the "sled dogs," can trace wolf ancestors as little as 150 years ago.

We're separated from the chimps by five million years. That's enough time to be different enough that we can't cross breed any more. And, if you talk to human women, most will tell you, "I'm not interested in even trying to breed with chimps."

Similarly, dogs will not breed with foxes, although they're about as closely related as we are with chimps.

> we’re not related to apes.
I woke up this morning and noticed that my hands were very much like a chimp's -- even having the hairlessness on the last couple of segments although people no longer knuckle-walk on the hands the way chimps still do.
There's no hair on the palms of my hands -- just like monkeys, which walk on the palms of their hands.
I have fingernails instead of claws -- just like prosimian primates which climb out to the ends of branches in trees.
My torso is dorsally-ventrally flattened, just like the brachiating lesser apes.
...and, of course, I have the funky visual field mapping to the brain which is the defining characteristic of primates.

Answer 6

My opinion, and the opinion of the rest of the scientific world (excluding religious zealots) is that evolution did take place, and is taking place. Noone asserts that we evolved from apes, but rather that we share a common ancestor with modern apes. these ideas are not cavalier or exreme, but are actually widely accepted. You need to bone up a little on your science before spewing a bunch of nonsensical stuff. And by the way, you won't hind it in your bible.

Answer 7

Only superstitious people believe that humans were created. I guess that includes you.

Although you attempt to sound (write) like you actually know what you are talking about your views and facts in the most part are incorrect.

Do some more reading and actually speak to people who can help you understand the origin of the species, as it pertains to today's science.

Answer 8

I actually prefer to think that I've evolved from fish (I'll have fries with that too).