We are used to looking at chimpanzees and funny monkeys as at our distant ancestors. Adherents of the theory of evolution argue that once they got down from the trees, picked up sticks and began to turn into intelligent creatures. But from whom did the monkeys come? Who stood at the origins of this branch of evolution? And was she? Let's try to figure it out.
Darwin Theory
The origin of life on planet Earth has always raised a lot of questions. In ancient times, people attributed this merit to the gods. Today, there are many different opinions, including the intervention of aliens. But the generally accepted theory was the version of Charles Darwin. According to her, all creatures on Earth had a common ancestor with great genetic variation. Most likely, it was the simplest microorganism that arose about 4 billion years ago. Adapting to various living conditions, he mutated, acquired new cells, organs, and adaptations.
Thus, from simple life forms, complex ones began to form. Individuals with beneficial mutations triumphed in the eternal struggle for existence and left offspring with the same characteristics. This went on for millions of years, the number of biological creatures on the planet increased exponentially. Amphibians originate from the brush-headed fish, mammals from the beast-toothed lizards, and humans originated from the monkey. Evidence is the morphological similarity of various creatures, the presence of rudiments, paleontological findings, biochemical and genetic studies, similarities in the development of embryos in all vertebrates.
Are monkeys the ancestors of modern humans?
Darwin claimed that man descended from an ancient species of monkey that lived on trees. But the change in natural conditions has led to a decrease in the number of forests. Our "ancestors" were forced to descend to earth, learn to walk on their lower extremities and survive in new conditions. This led to the active development of the brain and the emergence of the mind.
Scientists provide the following evidence for this statement:
- During the excavation, many intermediate forms were found combining simultaneously the signs of a monkey and a person.
- The internal structure of organs in humans and primates is very similar, besides only they have hair on their heads and growing nails on their fingers.
- The genes of modern humans and chimpanzees differ by only 1.5%, and the coincidence of this coincidence is zero.
Thus, only one question remains open: "From what monkeys did people come from?"
Common ancestor
Darwin was sure that a person by his genetic characteristics belongs to the genus of narrow-nosed monkeys. However, he was in no hurry to look for our ancestors among chimpanzees or gorillas. Solving the question of what kind of monkey a man came from, the scientist pointed to ancient extinct species. This view is shared by modern science, talking about the common ancestor of people and monkeys.
And we, according to the theory of scientists, came from insectivorous mammals that moved to live on trees. The first great apes appeared 65 million years ago, it was called Purgatorius. Outwardly, the animal looked more like a squirrel, had a height of 15 cm and a weight of about 40 g. Its teeth are similar to primates. The remains of a creature are found in North America. At the moment, more than a hundred species of protein-like primates are known, from which monkeys and lemurs later descended.
Who was the ancestor of the monkeys?
Purgatorius is little like modern monkeys. Another thing is the architsebus, which lived 55 million years ago in China. He had a long tail, sharp teeth, jumped well along the branches and ate both insects and plant foods. In the preserved skeleton of the animal, scientists find all the signs of both modern and extinct monkeys.
In Europe and North America 50 million years ago, our other ancestor lived - notarctus. His height was 40 cm, not counting the tail. The eyes looked forward and were surrounded by protruding bone arches. The thumb, isolated from the rest, and the elongated phalanges indicate that the animal could make grasping movements. His spine was flexible, like lemurs. The creature lived in the trees.
36 million years ago, small, and then large, monkeys descended from such animals. They all climbed trees perfectly, fleeing land predators. But from what monkeys did human apes originate?
The emergence of hominoids
Three groups of apes are traditionally distinguished : gibbons, pongids (these include gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans) and hominids (human ancestors). All of them originate from the parapithecus that inhabited the planet 35 million years ago. The weight of ancient monkeys was no more than 3 kg, and in appearance and lifestyle they were close to gibbons. It is believed that the parapithecus were intelligent and lived in herds, within which the hierarchy was strictly observed. Their descendants were propliopithecines.
From this species originated apes. First, gibbons and orangutans separated from the rest. The common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees and huge gorillas was driopithecus, who lived from 30 to 9 million years ago. Its appearance is very similar to modern monkeys, growth can be from 60 cm from 1 meter. The animal lived in the trees, but could also go down to the ground.
The species of dripitopecs closest to humans is called ramapithecus. It was discovered in India, and a little later in Europe and Africa. These monkeys lived 14 or 12 million years ago, and judging by their reduced teeth, they knew how to use the simplest tools for food and protection (sticks, stones). Ramapithecus fed on not only plants and fruits, but also insects. They had developed hands. The animals spent part of the time on the ground. Perhaps it was they who first got off the tree and learned to live in the steppe.
