Scientists Explain: If We Didn’t Evolve From Apes of Today, Then Where Did We Come From?

There is a common notion among the public that we evolved from apes, and they usually refer to the apes of today, but that idea is wrong. What is true is that we and apes evolved from a common ancestor millions of years ago, then diverged over time to be who we are today.

That sentence already answers the question, but most people will not be satisfied with it. Some could ask further, such as ‘Why are there still monkeys today?‘. So, let’s dive a little bit deeper into how our species evolved over time and how apes and other monkeys compare.

We Share a Common Ancestor—Not Descended from Today’s Apes

Humans did not evolve from modern apes, like chimpanzees or gorillas; instead, we share a common ancestor from 5 to 8 million years ago. So, what does that mean exactly?

It means there was a certain species that lived a long time ago that evolved into many different types, differing based on what each of them needed to survive in their environments. They are often called ancestral species.

Those creatures are our common evolutionary ancestor, but after the split, early hominin species branched off, eventually giving rise to Australopithecus, Homo, and other extinct relatives, but none of them are similar to today’s apes.

Read more: Live Science

Multiple Branches, Not a Straight Line

Human Evolution: We Didn't Evolve From Chimps: Crash Course Biology #19

Evolution is not a straight line, which means that we did not evolve from today’s apes; they are also an evolved creature from our similar ancestor millions of years ago.

So, in other words, evolution is more like a branching family tree, where we humans and other closely related species, hominin, went on our own branch, eventually turning into who we are today, and the others, like chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas, also followed their own path and branch.

Fossils like Sahelanthropus, Orrorin, and Ardipithecus, showcase that during the time of our evolutionary divergence, there were a lot of hominin species that co-existed and then branched off to their own paths too. However, most of them did not survive, and the remaining species of the hominin branch are only humans

Why Monkeys and Apes Still Exist

So, the question is, if humans evolved, why are the apes and monkeys still around? The answer is that they are also a species that evolved on their own successful branches to be able to live today.

It is the same concept as how you and your cousin both descended from the same grandparent, but you did not come from each other; you just have a common ancestor who you both share genes with.

Read more: BMC Research

What This Reveals About Human Evolution

Human evolution could be a complex topic for some people, especially if they grew up imagining it as a linear progression and not a branching tree. Understanding it will help us see how traits such as upright walking, longer legs, and shorter arms, compared to apes, only evolved in some branches and not in all primates.

Biology also confirms that humans and apes are all part of a complex, shared heritage, but confirms we are evolutionary cousins and did not evolve from each other.

Humans Did NOT Evolve from Chimpanzees!

Author's Final Thoughts

Humans have not evolved from today’s apes, but rather we share a distant common ancestor who lived around 5 to 8 million years ago. We took our own evolutionary path, and so did they. This branching story or analogy is key to understanding human and ape evolution. It is also a reminder to us all that our lives are more intertwined and diverse than we realize.

Read more: Why Do We Have Wisdom Teeth? The Answer Lies in Our Evolutionary Past

References & Further Reading

Brunet, M., et al. (2002). A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature00879

White, T. D., et al. (2009). Ardipithecus ramidus and the paleobiology of early hominids. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1175802

Lovejoy, C. O. (2009). Reexamining human origins in light of Ardipithecus ramidus. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1175834

Almécija, S., et al. (2021). Fossil apes and human evolution. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb4363

Patterson, N., et al. (2006). Genetic evidence for complex speciation of humans and chimpanzees. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04789

Ragsdale, A. P., et al. (2023). A weakly structured stem for human origins in Africa. Nature. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10208968/