Humans more primitive than apes
New skeletons have come to light, well actually the findings have come to light, that the common ancestor of apes and humans was much more human than ape. The general consensus, in my opinion likely at least partially based on humans being the "most evolved" species, had been that the common ancestor would have been more apelike. Apes then stayed "unevolved" and humans became the intelligent and social creatures were are today.
Turns out history was a little different. The bones are about 4.4million years old, or about 1.5million years after apes and humans are supposed to have split. And it appears much more human than suspected. Turns out that "canine fangs, long limbs with hooked fingers meant for swinging through trees and hands designed for knuckle-walking" are all traits which developed after humans and apes split. So while apes went crazy with all the specialized forest and climbing abilities, humans ancestors mostly went for brainpower. These fossils imply a brain the size of a golf club, much smaller than the brain of Lucy, who walked around about 1million years later.
To read a good article on the whole thing, go here for the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125440678661956317.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
Turns out history was a little different. The bones are about 4.4million years old, or about 1.5million years after apes and humans are supposed to have split. And it appears much more human than suspected. Turns out that "canine fangs, long limbs with hooked fingers meant for swinging through trees and hands designed for knuckle-walking" are all traits which developed after humans and apes split. So while apes went crazy with all the specialized forest and climbing abilities, humans ancestors mostly went for brainpower. These fossils imply a brain the size of a golf club, much smaller than the brain of Lucy, who walked around about 1million years later.
To read a good article on the whole thing, go here for the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125440678661956317.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
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