Miscellaneous desk
< September 16	<< Aug \| September \| Oct >>	September 18 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

September 17

Evolution

I've recently read in a pseudo-scientific text that a few non-mainstream scientists claim humans evolved into chimps, or that the common ancestor of chimps and humans resembled the latter much more than the former.

I'm laughing my ass off right now, has any scientist actually cobsidered this because I can't find any? Makuta Makaveli (talk) 19:31, 17 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You might find the article Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor of interest. The first two of the assertions you mention does not seem to be supported by much evidence (although it might have seemed more plausible years or decades ago when various discoveries had not yet been made).

The second is more difficult to assess, because it depends what is meant by "resemble." Both humans and chimpanzees/bobobos have, of course, evolved over the same time period, and arguably "as much, but differently" since the (rather drawn-out) split, through being selected by the different and changing ecological niches which each came to prefer. I've certainly seen a few passing suggestions in the serious scientific literature that chimps/bonobos have changed in broad appearance somewhat more that humans, but the dearth of "proto-chimp" fossils, due to their initial and increasing specialisation in more heavily forested habitats (where fossils more rarely form) means we don't yet have nearly as much evidence as we would like. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.208.172.36 (talk) 19:54, 17 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Many of the humans that I know must have come from asses!194.126.80.63 (talk) 10:51, 18 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

[[1]] might be of interest, as a suggested possible candidate for the last common ancestor. There is an artist's impression based on a skull - I leave it to you to decide, on the basis of the people you know, whether it is closer to human or chimp. Wymspen (talk) 10:29, 19 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]