In 1871, Charles Darwin made a cautious speculation that humans originated in Africa. Since then, the number of species in the human family tree has ballooned, but so has the level of disagreement concerning early human evolution.
“When you look at the narrative for hominin origins, it’s just a big mess—there’s no consensus whatsoever,” said Sergio Almécija, a senior research scientist in the Museum’s Division of Anthropology.
Almécija is the lead author on a review out this week in the journal Science that examines the major discoveries in hominin origins in the 150 years since Darwin’s works and argues that fossil apes can inform us about essential aspects of ape and human evolution.
Humans diverged from apes—specifically, the chimpanzee lineage—at some point between about 9.3 million and 6.5 million years ago, towards the end of the Miocene epoch. To understand hominin origins, paleoanthropologists aim to reconstruct the physical characteristics, behavior, and environment of the last common ancestor of humans and chimps.
Fossil Apes are Vital to Understanding Human Evolution | AMNH
“When you look at the narrative for hominin origins, it’s just a big mess—there’s no consensus whatsoever,” said Sergio Almécija, a senior research scientist in the Museum’s Division of Anthropology.
Almécija is the lead author on a review out this week in the journal Science that examines the major discoveries in hominin origins in the 150 years since Darwin’s works and argues that fossil apes can inform us about essential aspects of ape and human evolution.
Humans diverged from apes—specifically, the chimpanzee lineage—at some point between about 9.3 million and 6.5 million years ago, towards the end of the Miocene epoch. To understand hominin origins, paleoanthropologists aim to reconstruct the physical characteristics, behavior, and environment of the last common ancestor of humans and chimps.
Fossil Apes are Vital to Understanding Human Evolution | AMNH