Why couldn't any other living creature like humans couldn't evolve?

Question

A species that could be able to form a civilization...

PS: There are zillions of creatures that can't think... In the theory of the evolution of human why couldn't any other species like evolve like us side by side after a breaking point?

Answer 1

It's all about having an opposable thumb. (At least that's what my scientist son says, LOL!)

Answer 2

Intelligence is just one of 'zillions' of ways to survive.

While intelligence is near and dear to *us* ... all these other creatures in the world have found methods just as effective as intelligence to survive for a *lot* longer than we have. If you really think about it (and avoid the "yay, us" pom-poms that humans like to wave), an ant hill or a beehive is every bit as impressive as a human city ... and they have been doing this a *lot* longer than we have.

But even with that in mind, there actually have been other branches along the primate line that were well on their way to being big-brained freaks like we are, but had the misfortune of going extinct (which is a fate we came very close to suffering a few times).

>"why couldn't any other species like evolve like us side by side after a breaking point?"

As stated above, this didn't have to happen ... but in actual fact, it did.

The most notable of these is Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal). We once thought this was an ancestor species, but as we discovered more fossils, we determined that they lived at the same time as early Homo sapiens, and went extinct only about 23,000 years ago (which is practically yesterday in geological terms).

There is some evidence (although far from conclusive) that we (Homo sapiens) had something do to with the final extinction of Neanderthal ... if not through active genocide, at least through displacement (Homo sapiens drove Neanderthal out of the best hunting grounds and into increasingly uninhabitable areas).

So it is possible that it is very difficult for two intelligences to live side-by-side. Just looking at the difficulty modern human beings have in living together, this does not seem surprising. We have survived because our intelligence brought with it some extremely strong social instincts ... but a side-effect of those instincts seems to be jealousy, tribalism, and fear/hatred of the "others" (intolerance). In other words, the same instincts that build civilizations, also seems to destroy them. Those social instincts (derived from intelligence) are the source of both the best and the worst of humanity.

Answer 3

"zillions of creatures that can't think"

This is all a matter of degree. We humans "think" we are so smart, but if you look at the details of how we think, much of what we think we think occurs after a lower layer in the brain decides what to do. Our "thinking" brain then figures out a reason for doing what has already been decided.

As for civilizations, the Neadertals may have developed the same kind of civilization current humans have. For some reason, the Neadertals all died out when homo sapiens moved in. This often happens in evolution: when two species fill the same niche, one of them dies out because the other is slightly better at surviving in that environment or one kills off the other.

Answer 4

Joan H has hit the nail on the head: a species evolves and fills an ecological niche. Two similar species in one place will compete, and one of them will eventually win over the other. In other words, our ancestors killed off the competition (vis, the Neanderthal).

So why didn't an intelligent species capable of civilization develop elsewhere on earth? Just one of those flukes. Or maybe it did, and the early explorers killed them off, thinking they were mere beasts. Remember, the negroes in Africa were considered by Europeans to be nothing more than clever monkeys well into the 19th century. There were stories of Dutch settlers having shot bushmen for food!

Answer 5

Still under debate is the theory that at the dawn of H. sapiens other similar species shared the world. As to whether and to what extent they built and labored, we still don't know. Did they have a civilization of sorts? They surely were communal. It would take a considerable amount of work to separate their world from our earliest world as they probably overlapped physically as well as geographically. I would not expect that any other civilization to rise here in the future for obvious reasons, space and acceptance being dominant reasons.

Answer 6

Evolution is to support the survival of the species. Evolution does not have a goal of producing civilization. Civilization is just a strategy that humans hit on to enhance their chance of survival. Other species survive in other ways.

Answer 7

All living organisms developed thru evolution in their distinguishing directions and formed societies/colonies which are different from humans. There are many areas where human development have been less progressive .

Total ants on earth have aggregate mass appx. 40 times more than total human mass . Their social reproduction success is much higher than humans.
The aircondion comfort and operation control accuracy in the anthills is beyond reach of any sophisticated airconditioner .This shows thier superior technical achievement in housebuilding.
Sensory organs like eyesight,smell,touch,hearing etc in eagle /dogs/ants/owl repectively are much superior to those of humans and to be safe from natural disasters, men follow their signals/guidance..
If you consider the common grass , you find how strong they are reaching immortal stage.
People should properly evaluate thier stand about human evolutionary success.