If humans were evolved from apes/monkeys, why would they still be alive now?

Question

I do not believe we were evolved, I'm just asking ppl who dont believe we're all from God.

Answer 1

If I thought this were a sincere question... I'd reply with a sincere answer.

Instead, I'll just refer other readers to the link below for more information.

Answer 2

your statement pre-supposes that evolution is a linear process -> A becomes B, becomes C, becomes D. That's not true at all.

Humans and apes/monkeys merely share a common ancestor we did not evolve FROM them. The fact that ape and monkeys are still around today shows that they have also taken their own evolutionary path to arrive where they are now. Just as we have.

If you think that evolution only progresses in a single straight line linear progression, then explain why we don't have 1 example of everything; 1 reptile, 1 insect, 1 bird, 1 mammal, 1 cat etc.... instead we have multiple species of insects, multiple species of cats, mammals etc.

On a sidenote, I notice that this question keeps getting repeated every few days almost word for word. I have to wonder where all this is coming from.

Answer 3

Humans and other apes are descended from a common ancestor which was more ape-like than human-like although vastly different from modern apes. The population of this common ancestor split into two lineages. One of these lineages evolved into gorillas and chimps, and the other evolved into early humans (hominids). To the creationists who love the alternate straw man, I'll make it clear: humans did not evolve from monkeys either.

The theory of evolution does not contain claim that 'Humans came form apes' or 'Your grandfather was an ape' - those are just creationist straw mans. Humans did not evolve from any of the species we know as 'apes' today, and I'm sure none of your grandparents were apes.

Answer 4

I think this is a pretty good question. Evolution supposablely takes millions of years. Species branch out in all different directions. The most successful ones take over and the others become extinct. Humans are far more successful then the apes or monkeys. They have lived together in the same niches for thousands of years. Humans don't see apes as an evolutionary threat, to our existence. Except in the movie "Planet of the Apes." Apes haven't evolved in the thousands of years that humans have interacted with them. Evolutionist tried to bread apes with humans! That was another big evo failure of prediction. Although it did spawn the Movie. "King Kong", which was kind of fun.

Answer 5

I applaud Mastermind's answer because he *ALMOST* hits on the answer! He wrote:

>"Or why aren't any of the many steps between us and monkey's still alive? If every evolutionary step is better suited to live than the one before it, some of these intermediate steps between monkeys and ourselves would be better suited to thrive than the monkeys they evolved from."

Yes! Exactly! And what would happen to those intermediate species who found a comfortable niche? The ones that did not follow our particular path of evolution?

Answer: unless they went extinct, THEIR DESCENDANTS WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY. And those descendants of those intermediate stages that somehow got isolated from our branch, didn't stay "frozen" in some sort of evolutionary state ... they CONTINUED TO EVOLVE, just as we were doing in our branch.

Those are the modern monkeys and modern apes.

Answer 6

Humans evolve constantly. In Hawaii when two different races marry and have a child it is called a "hapa" for half. They are some of the cutest babies BTW.

Because a hapa grows up beautiful and successful should it's mother and father automatically disappear or may they just continue to evolve.

Same deal with all evolution. The ancestors of human erectus have continued to evolve on their own track.

Answer 7

A common ancestor of all apes evolved into the orangutans, gorillas, humans, and chimpanzees. They split into different lines because of geographical separation. In the same way, a common ancestor of monkeys and apes split into all of those lines. This goes back over time to a single common life form.

This is Common Descent, and it is the *observation* of common descent that is explained by natural selection in evolutionary theory.


Jen Ortiz - For the mid points between us and our distant ancestors, you have to look at the fossil record. There are over 20 distinct hominid ancestors identified.
You can hardly expect a link between us and something that lived 2 million years ago to be alive today.

Answer 8

We did not evolve from monkeys - both humans and monkeys evolved from a common ancestor. I believe (if I remember correctly) that we are more closely related to apes and chimps than to monkeys. Look at it like a branch on a tree - the base of the branch would be our common ancestor, the branch is made up of many twigs, the twig closest to us (humans ) would be the ape and the outer most twig on our branch would be the monkey.

Answer 9

Of course humans evolved from apes, through Darwinian natural selection. Depending on where those apes were located geographically in history, some of them were forced to adapt to their environment, and through years become more humanlike. Others were already living in a comfortable habitat, and therefore did not encounter that much evolution. That is why they are still around today.

Answer 10

We evolved from a common ancestor. Monkeys in today's world are not the same as the monkeys that lived then, just as birds are not the same now as they were then. Same with reptiles, amphibeans, etc.

Also, humans were better adapted to survive than monkeys does not make monkeys' adaptation skills non-existent. We are just better.

Answer 11

Because you don't understand evolution.

Humans and apes evolved FROM A COMMON ANCESTOR, Humans did not come from apes...they are related.

How many times does Yahoo answers have to pound this into people's heads? Seriously next time you have a question about evolution just search for it.

You remind me of a child who won't eat his lima beans. "I dont' like lima beans!" "But you've never had lima beans..."