Missing link
Thus, scientists give an exact answer to the question of who the monkeys came from and trace their gradual evolution. But some finds lead researchers to a standstill. A lot of questions arise when it comes to the intermediate link between a monkey and an intelligent person.
Now found many remains of ancient creatures claiming this title. These include Neanderthals and Australopithecus, Pithecanthropus and Ardopithecus, Heidelberg man and Kenyanthropus. The list goes on. It is sometimes difficult to determine which of the following can be attributed to monkeys, and which to humans. Some species turn out to be dead ends. As, for example, Neanderthals, who existed simultaneously with Cro-Magnons (direct ancestors of modern man) and other hybrids. It is not possible to trace successive evolution, and a harmonious system collapses before our eyes.
Who came before?
We all taught at school that man descended from a monkey. Why so? Indeed, judging by archaeological finds, they existed at the same time in the same territory. Thus, Australopithecus with a human foot and ordinary large monkeys, who were in no hurry to become rational, lived in Afar 3.5 million years ago. Why, under the same conditions, some primates evolved, while others continued to lead a familiar lifestyle?
Even more questions are caused by strange finds of archaeologists. In 1968, clay shale was discovered in the US state of Utah, on which a trace from a spaced shoe and two crushed trilobites are clearly visible. The fossil age is at least 505 million years and refers to the Cambrian period, when vertebrates did not yet exist. In Texas, an iron hammer was unexpectedly discovered in a block of limestone, the handle of which was petrified, and inside it even became coal. The age of the instrument is 140 million years. According to the theory of evolution, at that time there were not only humans, but also monkeys.
Theory of Involution
Russian paleoanthropologist A. Belov put forward a paradoxical point of view. He is not one of those people who believes that man came from a monkey. Most likely, the situation was the opposite. Darwin theory, the scientist contrasted the doctrine of involution, or the gradual degradation of living beings.
In his opinion, it was precisely man who became the original ancestor of all existing species. Thus, development did not proceed from complex organisms to protozoa, but vice versa. Human civilizations have repeatedly appeared on our planet, collapsed, and the surviving individuals went wild, turning into monkeys. A similar point of view was held by the American scientist Osborne, who was sure that the hominid arose immediately, without going through the evolutionary stages. And the gorillas and chimpanzees are his descendants, who decided to get on all fours and go into the woods.
Theory evidence
Did the person come from monkeys or was it the other way around? To draw the right conclusions, we will get acquainted with the arguments of V. Belov.
He points to the following circumstances:
- The fossil ancestors of the monkeys lived in the forest on trees, but at the same time they have signs of uprightness (for example, ardipithecus, orrorin, sahelanthropus). Their descendants, chimpanzees and gorillas, spend 95% of their time on all fours and do not bend their knees when moving.
- Orangutans, which occurred earlier than these species, often walk with their legs straight when walking, and hold branches with their hands, like people.
- In anthropoid apes, the speech hemisphere is enlarged in the same way as ours. Although they do not use it.
- The human genome has 46 chromosomes, while the monkey has 48 chromosomes. We can say that chimpanzees are a more advanced species in terms of genetics.
How a man went wild and became ... a fish
Where did the monkeys come from? Was their ancestor a squirrel-like purgatorius, or an erect man? Belov is sure: millions of years ago people were in difficult conditions. Forced to flee from the dangers in the trees, they tore the metatarsal ligament, which caused the thumb on the foot to move away. So our ancestors were forced to all fours, learned to deftly jump through the trees, but lost the ability to talk and think.
Moreover, the scientist is sure that four-legged animals were once two-legged, as evidenced by their anatomy. Cysterae fish have all the bones of the human skeleton, with the exception of the hands and feet. The structure of the paws of crocodiles, frogs and bats is similar to the structure of the palm. Thus, people are the first link in further involution.
The main riddle
There are many weak points in A. Belov’s theory, and the main one is the question of the appearance of man. There is no answer to it. The scientist is confident that intelligent civilizations appear on Earth suddenly, go through a development cycle, and then transform into their original state, returning to an unknown source. It has been so many times. Those who could not transform, degraded and became animals of different species.
Let's get back to the question of who the monkeys came from. Unfortunately, over the years ago, there is no exact evidence. Nature carefully preserves its secrets, allowing us only to speculate and marvel at its miracles.