The theory of evolution was proposed in 1859 by the great scientist Charles Darwin. Since then, his findings have been harshly questioned by a variety of people, especially religious activists, as he opposes the common Christian ideology and some others. This is due to certain misinformation that still exists about evolutionism.
A very popular question is about the existence of monkeys. After all, if humans came from monkeys, why do these animals still exist? Why didn’t they evolve along with us? Well, in reality, the problem is not in the answer, which will be explained, but rather in the question itself, which is not easy to answer.
Why do monkeys still exist if humans evolved from their species, according to the theory?
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In his work “The Origin of Species”, Darwin explains that environmental factors, through natural selection, force individuals living in the environment to adapt to situations for survival, in a process that lasts millions of years.
Thus, species with better adaptation leave more descendants, passing genetic information between generations, which helps in the lives of these beings.
It is important to emphasize that humans and monkeys are not evolutions of each other, but rather distant cousins of a biological lineage, whose common ancestor is the species known as primates. Their coexistence does not contradict or contest the theory of evolution, quite the contrary, through it, this common kinship can easily be assumed.
The grouping of common ancestors, that is, broths, can perfectly show that evolution does not occur exactly as shown in that famous figure that goes from primates to Homo sapiens, with individuals becoming increasingly erect. In fact, it is much more complex than that.
Different adaptations and connection between species
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Even for human construction, some species emerged and became extinct, reaching the appearance we have today. The same occurred with other primates, which, due to environmental pressure, evolved into the current monkeys.
Although we do not have physical proof, i.e. fossils, we can establish a connection with the DNA of the two species. For example, humans have 98.8% genetic similarity with chimpanzees, which are our closest cousins, separated by evolution and the environment about 6 million years ago.
Furthermore, another study, published in the journal Naturefrom 2012, shows that 98.7% of our DNA is similar to that of Bonobos, another species of monkeys, different from that of chimpanzees about a million years ago.
Why aren’t we called monkeys then?
Despite the similarities, humans adapted uniquely, learning hunting, farming and housing stability techniques, which left aside their nomadic origins and established lands.
These small learnings and adaptations have modified both the human body and brain over millions of years. For example, we do not have tails, like monkeys, and we have a bipedal posture and the ability to reason. Even so, we are all primates.
Evolution is not a simple process, and questioning it is always plausible, but the appropriate thing is to always be learning and to better understand scientific knowledge.
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